Messages art + science exhibition, Memorial Union Gallery, Maidson,
Wisconsin
June 14th - August 2nd, 2019
Held in conjunction with the 2019
International Cosmic Ray Conference July 24th - Aug 1st, 2019.
As part of the virtual exhibition: Life, A Sensorium
hosted by
Sensorium: Centre for Digital Art and Technology (York University, Canada) at
ISEA2020 Montreal, Quebec, Canada, October 13-18
Messages from the Horizon is an abstracted and collapsed form of the Universe within the
space of a small room. It is an expression of the process of astronomical observation,
knowledge acquisition and the human condition in the Universe. Most of what we wish to
learn about our Universe falls outside of what we are able to perceive through our
senses. Ultimately, all information gathered from our instruments must be scaled and
transformed so that it can fall within the range of our perception to be understood. In
the case of astronomical observation, we do this by slicing the electromagnetic spectrum
and comparing significant simultaneous events in our Universe in energy, location, and
time. The relation of the totality of what is present in the Universe and what is
perceivable through our senses highlights the edges of what is known, knowable, and
unknowable in our Universe. From this perspective the abstract experience of this
installation can be understood as an exploration of our relation to the Universe by
simultaneously celebrating human achievement and the existential limitations of our
being.
In the installation three semi-transparent displays represent
black holes located in the distant reaches of our Universe using a technique known as
persistence of vision. The persistence of vision display consists of a single string of
LED's spun at a high speed to draw images in the air by imprinting on our eyes as it
spins. The affect of persistence of vision is used in this exhibit is used to express
the elusive nature of black holes and the and their study.
In nature
black holes are sources of high energy activity that produce messengers that eventually
travel Earth. The virtual black holes represent these sources an array of monitors
positioned across from the black hole displays collects and assembles this cosmic
message. Each monitor in the array offers a different perspective of the same virtual
phenomenon through visualizations and sonifications of the simulated black hole messages
in real-time. Touch screen interfaces allow the viewer to explore the data
visualizations being presented on the screens. The result is a partial reflection of the
phenomenon with each monitor showing only a limited and altered impression of the event
that has occurred.