Photo documentation of Architectures of Memory, installed October 21st, 2011 in Santa Cruz, Calif. Video documentation forthcoming.
Architectures of Memory happens tonight!
Sunset is expected at 6:30, and full darkness will probably be around 7pm.
The weather looks clear, our media is completed, all the details are in place, and we are excited!!
This video is from last Spring. To develop the content of the videos, we have been interviewing people about the visual and emotional aspects of their memories. We had a few different methods for this. First was our survey that was sent out. Next we set up times to interview people in person and record their memories as they spoke. And lastly, we went to the site and set up a projection that had a fade between an image of the site and the mock-up, and a message “Memories wanted. Please talk to us.” There were not too many passersby the night we did this, but we did get a few memories collected from strangers.
I found that out of the methods we used, the survey resulted in more articulate wording that could be used for the text channel, but the in person interviews allowed us to follow up with additional questions to really get accurate and full descriptions of the how the memories looked. In the future some sort of combination would be best.
One week to go! Architectures of Memory will take place at Mitchell’s Cove, Santa Cruz CA, on October 21st, from sunset (most likely around 7pm) to 9pm.
“Architectures of Memory” (working title) will be a site-specific, multichannel video and audio installation situated within the ocean inlet at West Cliff Drive and Sunset Avenue in Santa Cruz, California. Through personal recollections and the dynamic cohesion of video projection design, this public artwork will explore the many complexities and poetics of the construction of memory and its erosion within the human brain. This particular outdoor site offers a wealth of exciting opportunities for this work, with its combination of man-made structures and the natural erosion of the cliffs and surrounding area that has occurred over time. These very elements join to create a natural theater of sorts, a space beckoning for activation, exploration, and experience. At night, the site takes on a heightened sense of mystery and magic, with the sounds of the ocean amplified through the darkness, and the outlines of the ocean tide and outlying cliffs just visible to the eye. Our installation would be a series of poetic moving images, text, and audio that literally and metaphorically light up the space with stories of memory, loss, and recovery. Content will be created from interviews with individuals about personal memory, its emotional correlations, and sensory characteristics. The ultimate goal of this piece is to create a public artwork that is dynamic and sensory, and that provides the viewer with a space for individual contemplation and collective experience.
@1 year agoWe will be using Isadora created by Troika Tronix for this installation. This software allows us to utilize a central computer to map the images onto the irregular surfaces of the site through two high resolution projectors. Other developments in this field have emerged through software like Video Projection Tools (in beta mode last I checked) and MadMapper. MadMapper is compatible with numerous programming software, including Isadora, Max/MSP/Jitter, Processing, Open Frameworks, etc. Izz is doing the trick for now.
@7 months agoA link to the Facebook event page. We will be able to keep you up to date about the weather conditions for that day via this page.
A few shots from this evening’s projection test with 5k & 6k Sanyo projectors. The text is being projected onto the waves, and it was quite beautiful when the tide rolled through the light. We seriously love these projectors, and they will be the ones we use for the installation (most likely three total). We have also decided to use Isadora software for the main channel/projector.
We did a second test with the projector tonight, this time using a deep cycle marine battery. It worked, and we can be more mobile this way. When we were at the site we started shining the projector around and realized there were two majestic trees framing our entrance that were just asking to be illuminated with projection. We are imagining something as lovely as this scene from “Tropical Malady”, with memories dissipating into the sky.
