RESEARCH
|
This Research exhibition aimed to present the materials and methodology used in creating the immersive installation. It took place at Museum of Science and Technology on 11. 06. 2017.
Exhibition materials were grouped in the following way:
|
Installation of "FOUNDRY OF POEMS" is part of the artistic PhD project of Deane Petrovic from the Interdisciplinary Studies of Digital Art of the University of Belgrade. The installation consists of 6 large-format projections and four-channel sound, the function of which is to create a audio-visual experience in the space and in this way vivify abandoned industrial space in which the installation is presented. Visual content stems from the television footage of collective work in factories, on construction sites and workplaces. The main actors of video installations are workers - poets whose poetry faces deep existentialist questions about the work, the collective energy that this work has and the position of the worker as an individual in the production system.
|
|
Investigating the potential of abandoned industrial buildings is actualizing the topic of their re-activation. Industrial heritage plays a major role in creating the identity of a particular area, and therefore their preservation is of a great importance. Many European countries have already recognized the quality and potential of such sites, and use them in various cultural, educational, scientific, humanitarian, non-commercial purposes. Industrial heritage is an aspect of cultural heritage that recognizes and protects certain objects for their social, architectural, historical and scientific value. This project is focused on abandoned industrial places that receive new narrative layers by intervening with digital technology, Special significance of industrial and cultural heritage in Serbia is reflected in the fact that it also represents part of the European heritage and history, since the buildings were built in many cases by e workers from different European countries who came to Serbia in the early 20th century to help in building and development of a new society. Therefore, the industrial and cultural heritage of Serbia can be seen as a testimony of cultural diversity of the region, but also as a link to European and world cultural heritage. Belgrade Port, where the work was carried out, is especially important in the history of industrialization, because it is placed at the location of the first industrial center in Belgrade.
|
Keywords: multichannel installation, hybrid space, augmented reality, industrial heritage, archival material
|
This practice-based Ph.D. at once questions and produces multimedia content used to visualize hybrid space.
Hybridization of space implies incorporating new narratives into specific physical space in order to change perceptions around it. Venues most appropriate for the installation of the project are largely inactive industrial spaces, while multimedia content implies audio-visual immersive narrative formed out of archival material. Throughout the project the following domains are being explored: perception of the hybrid space, artistic potential of relics of the industrial society, the reproduction of visual content out of archival documentary material, and the tie between new content and the chosen venue. Initial inspiration for exploring the hybridity of space comes from a perennial/long standing interest in unconventional technologies of representation of visual content in public spaces – starting from early scientific experiments in the 20th century, such as those performed by avant-garde artists who strived to represent visual content regardless of preexisting cannons, to hi-tech immersive/hybrid/virtual systems which are more than present in contemporary moment. The engagement of today’s artists and scientists in finding ways to enhance physical space through virtual content is apparently inexhaustible. In such projects the spectator is key: their presence generates new experiences and perceptions of the space they are inhabiting. These immersive environmental technologies are understood to be achieved through various methods of hybridization: augmented, virtual, amplified reality and so on. |
The reason for focusing on such locations came out of the interest for inactive spaces in urban environments; the spaces which have specific historical, architectural and cultural value, and therefore must be preserved and maintained. Exactly because of their significance, those spaces are often a source of inspiration for artists working with spatial installations.
The multichannel audiovisual installation titled The Foundry of Poems, as the key practice part of this Ph.D. project, consists of six big formatted projections and four channel sound system that create the specific immersive audio-visual experience to ephemerally revive abandoned industrial space in which these works are installed. Visual content is created out of archival television recordings of collective labor in factories, on construction sights and work actions so typical for socialist Yugoslavia. The main protagonists of this video installation are the workers themselves, whose poetry confronts us with deep existential questions in regards to labor and its vigorous energy, as well the position of the worker as an individual within the manufacturing process. This video material came from the archives of Belgrade television, Museum of Yugoslavia and Film news. The thesis was successfully defended on 27. 05. 2018. in Belgrade. |
VIDEO TIMELINE DISSEMINATION AND ANALYSIS
|
Using the mapping technology and four-channel sound was the most optimal technology to be used in the given conditions. I wanted to make a clear distinction between the mapped, immersive projection and multi-channel video work, so I decided to montage the image as a homogeneous unity that would be presented in an immersive way. The videos that are displayed are interlinked, creating an impression of panoramic video collages. The segments move from one surface to the other, swirling in a dynamic collage.
