Video by Sean Renner, photos by Rafael Hernandez and Angel Origg

Canvas Extrusion

October 2017, WaveCave, CalArts

Valencia, CA

May 2018, CalArts Expo

Valencia, CA

cross-stitching mesh, hanging string, projection mapping, synthesized video, processed audio

Canvas Extrusion is an interactive installation presenting a three-dimensional volumetric display using a standard 2D projector mapped onto a grid of hanging cords. This lofi rendering resembles a hologram, made popular as a high-tech sci-fi trope, yet it uses only common materials.

In futuristic settings of television and film (and in some real life devices), most hologram projections are grainy, low frame-rate, low contrast, monochromatic, partially translucent, distorted audio, disrupted by touch, etc. These tendencies make the fictional hologram device more believable for contemporary audiences, and yet a futuristic society would be likely to have higher standards of visual and auditory resolution. Alternatively, much of the data could have been displayed just as effectively and with much more clarity on 2D technology available today.

While not a literal hologram, this installation contains similar features and shortcomings. The cords hang in a rough cube shape, only 12 wide and 12 deep. Because of the extreme angles required for projection mapping via visible lattice point geometry, some rows of cord have very narrow slices of light projected on them. The resulting image is distorted and scattered, easily disrupted by wind or touch or irregularities in the cord.

This experiment would have been impossible without the generous help of:

Scott Cazan, Anne LeBaron, Sara Roberts, Sam Friedland, Tom Rhodes, Vincent De la Torre, Jeff Huang, Théotime Vaillant, and Skylar Chen <3