FutureEverything

The Project

"Art is a tool of empowerment and social change, and I consider myself blessed to be able to create and use my work to promote health reform, bring awareness about ALS and help others." - Tony Quan

The EyeWriter project is an ongoing collaborative research effort to empower people who are suffering from ALS, and other degenerative neuromuscular diseases, with creative technologies. The EyeWriter itself is a pair of low-cost eye- tracking glasses & custom software that allow artists and graffiti writers with paralysis resulting from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis to draw using only their eyes.

The EyeWriter was inspired by Tony Quan, aka Tempt1, a legendary LA graffiti writer, social activist and publisher, who was diagnosed with ALS in 2003. A team of 5 internationally renowned artists collaborated with Tony and a LA-based commercial production company, the Ebeling Group, to create DIY technology that would allow Tempt1 to again create graffiti.

In August, 2009, TEMPT ONE was able to make artwork in the streets of LA for the first time in seven years. Tony made a number of drawings in his hospital bed in Alhambra, California,using the EyeWriter, and transmitted them over the internet to a team of artists in downtown Los Angeles, who projected his artwork, in real-time, onto a 10-story building beside theSanta Monica Freeway. TEMPT was back.

In January 2010, members of the development team travelled to India to collaborate with engineers from IIT Bombay to create the MumbaiWriter: a variation of the original EyeWriter made from parts obtained locally in Mumbai. These MumbaiWriters are being donated to ALS patient and neuromuscular disease support groups in India.

Biography

The EyeWriter development team consists of 6 award-winning international artists from the Graffiti Research Lab, The FAT Lab and openFrameworks, and a commercial production company based in Los Angeles and New York. Collectively, the team has exhibited their art and design work all over the world, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Tate Modern, The Guggenheim Museum and the Sundance and Cannes Film Festivals and received numerous awards and honors including 2 Awards of Distinction from Ars Electronica, a Clio and a 10-day sentence in Chinese prison. In 2008, a collaboration between three members of the development team was accepted into the permanent collection of the MoMA. The teams diverse range of projects include a laser-based graffiti system, the titles for the most recent 007 film, the openFrameworks creative coding libraries, a music video for Jay-Z and interactive installations for children. In January 2010, the EyeWriter project was nominated for the Design of the Year by the Design Museum, London.