“Relational architecture” is one of my favorite digital media works of art in the public space. The large-scale projection project allows viewers to play with their own shadows displayed on the façade of the architecture. In addition, the artist uses many pre-recorded photo portraits, which were taken in the respective host cities projecting them on the wall under strong light. So basically the viewer wouldn’t see anything before they see their own shadow “uncover” the existing images.
Rafael Lozano-Hemmer as a Mexican-Canadian artist, has been working with this type of interactive art in different spaces, inside of gallery spaces as well as outside of buildings, for example “Body movies” and “under scan”. This “relational architecture” project combines those two previous projects and presents it in a more cinematic way.
I use this work as an example to talk about ontological moments of the digital media work of art, because there are several different layers and existential states which exist in such a work.
The basic state is, the artist reports that “the piece is inspired by phantasmagorias on the one hand and surveillance and digital analysis on the other.” The piece, which is installed outside of the building allows the passengers to see their own figures appearing on the building, as well as their movements changing the appearance of the architecture. So observers realize their shadow and start playing with it. However, the size of the shape is keeping changing by the distance between the observers and the projection. So the shadows become different from the normal shadow, which give the viewer more dramatic feeling about the relationship between their bodies and the space and architecture.
The second state happens, when people actually realize, that they can see the existing images under their own shadows. So the viewers start positioning themselves differently in order to see other images under the new shadows. They start experimenting and thus form new and interactively created single images as well as change the whole composition. Once the shadows from the viewers and the existing images overlap, the portraits appear and the shadows of the viewers become the other existing person (which are derived probably from another project “under scan”)
Thus the performance constantly displays ontological moments and transforms itself not just visually through the interaction with the medias to be manipulated but also sociologically through interaction with other “players”. However, the “relational architecture” is also based on the theatre and cinematic concept, not indoor, but on the surface of the architecture, which not just totally changes the traditional meaning of the theatre, but makes this piece become a real public artwork. Everybody can be the hero of his solo show and at the same time be part of a group show.
Last but not least, this “shadow play” also brings a question of the “identity”. Every individual identity from the viewer is hidden in the shadow, which is actually the same as those identities from the “portrait photos” hidden in the strong light. Under the dark and under over-exposed light they share the same destiny of invisibility. When the viewers using their own shadows to find the existing images, it is like the process of defining the unclear identity of themselves, and also release the other existing person from being too much exposed under the strong lighting in the space.
Therefore, only if when they match together, the new meaning is truly created. The interactivity creates this meaning of this piece.
In conclusion, the interactive artworks, which are created by digital media technology may actually enlarge the possibilities of transferring one perspective to an other one, which goes beyond traditional art forms.
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