Mariana Tschudi Project Proposal 2012

8/3/2019 Mariana Tschudi Project Proposal 2012

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Video installation using bio-signals to trigger video scenes previously

produced with the inspiration of Ayahuasca research.

Mariana Tschudi Benavides

Camberwell College of Arts


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Aims and Objectives

It is the general recognition that we are not yet in contact with ultimate

reality. We are still imprisoned in our cave, with our backs to the light, and can

only watch the shadows on the wall

Herbert, N. (1985) Quantum Reality, beyond the new physics, p8

The westernized and so-called modern society prioritizes rationality over

any other sense. What is commonly perceived as credible has to have a scientific

proof. Science is based on observation and statistical analysis.

However, Bohr disputes the classical concept of truth, Our classical ideas of

logic are simply wrong in a basic practical way. The next step is to learn to think in

the right way, to learn to think quantum-logically.

Herbert, N. (1985) Quantum Reality, beyond the new physics, p21

I want to develop an artistic video project that detaches from rationality

and opens up to intuition. I will minimize the logical thinking process during the

production and exhibition of my interactive video installation.

In interactive artworks, both the audience and the machine work together

in dialogue in order to produce a unique artwork for each audience to observe.

However, in this projects exhibition the observer will not be able to choose

rationally what he wants to experience. I will create an interactive video

installation, which uses a programmed system that will read bio-signals from the


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observer and those signals will be used as an input to generate a visual experience.

The installation will include a computer-based system that incorporates bio signal

sensors, a digital to analogue converter, and a projection system, controlled by an

algorithm.

I will divide the project in two main aims:

Aim 1: production phase

My first aim is to rely on the power of intuition as guidance to create a series

of 15 to 18 short video scenes and each scene will have duration of 60-120

seconds. In order to direct each scene I plan to rely on my intuition, and I will train

my self to do so through the use of Ayahuasca. Ayahuasca is a medicinal and

traditional infusion of the Amazon Rainforest. It is prepared from the

Banisteriopsis caapi vine, and is used by shamans from the Amazon Rainforest

during healing ceremonies as a way to develop intuition and connect with the

spiritual. I will work with experienced shamans who will conduct ayahuasca

ceremonies as a way to train myself to open up and trust my intuition. The content

of the scenes is going to be influenced by the visions, messages and understandings

I have during the ayahuasca ceremonies as well as the knowledge and experiences

I recollect from the people I interview and the books I read regarding this sacred

brew.

Objectives during production phase

Step 1: Learn about Ayahuasca by participating in shaman-conducted ceremonies,

doing interviews, reading and researching about the brew.


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Step 2: Choose filming locations

Step 3: Interview different people who work closely with sacred plants, specifically

with ayahuasca.

Step 4: Create the main character, a snake, and develop the snakes appearance in

each scene.

Step 5: Write small scenes and draw storyboards inspired by the previous

interviews and my own ayahuasca research and visions.

Step 6: Film the scenes. During the shooting it will prevail the use of intuition to let

myself flow and capture what happens in situ.

Step 7: Edit every scene incorporating hand drawn animation and other animation

techniques. Each scene will be between 1 2 minutes long.

Step 8: Create a programmed system using Processing and Arduino board to read

the brain waves (EEG bands oscillation) of the spectator through a mindset

equipment.

Aim 2: Exhibition Phase

My aim for the exhibition phase is to create a video installation that uses a

programmed system, which works by reading the spectators bio-signal such as the

brain wave, to trigger the visual experience.

Objectives during exhibition phase

Step 1: Design a visual platform where the project will happen.

Step 2: Create a computer-based algorithm that can read the viewers brain waves

and use it as an input to select and display a given video scene based on a defined

criterion.


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Step 3: Run experiments with different people with the use of the brain wave

reader, a Bluetooth modem that connects wireless to the Arduino board and the

computer.

Step 4: Develop a program using PROCESSING, that reads the brain wave signals

and uses that information as a trigger to launch the next scene of the project.

Step 5: Test the brain wave signals as an input for a computer based algorithm in

real time.

Step 6: Experiment with different export settings in Final Cut to see which setting

flows best with the Program and the Arduino board.

Step 7: Investigate how the non-linearity of the project affects the viewer.

Historical, Contemporary and Theoretical context of video art and video

installations

The main forms of art I will be researching are: video installations, video

art, interactive art and new media. I expect that each scene I will produce could be

shown independently as separate video art pieces.

During the 1960s and 1970s, a new form of art appeared: video art.

Many of the early prominent video artists were those involved with concurrent

movements in conceptual art, performance, and experimental film.


