Another late night post 🙂
Last weekend was the Panorama music festival where I was able to see people hang out and enjoy the installation I worked with Kate Raudenbush, a Burning Man sculpture artist, for the LAB, a collection of five interactive tech-art experiences at the festival.
The installation, As Above So Below is “A transformative gathering space inspired by the fractal geometry of Sierpinski icosahedrons. It welcomes all to contemplate the humbling potential of our existence that occupies the here and now, within the infinitely large and infinitely small worlds that lie beyond our awareness. It asks us to consider how each of our actions or non-actions might affect the larger world in positive ways.” – Kate Raudenbush
Specifically, I worked on creating the audio reactive led floors in the sierpinski inspired pyramid for Kate. The goal of the installation was to create something that people could hang out on and relax. Some of the requirements I had set for myself in designing the led floors for a structure meant for people hang out on: was to create visuals that needed to be interesting enough to stare at while on the platform and also act as an underlight for the pyramid from afar. I knew that people would be taking selfies, since it seems like the only thing people ever do at a music festival now… So, making sure the led floors lighting the interior of the pyramid up was bright enough for photos was also an important consideration in designing the visuals as well. As for aesthetic, the led floors represented the second half of the installation’s name “So Below”. Looking down at the floors should feel like looking through a hole in the floor into the void. And to stick to the aesthetic of the structure, it should feature triangles and fractal shapes. Here’s some pictures of it:
The experience seeing people enjoy something you’ve worked night and day for months turns this heavy production induced anxiety and stress into this feeling of joy. After being in production for a while, it tends to be hard to pull back and look at the entirety objectively. As we gear up to present CAVE at Siggraph, I’m anxious and excited to ‘teleport’ thousands of people to experience this little virtual ‘cave’ I’ve spent the last few months in.
After the first night with the pyramid, I spent some time with Kate hanging out in the installation after hours. We were chatting about why we make art. There were two particular emotions that drove us — the experience of working with a team to create something together and seeing the art being enjoyed by others.
Happy Festival People
After hours at the festival with Kate