I wanted to expand upon Marianne’s “Project to Share” entry on Olafur Eliasson’s Water Pendulum. I agree that this work is phenomenal. After the photogrammetry workshop yesterday with Claire Hentschker, my mind kept going to the lightning bolt she showed us that was captured at two different angles and made into an object. This got me wondering if the stills from this video could be used to make a 3D capture. I’m not sure if this would be possible using the photogrammetry methods we learned in class on 1/21 because the water is in motion, but it’s an interesting thought to ponder.
Olafur Eliasson (1967) creates space-filling installations by a collaborative interdisciplinary team of artists, media specialist, scientist and architects. Eliasson’s main concerns are the changing nature of time, light, air temperature and space to find alternate ways to sense and engage with the environment, especially in these difficult times of climate crisis.
Water Pendulum (2010) is an installation that presents dancing water streams illuminated by strobe light that transforms the unpredictable flow of water into frozen moments. Inspired by Eadweard Muybridge’s studies of motion in animals, this work turns the photographic act into a spatial phenomenon to speculate around the relative nature of time.
While not an artistic project, the end result can have creative implications. BriefCam is a video security system that compiles hours of video from a static vantage point, and overlays timestamps on moving subjects to create a condensed overview of events happening before the camera. From the demo footage available, the result shows people occupying the same space at different times but within the same frame. This allows the viewer to more quickly sift through hours of footage, and would reveal motion patterns of those it captures.
The “Rapid Recap” System for Condensing Hours of Security Footage Into Seconds – Link to demo videos
Thinking about re-purposing this surveillance technology for more creative uses is what caught my attention. Viewing duplicates of a person shown overtime transposed onto the same space can create an eerie visual effect, as well bring to mind how our environments affect our physical interactions. Specifically it reminded me of the graphic novel HERE, by Richard McGuire. McGuire illustrates events taking place in the same spot over the course of thousands of years. From primordial swamps to a rendered future, people, objects, and animals are transposed on top of one-another, cutting through time, only getting glimpses of moments.
