Information
Technology
Descriptions & Essays
As the Y2K media frenzy and millennium celebrations reached a fever pitch in late 1999, the finishing touches were being put on the design of one of the most ambitious VRML projects on the internet today. With the assistance of modellers, animators and programmers at the Bell Centre for Creative Communications (Centennial College, Toronto), and funded in part by the Canada Council for the Arts, Millennium Arts Fund, the first incarnation of this project titled: THE LIBRARY, was publicly launched online, on January 1, 2000.
The beautiful rotunda of the Canadian Library of Parliament was the inspiration for this 3D environment. While preserving the integrity of the basic layout and design, I endeavoured to create a metaphorical interpretation of a building selected for its' architectural and cultural significance. This presented challenging conceptual and technical obstacles. Numerous Digital Library initiatives have largely neglected the humanities and 'soft' sciences. However, 3D represents an opportunity to transform books from linear stories into dynamic narrative experiences. Exploring new means of collecting, storing, retrieving and distributing information, creative approaches to navigation and wayfinding emerged as guiding themes as this project progressed.
Photographs, secured with the cooperation of the Librarians and Archivists at Parliament Hill, became the texture files. Three stairways were added to the interior of the building, and additional points of access were provided to the upper levels. In the centre of the Library I placed a world globe, the texture a constantly updating satellite image of the earth retrieved (every 5 minutes) from the NASA website and wrapped around a rotating sphere. Inside the upper dome of the Library, I placed an animated aurory, illustrating the pathways of the planets. In all, six interactive 3D objects and sculptures were strategically placed throughout the Library for the online viewer to discover as they navigated throughout the space using a VRML-enabled browser.
In mid 2000, I took up the position of Visiting Artist at the School of Communication Arts, Seneca@York University (Toronto). I was provided with access to an ORAD Virtual Studio in order to further develop this project: THE LIBRARY 2. ORAD is the world leader in virtual sets for the broadcast and post-production markets, specializing in camera and object tracking technologies, 3D graphics and Electro-Optics. With the assistance of ORAD technicians and the support of LorTech (their distributor in Canada), the fully optimized 3D Library environment was ported to the CyberSet M, enabling the seamless integration of people and computer-generated imagery. A system of infrared transmitters makes it possible for the viewer to see themselves in the LIBRARY environment. On a wall size screen opposite the blue screen CyberSet, viewers can watch themselves moving around and behind 3D objects such as the world globe.
Utilizing THE LIBRARY 3D environment, a current research project is titled MULTI: Multiple User Laser Texture Interface (system to support collaborative interactive). This collaborative educational tool supporting multiple simultaneous users, explores the relationship between creativity and synesthesia.
(source: www.thelibrary2.com)
Literature
Paterson, Nancy. »The Library.« Leonardo 35, no. 2 (2002): 128-9.
Exhibitions & Events