[Nettime-nl] Rafael Lozano Hemmer: Body Movies

["geert lovink" <geert@xs4all.nl>]

From: "Rafael Lozano-Hemmer" <rafael@csi.com>

> (( hi, here is the press release for my latest piece, taking place in 
> Rotterdam, cultural capital of europe. the opening is on the 31st of 
> august and will be in the building of the film festival, which has a 
> nice view of the plaza, --we will offer opaque music and cocktails. i 
> will be in holland until the 3rd of september. Gracias and hugs, 
> --rafael ))
> 
> 
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, 14 July 2001.
> 
> GIANT SHADOW PLAY WILL TRANSFORM PUBLIC SQUARE IN ROTTERDAM, CULTURAL 
> CAPITAL OF EUROPE 2001. PASSERS-BY WILL BE ABLE TO INTERACT WITH 
> 1,200 SQUARE METRES OF PROJECTIONS.
> 
> "Body Movies, Relational Architecture No. 6"
> Installation in public space by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer.
> Produced by V2_Organisatie, a part of Las Palmas International Centre 
> for Art, Image and Media Technology.
> 
> DATES: Friday 31 August to Sunday 23 September 2001
> OPENING: Friday 21 August, at dusk
> PLACE: Schouwburgplein square in the centre of Rotterdam, The Netherlands
> OPENING HOURS: every night from dusk until midnight
> ENTRANCE: free
> 
> Body Movies will be the sixth in the series of installations in 
> public space that Rafael Lozano-Hemmer (CDN/MEX) has designed for 
> cities in Europe and America. These interactive interventions in 
> Madrid, Linz, Graz, Mexico City and Havana have been exploring the 
> intersection between new technologies, urban space, active 
> participation and "alien memory".
> 
> As part of its 2001 program "Grounding", V2_Organisation presents 
> Body Movies, in collaboration with Las Palmas International Centre 
> for Art, Image and Media Technology. From the 31st of August until 
> the 23rd of September the Schouwburgplein square will be transformed 
> by the projection of huge interactive portraits on the facade of the 
> Pathe Cinema building. Thousands of portraits taken on the streets of 
> Rotterdam, Madrid, Mexico and Montreal will be shown, using 
> robotically controlled projectors located around the square. However, 
> the portraits will only appear inside the projected shadows of local 
> passers-by, whose silhouettes will measure between 2 to 22 metres 
> high, depending on how far people are from the powerful light sources 
> placed on the floor of the square.
> 
> When the Schouwburgplein is empty the portraits cannot be seen, since 
> the light sources on the floor completely wash them off with strong 
> white light. As soon as people walk on the square, their shadows are 
> projected and the portraits are revealed within them. A camera-based 
> tracking system will monitor the location of the shadows in real 
> time, and when the shadows match all the portraits in a given scene, 
> the control computer will issue an automatic command to change the 
> scene to the next set of portraits. This way the people on the square 
> will be invited to embody different representational narratives. Up 
> to 80 people can take part at any given time, controlling 1,200 
> square metres of projections and creating a collective experience 
> that nonetheless allows discreet individual participation.
> 
> The shadow interface is a direct reference to Samuel van 
> Hoogstraten's engraving "The Shadow Dance", made in Rotterdam in 
> 1675, which shows the shadows of actors taking on demonic or angelic 
> characteristics depending on their size. Simulation techniques 
> deployed by Dutch masters, like Trompe l'Oeil, anamorphosis and 
> shadow plays, constitute the starting point for a piece interested in 
> investigating the crisis of urban self-representation. Body Movies 
> will transform the building of a cinema to study the distance between 
> people and re-presentation in public space.
> 
> Production in Rotterdam: V2_Organisation, part of Las Palmas 
> International Centre for Art, Image and Media Technology, in 
> co-operation with the Production house of the City Theatre Rotterdam.
> Co-financed by: Rotterdam 2001 Cultural Capital of Europe, The Canada 
> Council for the Arts, the Canadian Embassy, Centre Visual Arts 
> Rotterdam.
> Sponsors: BvH Communicatie-adviesbureau b.v., ETC Audiovisuel, APR inc
> Special thanks to: Pathe Cinema Rotterdam, September in Rotterdam
> (Rotterdam Festivals), Zapnation.
> 
> Project page
> http://www.v2.nl/Projects/2001/lozano.html
> 
> Rafael's site
> http://www.lozano-hemmer.com
> 
> For images, interviews and information:
> V2_Organisatie
> Marije Stijkel
> Eendrachtsstraat 10
> 3012 XL Rotterdam
> +31 (0)10 206 72 72
> marije@v2.nl




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