17 May 2008

Exploded Views, Remapping Florence installation at CCCS

It's dark, you step onto a treadmill, start running, and see Florence by night spread out before you. Deserted and wonderful: as you have never seen it before. As the mood takes you let it totally absorb you.

Marnix de Nijs aims to create a dynamic visual and complete body experience in his Exploded Views – Remapping Firenze, a new multimedia interactive installation.

The work comprises two industrial treadmills placed in front of a huge screen showing (part film, part computer graphics) the deserted streets of a virtual Florence. The action of the observer's body is the determining factor: the 3D images are set rolling by the physical effort made by the viewer. Images of an imaginary, 'poetic' Florence where real architectural shots explode into an infinity of pixels. The speed of the observer/runner has a direct impact on the intensity of the aesthetic experience. In the work of Marnix de Nijs, the observer becomes the protagonist. The interface between the body and technology hands over control to the viewer who decides which direction to take and how to up the intensity of the images traversed.

While the visual world represented concentrates on the concept of emptiness, on the total absence of any human imprint and on the sheer beauty of the spaces, the acoustic element takes on a new dimension with a store of sounds registered in the city.

'The work Exploded Views - Remapping Florence' – says Franziska Nori, project director of the Centre for Contemporary Culture Strozzina explains – 'was made especially for the CCCS. It's the first of a series of works by leading international artists who have been invited to Florence to create site-specific works that reflect the diverse realities of this city'

The visual material in 3D draws on the latest experimental technology developed in the Fraunhofer Institute in Darmstadt, Germany.
De Nijs is the first artist to make use of this technology, which makes it possible to combine cinematographic quality with interactive graphics. Students from the Master Course in Communication Design at ISIA, Florence assisted De Nijs in the creation of the project.

Marnix de Nijs is based in Rotterdam. He is engaged in exploring the dynamics between the human body, machines and other technology. Trained as a sculptor, de Nijs is now best known for his interactive machines which play with the perception and control of sounds and images. He has gained international recognition as one of the leading exponents of interactive sculpture.
His work has been represented at national and international festivals and museums: the DEAF festival in Rotterdam, the DAF festival in Tokyo, the 6th Shanghai Biennial, the ARS Electronica festival in Linz, the Itau Cultural museum in Sao Paulo, the Transmediale festival in Berlin and at the Millennium Museum in Beijing. The Stedelijk Museum of Amsterdam is now considering the acquisition of sculpture by Marnix de Nijs for its permanent collection. In 2005, Marnix received the 'Witteveen & Bos Art and Technology award' for his important contribution to the field of Art and Technology. He has also received honourable mentions from 'Vida 5.0 Art and A-life award' in Madrid, from the 'Transmediale Award' in Berlin, from the 'Prix Ars Electronica' in Linz on two occasions. In 2000 he won first prize at the 'Art Future 2000 Award' in Taipei
www.marnixdenijs.nl


The Marnix de Nijs project 'Exploded Views – Remapping Firenze' , in collaboration with Fabbrica Europa, is sponsored by the Royal Netherlands Embassy and is part of 'Olandiamo?- the Cultural Festival celebrating 50 years of the Dutch Institute of Art History in Florence'.


Exploded Views – Remapping Firenze

Produced by:
Marnix de Nijs, Rotterdam
Centro di Cultura Contemporanea Strozzina (CCCS), Firenze

Co-produced by:
The Netherlands Media Art Institute, Montevideo/Time Based Arts, Amsterdam

Audio-design:
Boris Debackere, Antwerp
www.rotorscoop.net/

Scene Reconstruction:
Structure From Motion: Noah Snavely (University of Washington),
Multi-View Stereo: Michael Goesele, Sebastian Koch (Technische Universität Darmstadt)
grail.cs.washington.edu/projects/mvscpc/
phototour.cs.washington.edu/

3D authoring and game implementation:
Blender Institute Project Apricot, Amsterdam
www.blender.org/

Game Engine:
Crystal Space
www.crystalspace3d.org

Technical Production assistance and making-of material:
Prof. Antonio Glessi
The students of the Master in Communication Design, ISIA (Istituto Superiore per le Industrie Artistiche) Firenze
www.isiadesign.fi.it

Special thanks for the research in Florence to:
Maurizio Bossi, Gabinetto Scientifico Letterario G.P.Vieusseux



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15th May - 8th June 2008
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10th - 30th June 2008
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