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Human movement has historically been approached as a functional component of interaction within HCI. This design approach reflects the task-oriented focus of early HCI research, which was preoccupied with ergonomics and efficiency. Yet movement is not solely functional, it is also highly experiential. As embodied organisms, movement is our primary means of accessing the world outside ourselves. It is the first language we learn and is integral to the formation of our cognitive and linguistic abilities, and is responsible for our “being in the world”. While human movement is ubiquitously present in all forms of technology interaction, movement expertise is often absent in the design of technology. In our work, we explore how movement expertise, as articulated in somatic techniques such as Laban Movement Analysis (LMA), can shape an interdisciplinary inquiry leading to the design and application of more richly articulated human movement knowledge within digital art and technology interaction.

In this seminar, we will present our ongoing research, illustrate it through three art works, Bodymaps, whisper[s], and soft(n), and summarize the emerging perspectives of the MovingStories research project (http://movingstories.ca/).