Done!

I've finished the build of the installation. It has been a very trying few weeks, however I'm more then happy with the outcome.

The structure is of such a large scale to simulate the idea of endless, open space, which I feel it has, within reason, achieved. While the room is a relatively small confine, there is enough space that when standing facing away from the walls, due to the curved surface the area opens up in front of the viewer. Any claustrophobic feeling is caused by the low ceiling, however it is minimal.
Despite being an open space, the projection does make the installation an uncomfortable setting; the constant buzzing of thousands of particles is unpleasant due to the influx of detailed, untraceable movement. Just as one number becomes clear it whizzes away, leaving no reference point. The projector’s beam is enlarged due to the dome mirror to the point where the pixels are visible, sized at roughly 1x 1cm. When viewed up close, the pixels form a stationary grid, where each individual one changes colours, much like a television set when viewed from a similar distance. However due to the size of the installation, this is not noticeable, and the overall viewing of the animation is unhindered.
The sensation amounts to a degree of contained wonder, partly because as light, it can be broken by the shadow of the viewer, and also because as a digital medium there is a subconscious narrative of it as fiction. To be genuinely enthralled by a digital work requires a suspension of disbelief. For this is the reason I have concluded that a digital piece cannot evoke the sublime as it occurs in the natural world; the threat is known not to be real.

There is no way of monitoring if the work is or is not sublime; as the piece applies to the individual, the experience cannot be generalized as a success or a failure. If one person out of one hundred feels emotionally moved and the other ninety nine do not, then the piece has succeeded in terms of the single individual, even if it has failed with the others.
I don't feel capable of judging the work myself; I have too much vested in it to be subjective, and as the creator I understand how it has worked.

What separates the experience from being directly sublime or depicting the sublime is that it aims to evoke other feelings which can collectively produce said feeling. It is a stimulant, a mediator rather than the emotion itself. The piece aims to cause frustration, exasperation, a degree of fear and above all, wonder; ingredients as separate emotions.

When exhibited, the animation and concept will be discussed, however the exact methodology will not be revealed as it is in this paper. The sublime as a total experience can only function through a lack of understanding and contemplation. If the viewer is aware of this methodology, then the animation and experience is conquered, it is no longer as mysterious, threatening or wild. While the lack of a complete explanation may frustrate, this is part of the experience and of the sublime in the traditional sense. Staring at the universe will not reveal its secrets.

To summarize simply, this experiment in evoking the sublime succeeds if the person feels irritation, frustration, trepidation and wonder. If it does not, then it fails. This proves somewhat exasperating, as I cannot prove or disprove if the piece evokes the sublime, however in taking on such lofty emotions and aiming to contain them within an installation, like with any piece which aims to induce emotion, it can never be universal. However I can say on a personal level that while I cannot find the work sublime myself, having manufactured the scenario, I can say that it fully reflects my own relationship with the sublime, and alongside the feeling itself, that is what I hope to convey to others.

Created a film

I've made a film to accompany the installation, it is viewable on the film and video page.

Disposal and storage of shoes

I've drilled and sanded two holes in the plinth which I will have a monitor placed on, one for disposal of  the shoe covers, and the other for taking. They feed into a bin liner which hosts them all.

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More gaps

I've taped up the outsite edges with gaffer tape to prevent any leakage inside. It is now pitch black.

Projector problems.

Due to a miscommunication, I found today (Wednesday 7th Sep) that I did not have transport to move the projector from Epsom, so I collected it in person and took it to Canterbury. This meant I could only carry one. On arrival at Canterbury, I found the projector was not working. So far the cause has not been identified. Luckily I have been leant a rather good projector from fine art for cover. It is no where near the specs of the broken one, however it still looks very good and I am happy. It does mean however that I have had to reformat the animation, loosing motion blur and upping the contrast, so the image is clearer.

Sagging

Unfortunately the roof is sagging drastically in the centre, so the dome mirror cannot be fitted.
To counteract this, I have created a very large centre beam to sit over the top of the roof, and then screwed from underneith the roof into the beam to bring the two closer. This involved a degree of guess work, as due to the black background paper I could not see what I was aiming at.
The result is not attractive, but it works. Luckily as it is outside, it will not be seen.

