Minigolf at Figment in New York

As a faculty member Wichita State University’s College of Engineering (WSU), I worked with students to create and install a mini-golf hole as part of FIGMENT at Governor’s Island, NY in 2010. I also gave the keynote address that year for FIGMENT’s public art opening.

WSU’s mini-golf hole was chosen from a juried selection. Our hole contained multiple interactive elements, all powered by sustainable energy (wind and solar). As part of the mini-golf course it was well-received, entertaining over 250,000 visitors through the course of the summer.

BETA Competition

WSU Students from complimentary disciplines submit ideas which integrate the arts with technology and have commercial viability. Up to $7,000 in prizes.

Auralis

Auralis is a musical instrument constructed from a multitouch table and custom software ported from my earlier touch wall Touch #2. Merging sound, interactivity, and sequencing, Auralis is simultaneously engaging, meditative and soothing. I created the work for youth ages 8-14. A virtual world of suns, stars and planets interact with each other. Participants run…

Mark O'Connor with Frankie Gavin and WSU string students Videoconference with the Irish World Music Center

Sharing Music Sharing Culture

Through four grants, I headed Sharing Music Sharing Culture (SMSC), a Wichita State University (WSU) initiative exploring how global learning can integrate with the current WSU music curriculum to transform both what and how we learn about music and culture.

Have a Seat!

Have a Seat! is a playful interactive installation in which a video of a traveler of both time and space urges viewers to sit on a couch. When three people sit close together on the couch a special broadcast or snippet of The Muppet Show plays. Strangers coming to view the work find themselves uncomfortably…

Digital Puppetry

I worked with a team of colleagues, community members, and urban youth. Our intention was to help the youth learn in a playful environment, find personal self-expression, and have their voices heard by communities in Boston. To do this, we adapted commercially available technology to provide a unique medium: digital puppetry.

Touch #1

In 2012 I created my first interactive touch wall: Touch #1. The work built on my experience creating the visuals for Still Life and was largely inspired by seeing autistic children experiencing pure joy while interacting in an immersive environment. Touch #1 received a great response and was later installed at Exploration Place and at…

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