The Party Button @ Curiocity Exhibition, Brisbane / 2021

A collaborative artwork by Steph Piper, Joseph Burgess, Metal Art Madness and Kobe Ouano and Larry Banks.

Come party with the ‘The Party Button’, an interactive artwork inspired by crosswalk traffic interfaces, made up of a ‘walking man’ and ‘stop man’ traffic lights and a traffic light button.

Have you pressed the button yet? Use hashtag #partybutton

When the button is pressed, the standard crosswalk ‘slow beep/fast beep’ combo is played, transitioning into one of twenty party tracks. The lights switch on, showing the traffic light characters dancing in a rainbow of LED colours.  Two Party Buttons will be on display at both sides of the Goodwill Bridge, at QUT Gardens Point and Southbank during the Curiocity Exhibition in Brisbane between 12 – 28 March. 

This project had humble beginnings with a real ‘walking man’ style traffic light, mounted on a PVC pipe on a swivel chair base. You can read more on the start of this project in DIYODE Magazine here.

Vision

The Party Button’ project is an interactive artwork, designed to surprise and delight the public through subverting expectations. Inspired by crosswalk traffic interfaces, it is made up of a ‘walking man’ and ‘stop man’ traffic lights and a traffic light button.

The Build

The original project you can read about here is built on the open source Arduino platform, and the larger version is no different. There will be a more detailed write-up coming soon, but this project used the Adafruit Matrix Portal Board, Arduino and a WAV Trigger board.

As well as the electronics, there was also 3D modelling in Autodesk Fusion 360’s sheet metal interface to create the chassis. The final metalworking was created by the talented team at Metal Art Madness. I am still blown away by the quality craftmanship in this final product.

The first render:

The final render:

And finally, the project in welded, polished stainless steel.

The final chassis stands 2 meters tall, and weighs just under half a tonne at 450 kg for stability.

The project comes to life with the wonderful animations by Kobe Ouano. The characters look around, idle until the button is pressed. On button press, the characters dance, switch places or enjoy a rain of confetti. Thanks to Larry Banks for his work on writing code to make the LED Matrix change animation on a button press. His expertise with the myriad of libraries needed to make screens work was key in seeing this project come together.

Collaborators

Project Lead – Steph Piper

Steph Piper is a maker with expertise in 3D printing, electronics and digital fabrication. She is the Community Engagement Coordinator at the University of Southern Queensland, looking after the library Makerspace. She is also co-founder of Elkei Education, introducing electronics skills and positive role models to young girls. With a background in biofabrication, Steph also teaches classes in 3D printing, Arduino and Hardware development.  For more information, see www.piper3dp.com

Sound Design – Joseph Burgess

Joseph Burgess is an interdisciplinary artist hailing from Portland, Oregon, in the United States. Joseph has worked internationally as an artist and creative technology consultant since 2012. His work ranges from sound design to animation and interactive media. Past projects have been featured at Vivid Sydney, Melbourne Museum and the Australia Synchrotron. Joseph is a director at Brisbane’s newest creative warehouse, KEPK space.

Metal Working – Metal Art Madness

Michael and Belinda from Metal Art Madness can create all kinds of metal artwork. Using digital fabrication techniques, they can create signage, sculptures and detailed models in the local Darling Downs area. Check out their Facebook page here.

Animation – Kobe Ouano

Kobe Ouano, or PsyOnyx is a freelance artist pixel artist and animator based on the Philippines. He has worked with music artists, game developers, and businesses in providing them with pixel animations that showcase their vision and ideas. Check out his Instagram, Artstation and Tumblr, and contact at [email protected]

LED Matrix Code – The Performance Whisperer

Larry Bank is a software optimization specialist. He comes up with creative ways of speeding things up by always assuming that “There must be a better way” to accomplish the task. He especially likes the challenges presented by mobile/embedded systems. You can read more about his work on his blog: http://bitbanksoftware.blogspot.com

FAQ

Does the party button have a hidden camera inside?

No, there are no reaction cameras or live feeds. Not sure I’d get any work done if I could watch people react to the party button all day!

Will the party button travel after Curiocity Festival?

Yes, I’m hoping to have it pop up in other locations soon. Stay tuned!

Is the music mixed into a full track?

No, they were made as is, just for this project. They will be available online through Joseph’s Soundcloud soon.

Where is this exactly located in Southbank, Brisbane, Australia?

You can find one of these on either end of the Goodwill Bridge, at Southbank and at QUT Gardens Point.

I saw this on TikTok!

Big thanks to @emmanuelmakras for his great party button videos here, love it.

Want to host the Party Button?
Contact Steph Piper for any project specific questions at [email protected].