Moving the roof

To move the finished roof structure I required the help of my entire class, with one person at each joint. Between us we floated the roof upwards and onto the structure, with a great deal of straining. A real team effort!

Assembling the new roof

I started to assemble the roof today. I created four 2.4m x 2.4m square frames , and laid them out on the floor. The structure is very weak, so to strengthen, I then cut four right angle triangles for each corner, four equilateral triangles to bridge the four frames together, and one diamond to link the centre points. These are all fixed with four to six screws to make sure the structure is robust. Because the total size is much bigger then the ceiling height, I can’t flip the roof over. This causes a problem because I wish to line the underside with seamless paper, however can’t get underneath to do so, as the roof must stay facing downwards so it can be picked up and floated onto the installation itself. To get around this issue, I propped up the roof in nine places with cut off block of wood, and ran a long piece of wood through the tube which the paper came on, which I then wedged behind two breeze blocks, so when I pulled the paper, it unraveled without moving. I pulled the paper out and underneath the structure, moving the wooden blocks accordingly so the structure still floated over the surface. When the paper was in place, slightly overlapping the halfway point due to being 2.8m across, I made sure the paper was flat, then folded the edges around to the top of the frame. I stapled thoroughly along the edges, and secured the centre beams with masking tape. The next half will be attached Tuesday, followed by placement and the dome mirror.

Moving and repairing the structure

When I arrived in today, one of the caretakers came to find me, to tell me apologetically that the night before he had to move my installation. I’d asked before if I could leave the access door propped open which had been okayed, so I built the installation close to the door so I only needed a small corridor to block off the studio. However, when locking up the alarm would not set, and it turned out the access door has a sensor on it, and had to be closed. To do so three of the boards had been pushed forwards to allow the door to close, which meant the tape had been ripped, the walls were no longer circular; relying on the correct angles and the floor was slightly damaged. This is no fault of the caretakers, and they were very sorry; it’s just one of those things. They did their best not to disturb the installation, so there’s no problem there. It meant however, that due to the angles being incorrect, the entire installation had to be moved, which meant removing all the tape I had painted the previous day. With the help of Vickram I moved the whole structure, retaped and repainted. Where the floor had been painted previously to blend with the tape there was now a clear line where the tape had been removed, so a larger portion of the floor has been painted to make the difference up. A new centre point also now needs calculating. A very frustrating day, but at least it happened now rather then next week. It’s back to where it was previously now, and there is little noticeable difference.

Filling the gaps

Today I began to tape up the gaps between boards and floor in the installation. I’ve been using 1 ½” masking tape, ran down the edges of the installation in three layers, to cover the hinges as well as the gap, making the transition more seamless then previously. The same applies to the floor, with three layers bridging the edges, so the seam is slightly tapered rather than a harsh right angle. Once the structure was covered, I painted over the tape with white emulsion, feathering the edge onto the floor slightly, so there isn’t an abrupt line between paint and paper. When dry, the finish blended nicely, the installation now having an intense, white glow, not quite enough to cause arc eye, but enough to induce heavy squinting. When darkened this won’t be an issue. It feels bizarre that I am preparing the installation to be perfectly, seamlessly white, in order to hide it completely.

New new roof

– Due to efoam letting me down, I’ve had to find a new way of lining the roof. Previously in the test rendition I was cutting scraps of black backdrop paper with the hope of lining them to the framework I was due to build. To return to this solution, I have ordered a 2.82m x 11m roll of black backdrop paper from Calumet, who supplied the white paper for the floor, and intend to line the roof in two long strips, with the centre seam covered with a single strip of black tape. As the ceiling is relatively low, this should prevent any light leakage. If it does not appear dark enough, I will line the roof with the tarpaulin I used in the test rendition, which due to the black paper underneath will this time not filter the light, giving the installation the blue shade it previously took on.

No foam roof lining

I’ve been waiting the last week for delivery of the foam roof I previously mentioned I had ordered, which would have been perfect for the installation as it would cover the entire structure seamlessly, filling any small gaps due to the material. I rang eFoam, the company I had placed the order with to find out what was causing the delay, and after giving them my order details and confirmation was told they would ring me back when they have investigated. Half an hour later, I was told that the company could not cut the foam to the specifications I had requested, and had refunded my bank the day after I had placed the order. I had placed the order with no trouble on their website with no indication that there was a limit on any of the dimensions, which considering the sizes were selected from a drop down menu is particularly misleading, and I received no email from the company telling me they had been refunded, or that they were unable to complete the order in the first place, so had effectively waited a week for the delivery with no indication to the contrary. When informing the staff member of this, I was told that if I checked my bank statements, I would see a refund, and this was indication they could not complete the order, which I found incredibly unprofessional. This means I need to find a new way to line the roof. To conclude, should you find yourself in the bizarre situation where you are ordering custom cut foam, do NOT use efoam.co.uk.

