Joan Raspo (DANM '15) created a life-size Magic 8 Ball installation piece called ASK.ME, completed in April 2016, that is currently on display at Wonderworks's Myrtle Beach, South Carolina location. Wonderworks is an indoor amusement and science park that features interactive themed exhibits created by artists. Most recently, Raspo's work was accepted into the 2017 Bay Area Maker Faire and will be on display from Friday, May 19th to Sunday, May 21st as part of the exhibition of work at the San Mateo Event Center.
ASK.ME is an interactive installation housing a touch activated perceptual hologram that senses a viewer’s presence and produces an answer that hovers inside an inverted plexiglass pyramid. The illusion is refracted upon the mirrors lining the inside of a large geodesic dome— creating a multiplicity of imagery.
When the viewer enters the dome, the hologram will activate with the greeting, “ASK.ME™.” Visitors will be instructed to ask the “8 Ball” questions—resulting in three-dimensional holographic “answers.” The holographic “answers” reflect the lexicon of current slang— particularly words, acronyms, and symbols that have evolved through social media and the web. The holograms will reflect off the mirrors lining the dome—creating uncanny illusions. Light and space will skew to divulge a deeper strangeness. This unique take on holograms, fortune telling and divine spaces addresses our human need to foresee the future.