In this article, the author discusses the inspiration, concept, and technology behind her sound performance work using eye movements in relationship to current research on human eye movement. She also compares the playing of the eye-tracking instrument to research on musical improvisation using unconventional musical instruments and “active music.”

The author uses geometrically definable shapes for mobile members in such a way that equations can be written for moment balance to yield analytical solutions for determining the suspension points of the members. This avoids the need for trial-and-error construction. Geometrically definable shapes also make it possible to use jigsaw layout of mobile members to minimize waste of materials. The author finds that these two “constraints” add an intellectual dimension to mobile-making.

The overuse of visual imagery and the redundancy of information in traditional and new communication media have desensitized our society, resulting in an emotional bankruptcy. The World Wide Web communication medium, with its highly visual interface and virtual environments, perpetuates and aggravates this situation. The “new designers” of the twenty-first century must partner with technology experts, content specialists and common users to reinvigorate imagination and rekindle emotions.