Kate Hartman: The art of wearable communication

Translator: Etrit Adami Reviewer: Dita Bytyci

My name is Kate Hartman.

Quhem Kate Harman.

And I like to make devices

Dhe mua me pelqen te bej pajisje

that play with the ways

qe funksionojne me menyrat

that we relate and communicate.

qe na lidhin dhe komunikojme.

So I'm specifically interested in how we, as humans,

Keshtu qe une jam me se shumti e interesuar se si ne, si njerez,

relate to ourselves, each other

lidhemi me veten tone, me njeri-tjetrin

and the world around us.

dhe me boten perreth nesh.

(Laughter)

( Te qeshura )

So just to give you a bit of context,

Sa per t'ju thene pak reth kontekstit,

as June said, I'm an artist, a technologist and an educator.

sic tha June, une jam nje artiste, nje teknologe dhe edukatore.

I teach courses in physical computing

Jam mesime per informatike fizike

and wearable electronics.

dhe elektroniken qe mund te vishet.

And much of what I do is either wearable

Dhe shume nga ajo qe bej une ose vishet ose

or somehow related to the human form.

ose disi lidhet me formen njerzore.

And so anytime I talk about what I do,

Dhe keshu sa here qe flas rreth asaj qe une bej,

I like to just quickly address

une menjhere flas per

the reason why bodies matter.

arsyen perse trupat kane rendesi.

And it's pretty simple.

Dhe eshte shume e thjeshte.

Everybody's got one -- all of you.

Cdonjeri ka nje te tile -- te gjithe ju.

I can guarantee, everyone in this room,

Une mund t'ju garantoj, cdo njeri ne kete dhome,

all of you over there, the people in the cushy seats,

te gjithe ju atje, ju ne karriget e rehatshme,

the people up top with the laptops --

ju te ulur siper me laptope --

we all have bodies.

ne te gjithe kemi trupa.

Don't be ashamed.

Mos u turperoni.

It's something that we have in common

Eshte dicka qe ne te gjithe e kemi te perbashket

and they act as our primary interfaces for the world.

dhe ato veprojne si kontakti jone primar per boten.

And so when working as an interaction designer,

Dhe keshtu duke punuar si nje disenjator interaktiv,

or as an artist who deals with participation --

ose si nje artist qe merret me pjesemarrjen --

creating things that live on, in or around the human form --

duke krijuar gjera qe i ben jetike, rreth formes njerzore --

it's really a powerful space to work within.

eshte vertet hapesire e fuqishme per te punuar ne te.

So within my own work,

Keshtu, ne punen time,

I use a broad range of materials and tools.

une perdor nje game te gjere materialesh dhe veglash.

So I communicate through everything from radio transceivers

Keshtu une komunikoj permes cdo gjeje nga radiomarresit

to funnels and plastic tubing.

deri tek gypat dhe tubat plastik.

And to tell you a bit about the things that I make,

Dhe qe t'u tregoj rreth gjerave qe une krijoj,

the easiest place to start the story

pjesa me e lehte per te filluar tregimin

is with a hat.

eshte me nje kapele.

And so it all started several years ago,

Kjo filloi disa vite me pare,

late one night when I was sitting on the subway, riding home,

nje nate vone kur une isha ne metro, duke shkuar ne shtepi,

and I was thinking.

dhe po mendoja.

And I tend to be a person who thinks too much and talks too little.

Dhe kam tendence te jem nje person qe mendon shume dhe flet shume pak .

And so I was thinking about how it might be great

Dhe keshtu po mendoja si to te ishte mire

if I could just take all these noises --

sikur te merrja te gjithe keto zhurma --

like all these sounds of my thoughts in my head --

gjithe keto zera te mendimeve ne koken time --

if I could just physically extricate them

sikur te mundja fizikish t'i nxirrja ato

and pull them out in such a form

dhe t'i nxirrja ne ate lloj forme

that I could share them with somebody else.

qe do te mund t'i ndaja me dike tjeter.

And so I went home, and I made a prototype of this hat.

Dhe keshtu shkova ne shpi, dhe bera nje prototip te kesaj kapele.

