Johannes Goebel: Digital technology, the senses and a real building

Johannes Goebel is the Director of the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA

ABSTRACT:
This talk will focus on the interdependency of criteria for the specification of a building dedicated to the intersection of performing and time-based arts, digital technology and related research. The venues and spaces in this building are optimized for the presentation, analysis and synthesis of events for the human senses, mainly focused on "seeing, hearing and moving in space". The Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC) is a 20,000 square meter, $140+ million building opening in 2008. The research and artistic program, building and infrastructure of EMPAC have been developed to meet very high standards of quality for research, production and performance of newly created works of time-based arts that integrate digital technology. Meeting these standards makes the spaces at EMPAC equally well suited for any non-artistic research involving immersive projections of images on arbitrarily shaped larger-scale surfaces, Sound projection or recording of "n sources", movement in 3D space (by humans or computer controlled), motion-capturing or tracking of individuals or large groups, etc. - all this possible in spaces like a concert hall, a theater with fly-tower or two black-box studios with volumes of 4000 And 2000 cubic meters. The specifications for the building were derived from the contrasting requirements and consequences of human senses and machines, both hopefully meeting in the creation of sense. The general philosophy of design and use of the space will be presented.

http://empac.rpi.edu/