Projector difficulties

I’m experiencing some real problems transporting the projectors. Because they are baulky and expensive there is too much risk in collecting them on the train, which is the only way I can get to Farnham. I’ve rung round various members of staff involved in the logistics side of the campuses, and in short there is no form of direct communication between the Surrey and Kent campuses. Post goes through the royal mail, and library books are shipped with a private courier company via Maidstone. I way recommended to seek a private courier company. This is very disappointing; I’ve always thought of UCA as a five campus university, however it would seem that this is a marriage of convencience rather then anything steadfast. I can’t help but feel let down that there is no way of getting equipment apart from in person; I’ve asked for help as its an inter campus transfer, not a request for help from a private company. I can’t afford a courier, as the price is in the hundreds, so I may have to seek a good samaratan, but at the moment, it is looking bleak.

Chipboard in place

The walls are now in place. I identified a centre point on the flooring, and measured 2.35m from it in twenty four directions, to mark out a circle with a 4.7m diameter (the circumference is 15 metres) in masking tape. With help from Onion and Vickram I then moved the boards, which are fixed in pairs to the edge, and was attempting to measure the angle using a set square, until Onion pointed out that because the circle is correctly measured, I just needed to make sure the edges of the boards were touching the masking tape for it to be perfect without the hassle. This simple piece of logic utterly floored me, and surely enough everything was at the needed 150 degree angle. I redrew the screws between the six sets of twos to complete the structure.

Laying the floor

I’ve laid out the flooring for the installation. It’s two 2.82m x 5.3m long strips of polar white photographic paper from Calumet, which I’ve linked together with a single strip of masking tape. I’ll paint over the link at a later point. The outside is stuck to the floor with more robust duct tape. I’m enforcing a no shoes rule to keep it as pristine as possible; everyone must wear the plastic shoe covers.

Canterbury build begins

After a van ride and some heavy lifting, the installation is now beginning assembly at Canterbury.

Visiting Farnham

I’ve had some success locating projectors. Various phone calls led me to the BA Digital Film & Screen Arts course at UCA Farnham, led by Steve Littman. He kindly agreed to meet with me to talk about various issues with the dome projection, and to discuss lending a projector. I took the dome with me, and trialed a 3500 lumin HD projector in the television studio, which has no light sources, so was perfect for this scenario. It worked brilliantly, leaving a clear, bright image on all the walls. It will be perfect in the enclosed space of the installation. Steve also suggested the use of two projectors, to bring a deeper level to the work, and also pointed out that I should be directing the image onto a mirror angled at 45 degrees, as it damages the bulb to be turned upright. He also gave me some great advice to do with HD compression, which will mean the renders are much better and will run more smoothly.

Ordering shoe covers

I’ve ordered 300 protective plastic shoe covers. To make sure the white floor doesn’t get dirty, I’ll ask viewers to slip a pair on before they enter the installation. I’ll also use them when building to prevent unnecessary dirt.

Ordering a new roof

– I’ve ordered a 5m x 4mm foam disc to sit underneath a basic frame for the roofing, as opposed to the pre mention solution. I can staple it to the supporting beams, and it will block out all light, provide a clean finish, and plug any gaps around the top due to the density. Perfect!

Securing a better projector

Due to the diffusion of the image, I’ve been trying desperately this week to secure a new projector to use with a higher lumin count and better quality. The projector I was hoping to procure from the lecture theatre is not as good as I had initially hoped. There are none available in stores at any of the campuses that are of a higher count then 2000. However, I have emailed Steve Littman, of BA Digital Film and Screen Arts, who I’m going to see next week regarding the possibility of borrowing his 3500 lumin HD projector, which belongs exclusively to his course. This will be perfect, as the brightness will hopefully be compensated, and the visable pixels on the walls halved in size.