Location: Manhattan Bridge, Dumbo, Brooklyn
Opening September 23rd-25th, 2011 as part of the Dumbo Arts Festival, is Immersive Surfaces. Curated by Leo Kuelbs, Immersive Surfaces will feature over 30,000 feet of projection and video art in-situ within the Archway, Anchorage and surrounding cityscape of the Manhattan Bridge. An international roster of artists have been selected after a rigorous process and the works will be choreographed, seamlessly melding, one into the other, leading up to a finale, which will take the viewer on an Ascension of sorts, into the imagined depths of the bridge exterior.

Interior view: Film shoot, House of Yes, Brooklyn
I recently attended a special film shoot at House of Yes in Bushwick, Brooklyn which was held in occurrence with Immersive Surfaces. An assembled crew, along with a group of established artists, designers and engineers worked together bringing to fruition a visual interpretation based on a rigorous collaborative effort. The shoot focused on specific content for a large culmination piece that will act as a pedestrian portal (coined by Richard Jochum) of sorts inside the archway of the Manhattan Bridge.
Interior view: Film shoot, House of Yes, Brooklyn
A costume designer dressed the performers in neutral street wear, they were harnessed and took flight. Most were trained if not in acrobatics, but in dance and utilized his/her core muscles to navigate the aerial terrain. Three cameras simultaneously captured the movement, one immediately translating the body into a graphic 3-D rendering. Both male and female performers took turns as well as direction from Ryan Uzilevsky, gyrating, swimming, and finally floating into a netherworld. The footage is now in the process of being digitally converted into the large-scale endeavor titled As Above, So Below that will be a tertiary part of Immersive Surfaces.
Interior view: Film shoot, House of Yes, Brooklyn

A free panel discussion will be held on the occasion of the project, Saturday, September 24th 6:00-7:30 p.m. at 111 Front Street, Suite 216. Topic of discussion will be “The Content Development Constellation” focusing on the idea of video art as exhibited in monumental format within the realm of the public sphere. The panel will also discuss the process of composing content made in direct correlation with the environment in which it is, or will be exhibited.

Immersive Surfaces is an ambitious project as part of the Dumbo Arts Festival, curated by Leo Kuelbs in conjunction with a team of artists and SenovvA Inc., a leader in cutting-edge projection technology in the U.S. The final installment is being created by Simon Anaya, Farkas Fülöp, Richard Jochum, John Moreno, John Ensor Parker, and Ryan Uzilevsky. Multimedia design firm Light Harvest Studio assisted in visual content production.

Top photo courtesy of Leo Kuelbs, all other photos taken by Katy Hamer, 2011.

Stay tuned!

xo