The Synergy Project
this project is interactive, the viewer chooses images and sounds
The Synergy Project An Exploration of Narrative Structures
"The Synergy Project" was at the Rockefeller Gallery at SUNY Fredonia September-October ,2008. It was shown at SPACES gallery in Cleveland, Ohio from April 18-early July 2008, as part of the 30th Anniversary of SPACES gallery.
This piece focuses on the immersive experience of the visitor. The images are projected on a 27’ panoramic scrim that nearly surrounds the viewer. They are lush, textured, quirky, and suggestive of ideas in the realm of nature/ technology, culture/ politics, magic realism and ritual. I offer these images, and sounds that compliment them (with composer Brian Harnetty) in order to provide the visitor with a palette on which to explore their own preferences/tendencies with regard to these subjects.
I am interested in the changing meaning of narratives through their context and structure. Variations on narrative structure in the written and filmic world are broad and can include poetic rearrangements of time, parallel storylines, flashbacks, simultaneous fact and fiction threads, etc. Technological progress has also effected these variations, with options such as random access to data (enabling plot-lines to shift in computer-assisted games and projects) and immediate access to global information. In addition, questions of authorship, originality, the intent of the writer and the point of view of the reader/ watcher are all important aspects of interpreting narratives. The Synergy Project allows the viewer/participant to affect some of these parameters.
The concept of synergy in this project refers to the way that meaning can change through varied juxtaposition of elements. For instance, when one visual phrase is seen in the context of another visual phrase, the meanings of both can be radically altered. The same is true of sound/music phrases and text either spoken or written.
Response to this project has been very positive. Many people become mesmerized by the possibilities and lose track of time playing with the collection of 60 video clips and 24 sound clips. The possibility of changing the speed, stopping or reversing images and changing the volume on the three separate audio channels means that the viewer is actually “composing” or “editing” a piece of their own. As they leave, their last selection is left for the next person to respond to, therefore leaving a train of influence as part of the process.
This piece focuses on the immersive experience of the visitor. The images are projected on a 27’ panoramic scrim that nearly surrounds the viewer. They are lush, textured, quirky, and suggestive of ideas in the realm of nature/ technology, culture/ politics, magic realism and ritual. I offer these images, and sounds that compliment them (with composer Brian Harnetty) in order to provide the visitor with a palette on which to explore their own preferences/tendencies with regard to these subjects.
I am interested in the changing meaning of narratives through their context and structure. Variations on narrative structure in the written and filmic world are broad and can include poetic rearrangements of time, parallel storylines, flashbacks, simultaneous fact and fiction threads, etc. Technological progress has also effected these variations, with options such as random access to data (enabling plot-lines to shift in computer-assisted games and projects) and immediate access to global information. In addition, questions of authorship, originality, the intent of the writer and the point of view of the reader/ watcher are all important aspects of interpreting narratives. The Synergy Project allows the viewer/participant to affect some of these parameters.
The concept of synergy in this project refers to the way that meaning can change through varied juxtaposition of elements. For instance, when one visual phrase is seen in the context of another visual phrase, the meanings of both can be radically altered. The same is true of sound/music phrases and text either spoken or written.
Response to this project has been very positive. Many people become mesmerized by the possibilities and lose track of time playing with the collection of 60 video clips and 24 sound clips. The possibility of changing the speed, stopping or reversing images and changing the volume on the three separate audio channels means that the viewer is actually “composing” or “editing” a piece of their own. As they leave, their last selection is left for the next person to respond to, therefore leaving a train of influence as part of the process.
the conductor's stand
close up of visitor selecting elements
