Multimedia art thingamabob

I'm pretty geeked about the new exhibit at the University of Michigan Museum of Art called "Photoformance."

It's the collaboration between:
Monica Ponce de Leon, the Dean of the Taubman College of Architecture & Urban Planning;
Peter Sparling, a Thurnau Professor of Dance at U-M, Choreographer, and video artist
Ernie Rubin, U-M alum and photographer
Erik Santos, Composer

Each of these people is highly respected in their respective fields.  They've put together an installation that projects gorgeous images onto semi-opaque architectural structures and walls within the gallery.

What you may not realize, when looking at the video, is how carefully they were constructed.  I've grossly oversimplifying things but in a nutshell, Ernie Rubin created still shots of Peter Sparling dancing, which Peter then carefully merged together to make a film.

To be honest with you, this probably wouldn't have been on my radar screen if my husband Mark hadn't had a large hand in the architectural structures.  They are curved, sloping, soaring tunnels, but they are made entirely of tabbed triangles.  Mark helped create the programming that figured out those triangles and guided the cutting.  He also helped put some of them together, which was done by hand by a whole lot of people at the architecture school.  I think there were over 2000 of the things.  Triangles, I mean, not people. 

I'm very glad I went to the opening talk, because it's the kind of exhibit I would otherwise have walked through for four minutes, said "that's kinda neat" and not given it much more thought.  But the process that went into making each component is extremely cool--and hearing the collaborators talk about it was eye-opening.

They are still in the process of working out the projection of the film.  The opening day had only a few projectors running; I stopped by yesterday and the whole thing was locked up while they work out some glitch.    But once it's up and running, they'll keep it running each night after the museum closes.  That means passersby will be able to peek in through the portholes in the blackout curtains.  I love that. 

Not the same experience as walking through, but still a nifty way to encourage interaction with the museum and its art.

A description of the exhibit here:
http://www.umma.umich.edu/view/exhibitions/2010-photoformance.php

Ah, the Michigan Difference.

I was amused by this site:

http://themichdiff.com/

A few highlights:

Running through the airport in Florida to catch a flight with a Michigan sweatshirt on and people start singing The Victors as I pass. So epic. TMD.

South Quad fire alarm goes off at 8:30PM, you can clearly smell something burning but you stay in your room because there's homework due at 9:00PM and you know "the building was on fire" could never be a legitimate excuse unless UHS signed it...TMD

The 7-Eleven has a study room. That's the Michigan Difference.

Not sure how sober I am, but I'm going to my 8:30 class. That's the Michigan Difference.

Decaying Central Depot to get spruce-up | detnews.com | The Detroit News

PLEASE let this happen--and let it be the thing that helps a developer take the next step. This building breaks my heart.

Decaying Central Depot to get spruce-up | detnews.com | The Detroit News

Quick update

Well, the husband got into the grad program to which he applied.  That's super news, although it raises some new challenges.

I'm excited that he's exploring a new field.   He has often been a source of education and mind-broadening for me.  I knew almost nothing about architecture when we met, except maybe an uncanny ability to appreciate Queen Anne style (thank you alma mater, R-MWC).  Now I know a lot more about that.  I've learned a lot about wood and woodworking.  Next up: digital fabrication. 

You are aware that we get more cloudy days than Seattle?

This is the time of year when people in Michigan think about whatever crazed psychopaths they've heard about on the news, or learned about in history class or the History Channel, and feel compassion, sympathy, and understanding.

Winter is INTERMINABLE.   I want sunshine.  And WARMTH.