And I called it the Muttering Hat,

Dhe e quajta ate Kapelja Peshperitese,

because it emitted these muttering noises

sepse nxirrte zhurma pershperitese

that were kind of tethered to you,

qe ishin disi te lidhura me ty,

but you could detach them

por qe ti nuk mund t'i shkepusje ato

and share them with somebody else.

dhe t'i ndaje me dike tjeter.

(Laughter)

( Te qeshura )

So I make other hats as well.

Keshtu une bej edhe kapela tjera.

This one is called the Talk to Yourself Hat.

Kjo quhet Kapelja Fol me Veten.

(Laughter)

( Te qeshura )

It's fairly self-explanatory.

Eshte mjaft vete-shpjeguese.

It physically carves out conversation space for one.

Fizikisht ndan hapesiren per bisede per ne.

And when you speak out loud,

Dhe kur ti flet me ze te larte,

the sound of your voice is actually channeled back into your own ears.

tingulli i zerit tend aktualisht kthehet prapa ne veshet e tu.

(Laughter)

( Te qeshura )

And so when I make these things,

Dhe keshtu kur une bej keto gjera,

it's really not so much about the object itself,

nuk eshte aq shume per objektin sa

but rather the negative space around the object.

hapesiren negative rreth objektit.

So what happens when a person puts this thing on?

Cfare ndodh kur nje person e vendos kete gje ne koke ?

What kind of an experience do they have?

Cfare lloj eksperience kane ata?

And how are they transformed by wearing it?

Dhe si transformohen ata duke e veshur ate?

So many of these devices

Shume nga keto pajisje

really kind of focus on the ways in which we relate to ourselves.

me te vertete fokusohen ne menyren se si komunikojme me veten.

So this particular device is called the Gut Listener.

Kjo pajisje quhet Gut Listener (Degjues i brendshem).

And it is a tool

Dhe eshte mje mjet

that actually enables one

qe aktualisht i mundeson nje njeriu

to listen to their own innards.

te degjojr organet e tij te brendshme.

(Laughter)

( Te qeshura )

And so some of these things

Dhe disa nga keto gjera

are actually more geared toward expression and communication.

me shume kane te bejne me shprehjen dhe komunikimin.

And so the Inflatable Heart

Dhe keshtu Zemra e mbushur ajer

is an external organ

eshte nje organ i jashtem

that can be used by the wearer to express themselves.

qe mund te perdoret nga ai qe e vesh te shprehi vetveten.

So they can actually inflate it and deflate it

Keshu ata mund ta fryjne dhe ta shfryjne ate

according to their emotions.

varesisht nga emocionet e tyre.

So they can express everything from admiration and lust

Keshtu ata mund te shprehin cdo gje nga admirimi deri tek lakmia

to anxiety and angst.

ankthi dhe shqetesimi.

(Laughter)

( Te qeshura)

And some of these are actually meant

Dhe disa nga keto kane per qellim

to mediate experiences.

qe te ndermjetesojne mes eksperiencave.

So the Discommunicator is a tool for arguments.

Keshtu Jokomunikuesi eshte nje vegel per argumente.

(Laughter)

( Te qeshura )

And so actually it allows for an intense emotional exchange,

Dhe aktualisht pranon nje shkembim emocional te forte,

but is serves to absorb

dhe sherben per te absorbuar

the specificity of the words that are delivered.

specifikimin e fjaleve qe trasmetohen.

(Laughter)

( Te qeshura )

And in the end,

Dhe ne fund,

some of these things just act as invitations.

dhe disa nga keto gjera veprojne si ftesa.

So the Ear Bender literally puts something out there

Keshtu Veshi i lakuar nxjerr dicka jashte

so someone can grab your ear

ne menyre qe dikush te mund te kapi veshin tend

and say what they have to say.

dhe te thote ate qe ka per te thene.

So even though I'm really interested in the relationship

Edhe pse jam shume interesuar ne marrdhenien

between people,

midis njerezve,

I also consider the ways

une gjithashtu e konsideroj menyren

in which we relate to the world around us.

se si krijojme lidhje me boten rreth nesh.

