EMS Painter: Co-creating Visual Art Using Electrical Muscle Stimulation

We present a work in progress, enabling an audience to influence a painter, through electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) to co-create visual art works. Two sets of EMS pads are positioned on the painter's arm such that stimulation pulses, triggered on a collocated tablet interface by audience members, cause deviation in the ongoing brushstroke. LEDs co-located with the EMS pads provide additional visual feedback to the audience of stimulation delivery. In an initial trial, rather than focusing on co-creation, the audience amused themselves by mischievously diverting the painter from his work.