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Exhibiting video art is not straightforward. The designation video

installation is not an accurate guide to what is undoubtedly the most complex art

form in contemporary culture

Cyrus Manasseh, (2009) The Problematic of Video Art in Museum, p1

Being such a complex art form and having such a vast realm of artists

preceding my investigation, I will focus the historical content of my research in the

technology that was developed from 1960s 2010. I want to concentrate as well,

on the most recognized early video artists that have experimented with such

technology, going from Nam June Paik, Vito Acconci and John Baldessari to the

most contemporary ones such as Aernout Mik and Mathew Barney.

Nathaniel Dorsky, proposes a unique approach towards the moving image

that will definitely influence my project. It is called Devotional Cinema. As he

states in his book that uses the same name, Devotional Cinema involves being

present or open to the nowness, as he calls it, while filming a scene. If the

filmmaker conveys this, then he/she is promoting 'health' because of its openness

and its availability to others. The prerequisite form of the health-producing film

'must include the expression of its own materiality [which] must be in union with

its subject matter'

Nathaniel Dorsky, (2003) Devotional Cinema, p23

My project will incorporate the overall notion of Devotional Cinema

making however a small exception. I will control one element in the scenes: the

inclusion of the snake during the filming and/or montage.


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Non-linearity is also an important topic to new media art. This is a key

concept since people acquired the notion that they were conditioned to view

everything in a linear and clear-cut fashion.

I will be researching artists like Bill Viola who have experimented with non-

linearity. My project proposes a series of video scenes that will connect with each

other with subtle merging elements that will not necessarily be narratively

coherent.

I will researchseveral contemporaneous artists to learn about their

artwork and see how my investigation is influenced by theirs, as well as how it

differs from theirs. I will investigate, for example, Cildo Meireless use of space in

his installations,Dan Grahams use ofclosed-loop system to actively involve the

viewer, Sylvie Blangers aesthetics in her audio-visual collages, Ok Hyun Ahn

video installations, Aernout Miks enigmatic anti-choreography narration in his

video art pieces, Teresa Margolles and Marina Abramovics conceptual

performances, as well as William Kentridges hand drawn animation,

In order to evaluate the exhibition phase creating an interactive video

installation, I will investigate several artists who have experimented with the use

of interactivity in their art pieces. Chris OShea, for instance, have worked with

elements such as lights or mirrors programmed with OpenFrameworks to follow

the spectator, Olga Minkexplores the idea of physicality in the virtual

environment. She employes touch screens and online interactive Works. Alpay

Kasal, works with technology such as multi-touch and HCI (Human Computer


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Interaction) Christopher Bauders main focus of his projects is the translation of

digital information (bits and bytes) into objects and environments and vice versa.

In his workElectric Moons The weightless objects represent three-dimensional

digital data set in a dynamic display sculpture composed of physical particles

Along with the research in video art, video installations and new media art, I

will be investigating two other topics for very different purposes. The first topic is

Ayahuasca. Ayahuasca is a potent medicinal plant from the Amazon,

pharmaceutically complex with very low toxicity, used for medicinal or religious

rituals in native Amazonic towns. Ayahuasca is commonly known as the potion

that takes you to the Gods world since it has a spiritual or self-revelation nature.

It has been declared part of Perus cultural heritage and its use is legal.

The Swedish artist Lars Siltberg trained himself to write with his four limbs

in order to accomplish an artistic project. In the same way, I will train myself

through the use of ayahuasca to understand a different perspective of knowledge

that doesnt arrive from a rational standpoint in order to produce the video scenes

I am proposing in this project.

In addition, is my research in Processing, and Arduino. I will learn how to

create a system programmed with Processing that uses the arduino board to

capture the bio signal and communicate with the computer to create the system

that will read the viewers bio-signals to interact with the artwork.


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Methodology

As I mentioned before, I want to be able to capture the moment in high

quality video, without over controlling the actions. Therefore, Nathaniel Dorskys

Devotional Cinema will influence the methodology I will use for the video

production.

'If we do relinquish control, we suddenly see a hidden world, one that has

existed all along right in front of us. In a flash, the uncanny presence of this poetic

and vibrant world, ripe with mistery, stands before us. Everything is expressing

itself as what it is. Everything is alive and talking to us'.

Nathaniel Dorsky, (2005) Devotional Cinema.

Another big influence in my video production isMathew Barney, especially

with his Cremaster Cycle. He inspires me mainly because of the surreal and

intuitive approach in which he composes his films and the way he allows the

scenery to influence his work. In the same way, I wantthe scenery to be the host

of my work.

Per is a country that offers a wide variety of natural scenery, which I want

to incorporate in the scenes. Many ayahuasca visions have to do with nature, so

depending on the visions people tell me I will chose the locations to shoot.


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If the people I interview feel comfortable in front of the camera they will be

welcomed to perform their visions, otherwise I will find people to do it, preferable

if they are not trained actors/actresses. Sometimes, it will even be myself the one

performing.

