MCAD, composer Steve Heitzig and the Minnesota Orchestra teamed up in 2004 to create beautiful visuals and interactions to accompany the Nobel Symphony performance on April 18, 2004. Completed in conjunction with the Interactive Media 4 class, this collaborative artwork involved brainstorming sessions, strategy, planning, professionalism and coordination.
War is wide like the light-starved jungle. Peace begins in a single chair.
— Pablo Neruda (from Odes to Common Things)
The role my team (Team Weasel Dance) had was to compose the lobby experiences as the guests arrived and as they left the performance. The first experiences were acoustic and organic; sounds of inspired leaders throughout history greeted them as the guests entered the skyway; upon entering the Hall lobby they were greeted with a series of images and blocks. Participants were invited to the take the numbered blocks, and hang them on a peg under the image that most resonated with them. The order of the numbers were then calculated and sent to the video team, which determined the order of one layer of the videos being projected during the performance. The videos depicted all sorts of malestrom, with a subtle image forming towards the end; the building of a single chair. After the performance, on their way out, the guests are greeted with a table featuring a pair of the chairs created during the performance in the video. If two people choose to sit down at the same time, and animation begins on the screen and shows a flower bud developing. The longer they sit, the more the flowers grow and blossom; invoking hope and simplicity of two people sitting down together.
ROLES • General concepting, strategy • Table concept • Software Development, Electronics • Table creation (with Jeff Harkness; chairs courtesy Piotr Szyhalski and Jeff Harkness)