And so when I was first living in New York City a few years back,

Dhe kur fillova te jetoja ne New York City para disa vitesh,

I was thinking a lot about

mendoja shume per

the familiar architectural forms that surrounded me

format arkitekturale qe me rrethonin

and how I would like to better relate to them.

dhe se si do doja te lidhesha me mire me ato.

And I thought, "Well, hey!

Dhe mendova, "Hej!

Maybe if I want to better relate to walls,

Ndoshta nese dua te lidhem me shume me muret,

maybe I need to be more wall-like myself."

ndoshta duhet te jem me shume sikurse muri."

So I made a wearable wall

Keshtu krijova nje mur veshes

that I could wear as a backpack.

qe do te mund ta vishja si cante prapa shpines.

And so I would put it on

Dhe keshtu kur e vishja

and sort of physically transform myself

dhe e disi e transformoja veten fizikisht

so that I could either contribute to or critique

ne menyre qe te mund te kontribuoja ose te kritikoja

the spaces that surrounded me.

hapesirat qe me rrethonin.

(Laughter)

( Te qeshura )

And so jumping off of that,

Dhe keshtu duke mos mendur me per kete,

thinking beyond the built environment into the natural world,

dhe duke menduar pertej nje ambienti ne nje bote sa me natyrale,

I have this ongoing project called Botanicalls --

kam nje projekt qe akoma vazhdom dhe quhet Botanicalls --

which actually enables houseplants

qe konkretisht mundeson lulet e shtepise

to tap into human communication protocols.

te adresojne protokollet e komunikimit njerezor.

So when a plant is thirsty,

Keshtu, kur nje lule e ka marre etja,

it can actually make a phone call

ajo mund te beje nje telefonate

or post a message to a service like Twitter.

ose te postoje nje mesazh tek Twitter.

And so this really shifts the human/plant dynamic,

Dhe keshtu kjo vertet zhvendos dinamizmin njerzor/bimor,

because a single house plant

sepse nje lule e vetme

can actually express its needs

mund te shprehi novojat e saj

to thousands of people at the same time.

tek mijera njerez ne te njejten kohe.

And so kind of thinking about scale,

Dhe duke menduar rreth balancit,

my most recent obsession

mania ime me e fundit

is actually with glaciers -- of course.

ishte me akullnajat -- natyrisht.

And so glaciers are these magnificent beings,

Akullnajat jane krijesa mahnitese,

and there's lots of reasons to be obsessed with them,

dhe ka shume arsye pse mund te jesh i obsesionuar pas tyre,

but what I'm particularly interested in

por une vecanerisht jam e interesuar

is in human-glacier relations.

ne marredheniet njeri-akullnaja.

(Laughter)

( Te qeshura )

Because there seems to be an issue.

Sepse duket sikur ka dicka.

The glaciers are actually leaving us.

Akullnajat jane duke na braktisur.

They're both shrinking and retreating --

Ato po zvoglohen dhe po terhiqen --

and some of them have disappeared altogether.

dhe disa prej tyre jane zhdukur.

And so I actually live in Canada now,

Keshtu une tani jetoj ne Kanada,

so I've been visiting one of my local glaciers.

dhe kam vizituar nje nga akullnajat lokale.

And this one's particularly interesting,

Dhe kjo ka dicka te vecante dhe interesante,

because, of all the glaciers in North America,

sepse, sepse nga te gjitha akullnajat ne Amriken Veriore,

it receives the highest volume of human traffic in a year.

ka me se shumti turiste brenda nje viti.

They actually have these buses that drive up and over the lateral moraine

Ka disa autobuse qe dergojne njerzit deri tek mbetjet anesore te akullnajave

and drop people off on the surface of the glacier.

dhe i zbresin ata ne siperfaqen e saj.

And this has really gotten me thinking

Dhe kjo me ka bere te mendoj

about this experience of the initial encounter.

rreth pervojes sime ne takimin e pare.

When I meet a glacier for the very first time,

Kur e takoj akullnajen per here te pare,

what do I do?

cfare te bej?

