Art will become revolutionary in the medium of virtual environments
when the spectator abandons the act of mere viewing, transcends simple
narrative participation, and becomes actively engaged.
Blue Window Pane stages a virtual environment as a performance
and a projective construction. The nonlinear, nonhierarchical structure
theatricalizes a subversive and confrontational stream of consciousness
movement. Participants navigate an interior hallway to brave admonishing
"guards", be showered in window shards and enter magnificent icons.
These symbolic events lead to alternate worlds suggesting alter egos:
The "Living Room" celebrates Man Ray and the Surrealists who were known
for realizing dream worlds and exploring levels of consciousness.
Inside the "Tunnel" hums the whispers and ramblings of the conscience.
It leads to the "Stair Scene" with its spiral stairs, staring faces and
pulsating sound activated graphics. The only way out is to rise above
it by climbing the spiral stairs to the top. Back in the "Hallway", an
iconic arch of multiple silhouettes holds a key to the future, a series
of doorways to an inner sanctum, the "Safe" room.
Blue Window Pane's structure of artistic metaphors guides the
participant on a journey through a rebus of symbolic transformation and
multisensory interaction.
Igram Salon: (art)n Laboratory collaborates with the Electronic
Visualization Laboratory to create Igrams, a type of PHSCologram that
captures CAVE virtual experiences. Igrams create an artistically empowering
aperture that offers an exciting way to explore synthetic worlds through
a virtual photographic eye. The series features engaging sculptural
close-ups with variants and studies of Dolinsky's unique environments.
"Blue Window Pane" ‚ Contributors: Mohammed Dastagir Ali, Networking;
Markus Gruenz, Script Programming; Carlos Orrego, Sound Software;Joe
Reitzer, Sound Design.
Special Thanks to Dave Pape, Edward J. Dambik, Debra Lowman, Andrew
Montgomery, Sam Thongrong, and the Electronic Visualization Laboratory,
University of Illinois at Chicago.
"Igram Salon" ‚ (art) n Laboratory: Ellen Sandor, Stephan Meyers,
Janine Fron, Fernando Orellana, Nichole Maury, Kristine Greiber, Dan
Miller