Digital Dynamic Collage is a segment of digital art that combines moving images (film, animation) to create new relationships and shapes in a given space. Dynamic collage allows the recorded material to be reused, re-assembled and edited, for the purpose of creating a new image. Archive material can be accessed in several ways. Certainly the most efficient search is via Internet archive databases. However, for high-quality video and audio playback, digitized archive materials are needed. In the phase of collecting materials for this art project, research and digitization took place in film and television archives in Serbia. With expert consultations, I have selected the archive materials. New composition and interrelations of all frames in a video, create new perception of the same material. The material looses its original context and takes on new meanings. Video materials that make immersive projection can be divided in sections, based on the editing techniques:
|
MULTI-CHANNEL VIDEO
The installation contains six channels that are arranged in the space so that they make a mapped immersive space of 180 °. Multiple (6) video channels video is created by the selection process of the variety of materials and with the combination of frames to be simultaneously projected.
THE FRIEZE
THE FRIEZE is a montage unit that appears with the purpose to visually disperse the image, and thus to give observer time to absorb the previous frames and emotionally prepare for the upcoming. The frieze occupies 1/3 of the walls in the installation, and is positioned in the upper part of the projection surface.
MOVING MAPPED PROJECTION
MOVING MAPPED PROJECTION is a form of installation intervention in which a multi-channel video changes its position, i.e. it moves along the multiple projection surfaces.
DRAMATURGY
According to the thematic units, the installation can be divided into following parts:
"Metal Symphony" serves as an introduction to "Building site", the dramatic main part of the installation. This is the most dynamic part and represents the dramatic culmination of work. The image is split into a mash of small ones, which in circles moving on the walls, while the stroboscopic effect is occasionally activated. The introspective part at the end of the dramatic installation is a conclusion. This segment is described as a poetic auto-analysis of a man in terms of a productive worker.
SYNOPSIS
According to the thematic units, the installation can be divided into following parts:
- Introduction - the "Scene of Utopia"
- Dramatic breaks: friezes and ornamental ceiling projections
- The poetry of the workers expressive the spirit of collective - "Metal Symphony" and "The building site"
- Introspective and highly lyrical poetry performance by one worker
"Metal Symphony" serves as an introduction to "Building site", the dramatic main part of the installation. This is the most dynamic part and represents the dramatic culmination of work. The image is split into a mash of small ones, which in circles moving on the walls, while the stroboscopic effect is occasionally activated. The introspective part at the end of the dramatic installation is a conclusion. This segment is described as a poetic auto-analysis of a man in terms of a productive worker.
SYNOPSIS
- Introductory scenes, factory spaces. Labor cadres, collective labor actions, famous "Prvi maj Pirot" factory, returnees from abroad, manual work, machine work.
- Factory hymn. Worker Bora Mladenovic defines work and poetry. Milos Stojanovic reads his poem "Metal Symphony" about the fascination with machines and factories, mass scenes of exercising, video collage composed of the scenes of hard work.
- Five-channel video composed of scenes recorded on the construction site, the song "Gradilište" is recited by the poet Branislav Petrovic and actor Dusan Djuric, comparison of construction sites with nature, collective spirit, sacrifice of the workers.
- Worker Bogdan Arambasic recites his song "Citizen Kane". The psychological charge of songs and images directs us to the question of the meaning of man's work.