There's no kind of social protocol for this.

S'ka ndonje lloj protokolli social per kete.

I really just don't even know

Me te vertete nuk di

how to say hello.

si ta pershendes.

Do I carve a message in the snow?

Ta gdhend nje mesazh ne bore?

Or perhaps I can assemble one

Ose ndoshta mund ta mbledh

out of dot and dash ice cubes --

kube te akullit --

ice cube Morse code.

Kodi Mors i kubeve te akullit.

Or perhaps I need to make myself a speaking tool,

Ose ndoshta duhet t'i bej vetes nje mjet foles,

like an icy megaphone

si psh. nje megafon prej akulli

that I can use to amplify my voice

qe do te mund ta perdor per te amplifikuar zerin tim

when I direct it at the ice.

kur i drejtohem akullit.

But really the most satisfying experience I've had

Por eksperienca me e bukur qe kam pasur

is the act of listening,

eshte akti i degjimit,

which is what we need in any good relationship.

qe eshte cfare kemi nevoje ne nje marredhenie te mire.

And I was really struck by how much it affected me.

Dhe me mahniti se sa kjo ndikoi tek une.

This very basic shift in my physical orientation

Kjo zhvendosje bazike ne orientimin tim fizik

helped me shift my perspective

me ndihmoi te ndryshoja perspektiven time

in relation to the glacier.

ndaj akullnajes.

And so since we use devices

Dhe pasi ne perdorim pajisje

to figure out how to relate to the world these days,

per kuptuar se si te lidhemi me boten ne ditet e sotme,

I actually made a device called the Glacier Embracing Suit.

une ne fact kam krijuar nje pajisje qe quhet Kostumi per Akullnaja.

(Laughter)

( Te qeshura )

And so this is constructed out of a heat reflected material

Dhe ky perbehet nga material qe reflekton nxehtesi

that serves to mediate the difference in temperature

qe sherben te balancoje ndryshimin ne temperature

between the human body and the glacial ice.

ndermjet trupit tone dhe akullnajes.

And once again, it's this invitation

Edhe nje here, eshte kjo thirrje

that asks people to lay down on the glacier

qe u kerkon njerzve shtrihen ne akullnaje

and give it a hug.

dhe ta perqafojne.

So, yea, this is actually just the beginning.

Dhe keshtu, ky eshte vetem fillimi.

These are initial musings for this project.

Keto jane jane episodet e para per kete projekt.

And just as with the wall, how I wanted to be more wall-like,

Dhe sikurse me murin, sesi doja te behesha si ai,

with this project, I'd actually like to take more a of glacial pace.

me kete projekt, une do doja te merrja nje hap me tek me akullnajat.

And so my intent

Dhe qellimi im

is to actually just take the next 10 years

eshte qe te kaloj 10 vitet e ardhshme

and go on a series of collaborative projects

ne projekte te vazhdueshme bashkepunuese

where I work with people from different disciplines --

ku do te mund te punoj me njerez nga disiplina te ndryshme --

artists, technologists, scientists --

artiste, teknologe, shkencetare --

to kind of work on this project

te punojme ne kete projekt me menyre

of how we can improve human-glacier relations.

qe te kuptojme se si mund te permirsojme marredheniet akullnajo-njerzore.

So beyond that, in closing,

Dhe per fund,

I'd just like to say that we're in this era

do doja te thoja se ne jemi ne kete epoke

of communications and device proliferation,

te komunikimit dhe perhapjeje te madhe te pajisjeve,

and it's really tremendous and exciting and sexy,

dhe eshte aq e jashtezakonshme, interesante dhe seksi,

but I think what's really important

por cfare une mendoj se eshte e rendesishme

is thinking about how we can simultaneously

eshte te mendosh se si ne mund ne te njejten kohe

maintain a sense of wonder and a sense of criticality

te mbajme nje sens te te menduarit dhe te kritikes

about the tools that we use and the ways in which we relate to the world.

sa u perket pajisjeve qe perdorim menyrave se si lidhemi me boten.

Thanks.

Faleminderit.

(Applause)

( Duartrokitje )