I do not personally know Zack.  I only met him briefly at his display at Siggraph 2002. Even though I can offer little insight to the inner workings of what is obviously a complex mass of gray matter and circuitry that apparently never sleeps, I can definitely offer awe inspired praise to his work.

My usual week at Siggraph is about three weeks too short and three nights too long. I rarely have a free day to go and see the art gallery, but this year I managed to find a few hours to squeeze it in on Monday before the exhibition started.  I was wandering around aimlessly, allowing the saturated colors and hum of electricity wash over me like a cubed day at an incandescent beach. I had just emerged from the laundry room display and could still smell the fresh grass and hear the wind in the trees.  I was feeling peaceful, and more than receptive to the magic I was about to stumble across.  A crowd had gathered in a doorway, and I squeezed in to see why.

On the wall there was a projected waterfall made from what appeared to be colored glass beads falling over the shadows cast from those standing before me. One girl raised her arms and caught the projection of falling beads in the shadow of her hands.  She stepped in further, and the beads fell on the shadow of her head, spilled over her shoulders, and sprayed the shadow of the person standing next to her.  They began to use their cast shadows to hand off the beads in an ongoing spray, with virtual gravity causing the beads to spill from her hands to her partners, and off the bottom of the screen.  Not only was the display enthralling to watch, but I was struck by how quickly two total strangers had found cooperation in their play, and how many more wanted to join in.  Their focus was never dependant on looking at each other; instead their cooperation depended on the shapes and the shadows they projected on the walls. In moments, they had filled a basin of interlocked shadow-arms between them.  Then, it was gone, and was replaced instead by a wall of fluttering butterflies.  Where the virtual weight and rambunctious fall of beads had been, there was now a fragile and timid flock of colored wings.  The crowd grew still as the butterflies began to alight on shadow heads and shoulders, and they quickly learned that they would be rewarded for their patience.  Again, a community began, and positions were taken to best care for the colors on the wall.

It was not only the display that impressed me, but how people reacted to it.  It was a great study in community interaction, and the care that people took to manage it was very encouraging.  People seemed to be mesmerized by the display in the same way aquariums are said to offer meditative therapy, but instead of wandering in their own thoughts, they worked together to heighten the experience. Since only their shadows were required to create an effect, no inherited paranoia of personal space was violated.  The display allowed for group interaction without ever having to actually join hands, and so encouraged them to reach out while still respecting a stranger's space. I can see great opportunities beyond play for technology such as this. There could be therapeutic rewards as well.
 

  Give a brief overview of what you do:

I make interactive installation artwork.

  How long have you worked in the field?

I've worked in software since 1987.  Games since 1991.  Interactive artwork since 1999.

  What have been your projects to date?

I was the Director of Technology for Origin.  I worked on the Ultima series and a lot of other games.  I started a small game company, Titanic, and we created one game: Netstorm.  My artwork includes about 8 interactive installations including: Butterfly, Sand, Swarm, Flashlight Garden.  So far, they all use projectors and cameras.

I found your interactive display to have nearly magical qualities, and left there filled with a feeling of peacefulness.  Do you see your displays as therapeutic?  Entertaining?  Passive, quiet entertainment or fully engaging?

I want to show that interactivity, i.e. games, can be non-violent, peaceful, natural, and yet still FUN.  My first goal is that the piece must be fully engaging and fun.  I try to accomplish the following in all my works:

1) The participant must understand quickly that they have a role in the piece and how they affect it (although hopefully there is enough subtly in the piece that its details are learned over a few minutes).
2) The piece must be fun.  I want people to smile.
3) If the piece teaches something or makes a point, well, that's a nice bonus.

  Do you see any future for such displays to be available to individuals as art for the home?  Or do you see a grander scale where it becomes more of a group participation?

The major constraint is that digital projectors will continue to be prohibitively expensive for a few years, at least.

To learn more about Zack, go to http://www.mine-control.com/zack

To learn more about Mine-Control, go to http://www.mine-control.com

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