PopUp is an interactive video that uses a webcam as both a source and sensor. The camera feed is processed live and abstracted into the imagery, serving as a motion sensor returning input that reorganizes the composition as viewers move in front of the piece. Video clips are randomly shuffled and re-edited, shapes with videos pop up, and the sound is remixed. The effect is one where image and sound are altered and recomposed by the virtue of one’s presence and the act of viewing.

This work investigates the culture of sexuality and eroticism online. A library containing more than 75 screen-captured videos of models (varying in race, gender, and age) belonging to an online sex video chat room are used to create an interactive abstract video collage. The videos were captured while these models solicited tips from online members, when a certain monetary goal is reached they would then enter a private video chat space, like a modern peep-show, and perform sexual requests for paying members. In creating this piece, I was interested in both the voyeuristic and performative nature of these sites as users communicate virtually through the use of webcams in pop-up browsers. Aesthetically it was my intention to reference the Pop Art movement of the 50’s and 60’s by employing the use of bold saturated colors and Ben-Day dots, using the source videos as found objects, artifacts of the online sex culture. Furthermore, by incorporating the live video feed into the work, the viewer becomes implicated as taking part in this culture and assumes the roles of voyeur and performer.

*All models appearing on the site and in my work are 18 years old or older according to the statements and policies of the site.