Mariko Mori's 'Wave UFO'
Jun. 1st, 2003 02:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
avadA friend wrote to me:
"I wanted to tell you...
There is a new sculpture uptown that may interest you the next time you venture into the city... James went to midtown & checked it out / reported back...said he had to wait only 10 minutes on a Thursday afternoon on line but thinks it would be hectic on a weekend...
It is a spaceship/UFO where you go inside & they (futristic nurses) connect electrodes to your head... then they show how you connect with people EVERYWHERE & it starts showing your brainwaves, light impulses, sounds etc in combination/stimulation/reaction to the 3 other folks in the room hooked up w/ electrodes. Its about 7 -8minutes long...... her idea is about how people everywhere are connected or something...;)"
GAAA!?!
SO of course I had to go see. B and I went in on Wednesday..
Wave UFO
Mariko Mori's Wave UFO
MID created intricately layered computer animation for Mariko Mori's Wave UFO project. Conceived by the artist as a representation of "virtual travel to the infinitely connected world and further, into the inner world of the mind," the completed installation will consist of a 30-by-9 foot pearlescent, teardrop-shaped pod in which three visitors at a time will experience three visual "journeys" projected onto a domed screen above. The first journey creates a decent from the macrocosm of the universe, through the earth's atmosphere, into the pod, the viewers themselves, and finally into a microscopic dream world. The second journey, a rendering of the internal world, explores the collective power of the mind. In this section, sensors built into the pod record viewer's brain wave data and a custom computer software game engine translates this data into abstract animation. An idealized abstract visualization of the three minds working together is represented in the third journey.
MAY 15TH, 2003
What might look like an alien spaceship is actually the latest work from artist Mariko Mori in a project called “Wave UFO,” presented by the Public Art Fund.
“We always look at a site and a project sort of simultaneously,” said Tom Eccles, the executive director of the Public Art Fund. “This seemed to be a perfect match with 590 Madison here in Midtown, you know, a place where there's a lot of frenetic activity.”
It's that frenetic activity that's the key to this work. On the outside, it's a sculpture. But on the inside, passersby participate in making the art using their brainwaves.
“We gather the brainwave data through the biofeedback technology, and through that data it will generate computer graphic images in real time,” said Mori. “So the work itself is interactive.”
“You come to realize is that this is happening in real time, so what you’re thinking is what you see,” Eccles said.
According to Eccles, the exhibit ties into a lot of work that's been coming out of Japan and out of Asia recently, which is arts that have been very engaged with new technologies.
“Wave UFO” also draws upon the Buddhist principle that all forms of life are interconnected.
“People leave behind their everyday life and their cultural background and their structure in society,” Mori said. “You become living beings connected together.”
The artist added that New York City is the perfect place for this because people come from many different cultures and countries.
“I think this is a work that will engage people on a new level,” Eccles said.
Mariko Mori's "Wave UFO" can be seen in the lobby of 590 Madison Ave at 56th St. through July 31. The exhibit is free and open to everyone.
"I wanted to tell you...
There is a new sculpture uptown that may interest you the next time you venture into the city... James went to midtown & checked it out / reported back...said he had to wait only 10 minutes on a Thursday afternoon on line but thinks it would be hectic on a weekend...
It is a spaceship/UFO where you go inside & they (futristic nurses) connect electrodes to your head... then they show how you connect with people EVERYWHERE & it starts showing your brainwaves, light impulses, sounds etc in combination/stimulation/reaction to the 3 other folks in the room hooked up w/ electrodes. Its about 7 -8minutes long...... her idea is about how people everywhere are connected or something...;)"
GAAA!?!
SO of course I had to go see. B and I went in on Wednesday..
Wave UFO
Mariko Mori's Wave UFO
MID created intricately layered computer animation for Mariko Mori's Wave UFO project. Conceived by the artist as a representation of "virtual travel to the infinitely connected world and further, into the inner world of the mind," the completed installation will consist of a 30-by-9 foot pearlescent, teardrop-shaped pod in which three visitors at a time will experience three visual "journeys" projected onto a domed screen above. The first journey creates a decent from the macrocosm of the universe, through the earth's atmosphere, into the pod, the viewers themselves, and finally into a microscopic dream world. The second journey, a rendering of the internal world, explores the collective power of the mind. In this section, sensors built into the pod record viewer's brain wave data and a custom computer software game engine translates this data into abstract animation. An idealized abstract visualization of the three minds working together is represented in the third journey.
MAY 15TH, 2003
What might look like an alien spaceship is actually the latest work from artist Mariko Mori in a project called “Wave UFO,” presented by the Public Art Fund.
“We always look at a site and a project sort of simultaneously,” said Tom Eccles, the executive director of the Public Art Fund. “This seemed to be a perfect match with 590 Madison here in Midtown, you know, a place where there's a lot of frenetic activity.”
It's that frenetic activity that's the key to this work. On the outside, it's a sculpture. But on the inside, passersby participate in making the art using their brainwaves.
“We gather the brainwave data through the biofeedback technology, and through that data it will generate computer graphic images in real time,” said Mori. “So the work itself is interactive.”
“You come to realize is that this is happening in real time, so what you’re thinking is what you see,” Eccles said.
According to Eccles, the exhibit ties into a lot of work that's been coming out of Japan and out of Asia recently, which is arts that have been very engaged with new technologies.
“Wave UFO” also draws upon the Buddhist principle that all forms of life are interconnected.
“People leave behind their everyday life and their cultural background and their structure in society,” Mori said. “You become living beings connected together.”
The artist added that New York City is the perfect place for this because people come from many different cultures and countries.
“I think this is a work that will engage people on a new level,” Eccles said.
Mariko Mori's "Wave UFO" can be seen in the lobby of 590 Madison Ave at 56th St. through July 31. The exhibit is free and open to everyone.
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Date: 2003-06-01 04:28 pm (UTC)i wish i could get to new york and see that!
what are the graphics like? what kinds of images where displayed how did they change with your thoughts? that is SO cool!
Re:
Date: 2003-06-01 06:37 pm (UTC)Red represents Beta waves- found in the normal alert states of consciousness. They can also indicated agitation, tension or alarm.
Blue represents alpha waves- which accompany wakeful relaxation, day dreaming or meditation. Alpha waves generally appear in the occipital region of the brain (the visual cortex) when the eyes are closed.
Yellow indicates Theta waves- which are found in near-consciousness as one drifts in and out of sleep, and indicated reverie or dreamlike states.
Facial and body movements are represented by light yellow waving lines.
I saw my blobs as blue...except when I tilted my head to try to see the other people's blobs..and then mine immediately turned red and even agitated.
The second part of the visualization was the same for everyone..abstract imagery of cell-like shapes, the feeling of shooting through a tunnel...and my favorite part (of course) were like microcosms connecting to one another...
I wonder if you Google Image Search it if you'll come up with any visuals.