Inspired by the birth of his son, he wants his technological artwork to connect to primal emotions
'I wanted to create those emotions — make things that would make people feel more in touch with themselves'
Alex Beim is the founder and creative director of Tangible Interaction. Tangible creates participatory "sensory installations" using technology to encourage play and exploration of human instincts.
Beim's work extensively uses technology but his goal is to evoke raw human emotions. In the video above Beim reflects on the impact of the birth of his first son. "It was such a real moment. It was so primal...In a way, it put me more in touch with those raw, internal feelings — what it means to be present for something."
This moment had a lasting effect on Beim and later impacted his work. "I didn't realize all this at the moment, but it kind of like, years later, going, 'Oh, actually that was really impactful for me.' And then I wanted to create those emotions. I wanted to make things that would make people feel more in touch with themselves and what they were feeling."
Art Minute is a CBC Arts series taking you inside the minds of Canadian artists to hear what makes them tick and the ideas behind their work.