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Date: Thu, 21 Jun 2001 15:29:00 +0200
From: owner-v2_info_int@z2.v2.nl
To: v2_info_int@z2.v2.nl

Body Movies, Relational Architecture #6 by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer
a production of V2_Organisation, part of Las Palmas  International Centre
for Art, Image and Media Technology

Installation in public space
Dates: Friday 31st of August  Sunday 23rd of September 2001
Location: Schouwburgplein, a square in the centre of Rotterdam, Cultural
Capital of Europe, The Netherlands.
Opening hours: from dusk till midnight
Entrance: free

Body Movies will be the sixth in the series of installations in public
space that Rafael Lozano-Hemmer (CDN/MEX) has designed for cities in Europe
and America. These interactive interventions  in Madrid, Linz, Graz, Mexico
City and Havana  have been exploring the intersection between new
technologies, urban space, active participation and "alien memory".

As part of its 2001 program grounding, V2_Organisation presents in
collaboration with Las Palmas  International Centre for Art, Image and
Media Technology: Body Movies. From the 31st of August till the 23rd of
September the Schouwburgplein (a square in the centre of Rotterdam,
Cultural Capital of Europe) will be transformed by the projection of huge
interactive portraits on the fa=E7ade of the Path=E9 Cinema building. Over =
one
thousand portraits  which were taken on the streets of Rotterdam, Madrid,
Mexico and Montreal  will be shown, using robotically controlled projectors
located around the square. However, the portraits will only appear inside
the projected shadows of local passers-by, whose silhouettes will measure
between 2 to 22 metres high, depending on how far people are from the
powerful light sources placed on the floor of the square.

When no one is walking past the Schouwburgplein the portraits cannot be
seen, since the light sources on the floor completely wash them off with
strong white light. As soon as someone walks on the square, his or her
shadow is projected and the portraits are revealed within it. A
camera-based tracking system will monitor the location of the shadows in
real time, and when the shadows match all the portraits in a given scene,
the control computer will issue an automatic command to change the scene to
the next set of portraits. This way the people on the square will be
invited to embody different representational narratives. Up to 80 people
can take part at any given time, controlling 1,200 square metres of
projections and creating a collective experience that nonetheless allows
discreet individual participation.

The shadow interface is a direct reference to Samuel van Hoogstraten's
engraving "The Shadow Dance" which appears in his "Inleiding tot de
Hogeschool der Schilderkunst". This engraving, made in Rotterdam in 1675,
shows a minute source of light placed at ground level and the shadows of
actors taking on demonic or angelic characteristics depending on their
size. Body Movies will transform the building of a cinema into a vehicle to
narrow the distance between people and urban representation.


Production in Rotterdam: V2_Organisation (part of Las Palmas, International
Centre for Art, Image and Media Technology) and in co-operation with the
Production house of the City Theatre Rotterdam.
Co-financed by: Rotterdam 2001  Cultural Capital of Europe, The Canada
Council for the Arts, the Canadian Embassy, Centre Visual Arts Rotterdam
Sponsors: BvH Communicatie-adviesbureau b.v., ETC Audiovisuel, APR inc
Special thanks to: Path=E9 Cinema Rotterdam, September in Rotterdam
(Rotterdam Festivals), Zapnation


More information can also be found on: www.v2.nl