The equipment I am planning to use is a professional video camera, SONY

HD PMW-EX1, a Gitzo tripod, a portable lighting case, Steady Cam Glide Cam 4000,

Sennheiser 144679 microphone, Boom stick, and a laptop.

As a director, I will be to guide the actors to feel free to perform in front of

the camera. I will use the information gathered by the interviewees to inspire the

actors with ideas. I will not supply them with a dialog; any conversation during the

videos will be spontaneous. As a performer I will use the same criteria to let

myself flow in an honest way.

Whether it is very obvious or subtle, there will be a snake or a symbol of a snake

in every scene. The snake is the main character and common thread between the

15 - 18 scenes. Sometimes the snake will be a real snake, sometimes a symbol of a

snake such as a rope, and some other times a hand drawn animation of a snake or

of the snakes movement introduced during the post-production phase.

Post production.

I will edit each scene using FINAL CUT. During the montage I will also apply

Nathaniel Dorskys Devotional Cinema concept. As Glen W. Northon wrote

referring to Dorskys book, the nature of montage should also respect the same

intermittence and not fill in too many narrative gaps.

Glen W. Norton, (2004) 'Searching for Balanced Vision: Dorsky's Devotional

Cinema Film-Philosophy, vol. 8 no. 35


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During the editing, I will introduce charcoal hand drawn animation and

different digital animation techniques in most of the scenes.

During with the post-production phase, I will also be running experiments for the

exhibition phase.

I will program a system with Open Frameworks that will use a bio-signal

input to trigger the order in which the video scenes appear.

The methodology I will use for this phase will be to run several trial

experiments with volunteers to see how well does the brain waves work as bio

signals. To keep track of the experiments, I will create a category in my blog called

brain wave experiments where I will write in detail why and how the experiments

failed or succeeded.


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Outcomes: the final presentation.

The final presentation will be a video installation using the brain waves of

the spectator to trigger the scenes flow of the project. The viewer will put on

wireless electrodes that connect via a Bluetooth modem to the computer. The

viewers signals will trigger the order in which the scenes are projected in front of

them. In order to have more people experiencing the project in less time the

viewer can push a button to pause the system and allow a different spectator

attach the electrodes. Then he/she can push the button and continue to watch the

movie.

One wall will be used for the video projections and the rest of the walls will

have print outs of still photography from the video scenes.


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Work Plan

The project has to be achieved in the lapse of 22 months. I am planning to

divide my time like it is shown in the chart below.


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BIBLIOGRAPHY

I will be researching the following books:

y Video Art: A Guided Tourby Catherine Elwes (I.B. Tauris, 2004).y The Problematic of Video Art in the Museum 1968-1990 by Cyrus

Manasseh (Cambria Press, 2009).

y A History of Video Art by Chris Meigh-Andrews (Berg, 2006)y Video art by Sylvia Martiny Video Art by Micheal Rush (Thames & Hudson, 2007)y Technology and culture, the film reader / edited by Andrew Utterson.

London ; New York : Routledge, 2005

y Telepresence & bio art: networking humans, rabbits, & robotsBy Eduardo Kac

y Devotional Cinema by Nathaniel Dorskyy Christa Sommerer & Laurent Mignonneau: Interactive Art Research

By Gerfried Stocker, Christa Sommerer, Laurent Mignonneau

y Information arts: intersections of art, science, and technologyBy Stephen Wilson

y Interactive media: the semiotics of embodied interactionBy Shaleph O'Neill


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y The unfinished revolution by Douglas C. Engelbarty Shaw, J. Weibel, P. (2003) Future Cinema: The Cinematic Imaginary after

Film. London. MIT Press

y QUANTUM QUESTIONS, Mystical Writings of the Worlds greatestphycicists. Edited by Ken Wilber, 2001

y Technology and Intuition: A Love Story? Roy Ascott's Telematic Embracey The Cosmic Serpent by Jeremy Narby

MAGAZINES:

Cabinet Magazine, Kalaidascope magazine, Frieze magazine, Dossier Journal,

Discover

WEBSITES:

The information accessible online is an important input source for my project

given that this virtual medium is very commonly used by various digital artists I

will be researching. That is why I am constantly investigating different themes

online. Some of the websites I will be looking at are:


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Some artists websites:

Pages related to ayahuasca:

http://cocholateviajero.blogspot.com/

Museums websites like:

MOMA: , Whitney museum: www.whitney.org, Tate

Modern:

INTERVIEWS / People I am in contact with

Eduardo Gastelumendi, re-known psychologist working with Ayahuasca; Aernout

Mik, video artist; Alonso del Rio and Antonio Barrera, shamans with whom I am in

touch.

Documents

Mariana Tschudi Project Proposal 2012