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Smoke Screen

BarTalk made its debut at Rbar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, with a custom application called SmokeScreen. SmokeScreen was designed to create a social interface between smokers and non-smokers.  With the ban on smoking in bars in New York City, smokers are forced out onto the street to have a cigarette, separated from their non-smoking friends. SmokeScreen attempts to expand the social network of the bar beyond its walls to include smokers located outside of the establishment.  The installation consists of the use of two projection surfaces, one inside and one outside of the bar, which will display photo and text messages from the participants, thus facilitating an ongoing dialogue that is location-independent. 

These messages are sent via cell phone to a custom email address which is linked to a blog.  The blog's XML source is parsed and new messages are displayed via a Flash interface on the screens inside and outside of Rbar.  The blog also provides an online record of the posts, creating a permanent archive of the project and its use.

View archived messages from SmokeScreen at rbar.bartalk.org