When it comes to fancy light shows, we’re not much different from cats; most of us are easily dazzled by things that blink, shine, and change color, and especially when those things move along with us. With the sneak peek at the new PowerPoint light show element this week, people have been getting excited (or freaked out, for those with presentation anxiety) about the possibilities of a more gesture-controlled future.

We're not saying PowerPoint ripped anyone off, but we do think we prefer Chris Sugrue's version of things a bit better. Delicate boundaries indeed...

A future version of the iPhone, the Next G, perhaps in an attempt to stave off any antenna or glass back scandal, is doing something similar, projecting the screen into your hand via wristband:

But interactive technology isn’t that new—lots of us have gesture-basted technology on our phones as it is, and there’s a media remote out there now too—and neither is it when it comes to 3D light application. Firms like Musion and LM3LABS have been messing with “holographic” projectors and vision-based technology for a few years, and on a more socially playful way, so has OpenFrameworks wizard Zach Leiberman (one of his projects seen in the video below).

There’s poetry and magic in the idea that something programmed by human could, of its own volition, play with us, maybe even change perception. Taking it back to the human level, artist (and ReadyMade friend) Shantell Martin stripped down the whole idea a few years ago when she started doing what she calls Sketch Projection. Using simple tools and the muscle of her own brain instead of a microchip, she’s created a DIY analog approach to an intuitive, interactive light performance.

For the next couple weeks she’s leading workshops, hosting events, and showcasing her illustration work at Studio B in Alys Beach, Florida, home of the annual Digital Graffiti Festival (which Shantell headlined last year). Focusing on technology, aesthetics, and creative expansion, she’s taken over part of the gallery with canvas and ink, and starting today is providing instruction on how to tap into what’s in your gut to express it in a visually creative manner.

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