Projection Mapping: Class 11

Presentation by Dev Harlan

During the last class, Artist Dev Harlan presented his works to the class along with discussing his processes and vision for each one. He also answered any questions the class had. Many of his works used various mediums like plaster, rock, and aluminum. His work, Parmenides I, from his first solo exhibition called “Astral Flight Hangar” presented an abstract and geometrical sculpture, which is an aluminum covered foam sphere with prisms at each point. I thought the execution of this sculpture was quite uniquely crafted and required much precision. He also used projection mapping to create visuals, and the reflective flooring allowed for the content and prism shapes to become even more accentuated. This sculpture was also presented at a public location for a while, so Harlan had go give instructions to the workers on adjusting the projection mapping if any thing got shifted. I’ve always wondered what happens when artists display their works for a long period of time at a certain space where they are not physically there, and if anything were to occur, who would fix the issue. It was very educational to know that there are people there who are instructed by the artist themselves to use certain tools to “fix” or touch up the artwork if anything were to happen. I also particularly liked it when Harlan talked about hiding on the technical and mechanical aspects of his work, like hiding the wires and projectors which was done in some of his works. Later on, he decided that he wanted the audience to see the raw work and effort put into an exhibition piece, so he had the laptop and wires displayed right next to the rock sculpture. It was quite interesting to hear his perspectives on his own works and what they signify, along with his thought processes on how the audience would perceive his work. His use of various physical mediums and intertwining it with projection mapping and lighting is also really cool.

Finding of the Week

This week’s finding of the week is some LED lights that move continuously in a pattern. I was at my friend’s birthday party and the venue had these revolving LED lights that gave the illusion that the lights were moving, but technically the light shines across certain points of the LED strip at a certain time. I thought it looked quite cool because the lights make a loop on the ceiling. The lights also change color depending on which setting it is on. As they curved to the other side of the ceiling, the lights no longer aligned side by side and were slightly off, but as they looped to return to the start, it aligned again.