Just Noticeable Difference (JND)

In collaboration with Marije Baalman, Harry Smoak, Vincent de Belleval, Justine Chibuk, Thomas Spier, Duncan Swain and Brett Bergmann In Just Noticeable Difference (JND), Chris Salter ratchets down the level of sensory information to the threshold of the perceptible. On entering the installation the visitor is immersed in an environment of near-total darkness, insulated against external sound and vibration. Sparked by an array of sophisticated built-in sensors and devices that emit micro-levels of tactile, auditory, and visual feedback, the slightest motions cause this environment to respond, though so subtly as to test the limits of both perception and interpretation. The result is a revelatory aesthetic experience in which noise shifts towards order, sensation becomes sense, and the apparent randomness of threshold sensory impressions gives way to a new understanding of meaning in the relationship among body, self, and external world. On Thursday, March 4 at 7 PM in the Theater, Chris Salter and Rensselaer faculty Michael Century, Mark Changizi, and Ted Krueger with other experts will all take part in a panel discussion on topics including thresholds of perception, multi-modal perception, and the use of research in art practice.