 Summerbranch is a new commission by Igloo that explores movement and stillness in nature. Using camouflage and other disguises, a person or a computer character can blend into a 'natural' environment captured and treated through the moving image. This installation uses the tools of the military-entertainment complex, computer gaming, motion capture, 3D environments and special effects to question what is truth and what is artifice in our attempts to reproduce nature. Through the creation of a computer generated virtual world, Summerbranch seeks to address this by the use of disguise in dance and movement. Igloo not only investigates the role of the 'real' in virtual environments but also that of the reproduction of nature in the history of art and particularly landscape work. Summerbranch radically subverts the well worn conventions and clichÈs favoured by producers creating games for commercial distribution. Summerbranch introduces a subtle and suprising new approach to deploying characters in a rural environment whilst still retaining references to the urban context which has been influential in informing the evolution of games. Scan Director Helen Sloan`... it is a sensitive, beautiful, accessible and observant study of the forest environment.. and marks one of their strongest works to date...` The Exhibit will be at Hal Todd Theater (studio theater), inside Hugh Gillis Hall, at San Fernando and S. 5th Sts. on San Jose State University campus. Hours are 1-7 pm, Aug. 7-13.
About Igloo Internationally renowned and BAFTA nominated artist group Igloo are led by founding members Ruth Gibson and Bruno Martelli who have collaborated on experimental multi-media projects since 1995. Their pioneering works Windowsninetyeight CdRom, Winterspace performance & installation and dotdotdot animation have received critical acclaim worldwide. They are recipients of a recent Royal Opera House commission for Goodbye Venus and with support from a NESTA Invention & Innovation Award and an Arts Council of England Grant for the Arts Award, Igloo are researching and developing novel uses for 3D computer gaming engines in multi-user network environments using motion captured performance. Igloo projects are interdisciplinary and are made working with teams of highly skilled practitioners drawn primarily from performance, music, design and technology backgrounds. Their work combines film, video, motion capture technology, music and performance with digital technology. The work is developed in a variety of formats and made for distribution across a range of platforms, including gallery installation, internet sites, large and small scale performance and CdRom. Igloo have taken their experimental multimedia installations around the world from Reykjavik to Rotterdam, Monte Carlo to Melbourne, Lisbon to Los Angeles and many places in between. Igloo have represented Britain in Japan, Greece, at DEAF and V2Lab Rotterdam, Transmediale Berlin, MILIA95 France, IDAT Arizona State University, EncontrosAcarte, Centre de Arte Moderne Lisbon, Portugal & e-culture Holland. Igloo are regularly invited to make presentations, undertake residencies and give master classes at international conferences and symposia, as well as teaching under and post graduate students in leading UK Higher Education institutions Credits Summerbranch Ruth Gibson & Bruno Martelli Igloo Collaborators Mark Bruce, Joanne Fong, Alex Jevremovic, John McCormick, Adam Nash, Alex Woolner Many Thanks Henry Dalton, Lisette Punky Pixie, Matthew Andrews, Gillian Carnegie, Toby Zeigler, Verushka & everyone at ArtSway, SCAN and essexdance Industry Support Animazoo, RMIT, Coventry University, Bionatics, 3T RPD Summerbranch is a co-commission between ArtSway, SCAN and Arts Council England. |
