Dream of the Techno-Shaman is my attempt to highlight and explore many of the similarities between tribal and computer art, as well as their associated cultural impact, in the form of an immersive multimedia installation. Its large scale and heavy use of both physical and virtual components necessitated a wide range of traditional and digital production processes. Ultimately, this installation successfully exploits the unique potential of computer technology to reengage with tribal processes through interactive and immersive multimedia art.
Dream of the Techno-Shaman was created in partial fulfillment of the degree requirements for my Master of Fine Arts degree in Integrated Visual Arts. It was completed and exhibited at the Design Center's Gallery 181, on the Iowa State University campus in Ames, IA, during July of 2008. The associated written thesis (pdf) details my creation process in its entirety, from initial inspiration to final exhibition.
BabySitter is an interactive video installation that discusses childrearing in an age of total media and surveillance saturation. A virtual infant appears, reflected in a television screen. As he watches, he incorporates elements of the human faces he sees into his own, changing it over time. An attached webcam allows the installation's viewers to supersede the TV's influence on the child, raising him in their own image. BabySitter was created using a custom real-time image processing and compositing program built in C++, using Intel's Open Computer Vision Library (OpenCV).
Subconscious Debate is an audio video installation focused on the differing political perspectives that often remain unspoken between those of different generations. One of these debates is made visual by measuring the brainwaves of two people watching a political campaign advertisement. Custom software was used to analyze the EEG data to reveal the associated emotional response and apply color shifts to the political ad accordingly. By viewing the two resulting videos side by side, color acts out the subconscious debate.
Insomniac's Pulse is a video self-portrait as well as an experiment in the use of hidden stereoscopic imagery. Amongst the video noise of the late night television stream is a hidden 3D animation in the form of an animated autostereogram (detail).
Nothing to See Here is an audio video installation focused on the strange brand of patriotism that arose after the September 11th terrorist attacks. The video stream depicts a generic news broadcast that loops continuously on an American flag, formed from a brick wall and a handicapped parking sign. The accompanying stereo audio whispers erroneous Bush administration statements into one ear and corresponding discrediting statements into the other.