www.lovelyweather.com is a work originally designed for viewing on the internet but presented at the MAT End of the Year Show 2010 as an interactive audiovisual installation. This work, part of a series titled LovelyWeather, uses a database of field recordings and digital photographs taken along a nature walk in the Ellwood Mesa area to form a virtual audio-visual space navigable by computer mouse. These sounds and images are arranged and deployed as an interactive Flash animation. www.lovelyweather.com examines the relationship between the methods of navigation used in web-based media and the process of exploration that an artist and audience experience in the creation, presentation, and interpretation of an artwork.
In this work, the user is presented with a collage of environmental sounds and a rectangular frame containing a set of irregularly distributed images. Larger background images overlap and blend with each other, while smaller more distinct foreground images sit in front of the background. The sound layers function similarly, with a set of distinct foreground sound “objects” played over a consistent although changing background sound “field.” Moving the computer mouse, the user navigates horizontally or vertically, similar to a camera’s pan and tilt, within a single virtual location. This motion not only reveals different images but also modifies the audio content. Most noticeably, foreground sounds become more prominent as they come into view, while variation in panning provides spatial cues. After clicking on an image, the user is transported to a different location entirely as images and sounds are replaced and audio processing changes.
Presenting www.lovelyweather.com in an installation setting provides the opportunity to incorporate an additional level of complexity in the project. Additional projectors present video material emphasizing the experience of walking and exploration. Additional sound channels allow for a greater density and variety of sounds conveying additional navigational cues. These additional elements enrich the experience of the person interacting with the work while providing an additional perspective for passive audience members.
www.lovelyweather.com draws inspiration from the field of soundscape composition (particularly the Presque Rien series by Luc Ferrari), interactive computer works (riverIsland by digital poet John Cayley), and theoretical works on the continuum of representational and abstract art including Wassily Kandinski’s Concerning the Spiritual in Art.
www.lovelyweather.com is partially funded by the UCSB Interdisciplinary Humanities Center.
lovelyweather.com
www.lovelyweather.com
May 24 – May 27 • MAT Show, UCSB Elings Hall, 2nd Floor
Reception: May 26, 6 – 9 pm, UCSB Elings Hall
MAT Show Website
www.lovelyweather.com is a work originally designed for viewing on the internet but presented at the MAT End of the Year Show 2010 as an interactive audiovisual installation. This work, part of a series titled LovelyWeather, uses a database of field recordings and digital photographs taken along a nature walk in the Ellwood Mesa area to form a virtual audio-visual space navigable by computer mouse. These sounds and images are arranged and deployed as an interactive Flash animation. www.lovelyweather.com examines the relationship between the methods of navigation used in web-based media and the process of exploration that an artist and audience experience in the creation, presentation, and interpretation of an artwork.
In this work, the user is presented with a collage of environmental sounds and a rectangular frame containing a set of irregularly distributed images. Larger background images overlap and blend with each other, while smaller more distinct foreground images sit in front of the background. The sound layers function similarly, with a set of distinct foreground sound “objects” played over a consistent although changing background sound “field.” Moving the computer mouse, the user navigates horizontally or vertically, similar to a camera’s pan and tilt, within a single virtual location. This motion not only reveals different images but also modifies the audio content. Most noticeably, foreground sounds become more prominent as they come into view, while variation in panning provides spatial cues. After clicking on an image, the user is transported to a different location entirely as images and sounds are replaced and audio processing changes.
Presenting www.lovelyweather.com in an installation setting provides the opportunity to incorporate an additional level of complexity in the project. Additional projectors present video material emphasizing the experience of walking and exploration. Additional sound channels allow for a greater density and variety of sounds conveying additional navigational cues. These additional elements enrich the experience of the person interacting with the work while providing an additional perspective for passive audience members.
www.lovelyweather.com draws inspiration from the field of soundscape composition (particularly the Presque Rien series by Luc Ferrari), interactive computer works (riverIsland by digital poet John Cayley), and theoretical works on the continuum of representational and abstract art including Wassily Kandinski’s Concerning the Spiritual in Art.
www.lovelyweather.com is partially funded by the UCSB Interdisciplinary Humanities Center.