An art project involving interaction with technology is expected to find its way to the Krannert Art Museum on Jan. 20. The project is a response to the work of two Russian artists, Emilia and Ilya Kabakov.

“Project 66,” a response to the artists’ “Palace of Projects,” is the product of an experimental course taught last summer by Jonathan Fineberg and Kevin Hamilton, professors in FAA and Roy Campbell, professor in Engineering.

Students in the course reflected a diversity of fields – six computer science students, a graduate in finance and various art students were among the participants. The students were the real leaders of the project, Hamilton said.

“There was a core group of students that didn’t sleep for nights,” he said.

The Kabakovs create “installations,” which bring viewers into completely self-contained rooms. The rooms are often enhanced by narrative text and drawings.

Piotr Adamczyk, graduate student, said the actual Palace of Projects exhibition is like an industrial warehouse with 65 different rooms. Each room presents participants with conceptual exercises and interactive projects. For example, in one room, instructions to build wings are given with a set of materials. Participants are supposed to experience a specific mental state as they progress through the different tasks.

Campbell said the idea of utopia pervades “Palace of Projects” and because the work is described as a “project,” it is a perfect fit for the course. The response is essentially implemented using computer technology instead of physical structures; it is based entirely on interaction with a virtual world.

“Project 66” will be displayed on an interactive “portable kiosk,” as Hamilton described it. Adamczyk said the installation would consist of 20-inch monitors on the outside, which will present the parts of the response to draw in audiences. Viewers can then enter the installation and interact with a monitor built into a table, the way they would interact in an actual Kabakov setting.

The class and the response stem from the cultural computing program that was head by Campbell and associate professor of music Guy Garnett. The program works to spark collaborations among students in computer science, the arts and humanities. Campbell said the experimental class this summer enabled those beneficial collaborations.

“By taking people from different disciplines, they must imagine how to interact with each other and execute the project,” Campbell said. “It’s a community-building enterprise; it teaches collaboration among different ways of thinking and different cultures.”

Hamilton said computer scientists are similar to artists because they both frame the way in which the world looks at something, even though their perspectives may differ.

“We’re trying to understand each other,” Hamilton said.

For computer scientists, the project can be seen as a lesson in easing users’ experiences with programs and a concrete example of how computer science interacts with other fields.

“Students find parallels between engineering computer systems and building an art installation, there’s all sorts of hidden meanings and values,” Campbell said.

Campbell said a lack of focus on design can be detrimental and computer scientists, universally, should be mindful of this factor. He said just because something functions, doesn’t mean people will use it.

“We don’t want to be an isolated science,” he said. “We want, and need, to solve problems in a way people can understand.”

Adamczyk said an initial concern he had was how people would react to the projects. The location, he said, must attract people who are predisposed to be interested in this type of art.

However, Campbell said the project is not about popularity.

“We have to get back to our public by making things more meaningful,” Campbell said. “If we do more of these types of things, students will see why it is so relevant; it’s one shot in a large campaign.”

Hamilton agrees and believes computer science is crossing over, more and more, into art and design, as user experience becomes a focal point in software development.

“There are plenty of programs that do what they promised to do, but what about programs that can facilitate different kinds of learning?” Hamilton asked.

hopes the project will show up in other museums in the future. An opening reception from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. will begin the installation.