Projection Mapping: Class 1
Class 1 Blog
Pinterest Mood Board for Dream Work:
When I first started browsing on Pinterest for inspiration regarding my own dream work in projection mapping, I saw countless examples and started saving everything I liked to my board. However, after some thinking and more searching, I found myself most captivated by projected eyes on various spheres and the concept of focusing on one person.
One specific example I found most captivating is Tony Oursler’s video sculpture work, Bulbous Eyes. His installation consists of different eyes in varying sizes of spheres that are placed around the room, and they all blink, have dilating pupils, and stare. Oursler explains that his work represents the connection between the conscious and subconscious self, along with reality and our brains. I also wanted to focus on something more personal for my project concept, which further explains why I particularly like this work. The way that this installation works is by placing multiple projectors in certain positions, allowing it to align with each sphere and engulf it with the pre-recorded eye videos.
I thought deeper about what I wanted my own project to look like, and I came up with a vision of suspended spheres (of different sizes) on the ceiling at various heights and locations, but they all circulate one person in the middle. I want the entire eyeball projected onto each sphere, and have all of the eyes stare at the person in the middle. On the side, I want to project the person who was in the middle of the eyes, onto a human cut-out, and perhaps surrounded by eyeballs, but this time they are looking away from the person. The underlying theme and message of my dream projection mapping work is that many people believe society is constantly watching and judging them, but in reality it is mostly in our heads as everyone is concerned with themselves and not others. This project could also signify a call for self reflection or act as a criticism of society and its surveillance (capitalism).
Finding of the Week:
As I was walking in Chinatown, I came across a Chinese restaurant with an advertisement that was projected in front of the entryway, on the sidewalk. I’ve walked past this restaurant numerous times but I’ve never noticed the projection since I was always focused on getting to my destination, rather than observing what was around me. The projection was in the shape of an octagon with a smaller octagon encapsulating the restaurant name and the type of food they sell in Chinese characters. The projection continuously spins and I believe the projector is placed on the ceiling above the door at an angle, which explains why the image is stretched on the farther side.
Another projection I saw was at a Beabadoobee’s concert at Central Park. The projection was used for visual aesthetics and its movements aligned with the beats in her music. For instance, if her song sped up, the spinning would speed up, and vice versa for when the beat slowed down. The projector was placed behind the standing audience, but at a higher height to map the entire stage and the white curtain.