shoreline equivalent at the UCLA New Wight Gallery / D|MA MFA exhibition / May 14-28, 2009 / los angeles, CA
light, space and 2 viewers, 17’8” w x 18’9” d x 10’ h

quicktime video

shoreline equivalent is a dynamic interactive 4d+ audio-visual equivalent for the emergent nature of sand patterns at the beach. the goal of the work is to create an immersive space that allows viewers to explore their direct/indirect and immediate/delayed influences on natural systems.

the software-based system renders its visuals according to sketches of the ocean and sand, the physical geometry of the gallery, and viewer movement (through motion tracking). in the installation, patterns emerge based on the feedback between the projected visuals and the user. the social space of the gallery allows viewers to explore both their own relationship with the system, and the interactions of others.

Mapping the Space...
In order to make the installation more immersive, the projected visuals were seemlessly mapped to the geometry of the space. This allowed the virtual waves produced by the software-based system to interact with the architecture in addition to the viewers.

  

processing was used to develop the program, and the software utilized the msafluid library by msa visuals ltd (http://memo.tv/msafluid_for_processing) and opencv library for computer vision by atelier hypermedia (http://ubaa.net/shared/processing/opencv/). hardware included a computer, projector, an infrared led light, and an ir camera.

committee members
Victoria Vesna, UCLA (Chair) / Willem Henri Lucas, UCLA / Thom Mayne, UCLA+Morphosis / Joanne Heyler, Broad Art Foundation / davidkremers, Caltech

sponsors
The John Neuhart Scholarship and Avi Engel
IASPIS - International Artists Studio Program in Sweden

thanks to
Jennifer Steinkamp, UCLA / Chandler McWilliams, UCLA / Mark Hansen, UCLA / Ben Toam and Hugo Martinez, Morphosis Architects / Martin Avila + Ramia Maze, Konstfack and Interactive Institute, Stockholm / Steven Schkolne / Trudy van Riemsdijk-Zandee / Family and Friends and especially to my wife, Molly