Events

Seeing with the Mind's Eye: 3D Works by Marc Downie and OpenEndedGroup

with Marc Downie

After Ghostcatching (2010-11)

When:
Friday, April 27, 2018, 7:00pm - 7:00pm
Description:

To celebrate Marc Downie's appointment as lecturer in the Department of Cinema and Media Studies, we are showcasing his pioneering 3D work. As the cofounder of the new media collective OpenEndedGroup, Downie's approach to digital art combines three signature elements: non-photorealistic computational imagery; incorporation of body movement by motion-capture and other means; and the autonomy of artworks directed by artificial intelligence. After Ghostcatching (2010-11, 13 min.) comprises 3D motion-capture footage of dancer Bill T. Jones; Stairwell (2010, 8 min.) struggles to cast Wayne McGregor as a solid sculptural form for each instant of movement; Loops (2001-13, 13 min.) derives from a motion-capture recording of Merce Cunningham’s solo dance for hands; and Saccades (2014, 36 min.) evokes the intricate web of connections between paintings, sculptures, chairs, windows, doorways, and spaces throughout the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.

Marc Downie is a Scottish-born digital artist, cofounder of the new media collective OpenEndedGroup and, most recently, a lecturer in the UChicago Department of Cinema and Media Studies. Over the last decade his studio has worked in the broadest variety of contexts: making art for façade, gallery, dance, cinema, and VR. His collaborative works respond to an ever-expanding range of materials—drawing, film, motion capture, photography, music, and architecture. Always crossing disciplinary boundaries, this work operates outside established disciplinary structures. In the field of dance, Downie has worked closely with Merce Cunningham, Bill T. Jones, Trisha Brown and Wayne McGregor. His public artworks include outdoor projections and performances in spaces ranging from York Minster Cathedral to Barclays Center Brooklyn. OpenEndedGroup has presented work at Lincoln Center, MoMA, Hayward Gallery, ICA Boston, Sadler’s Wells, Festival d’Automne, Detroit Institute of Art, SITE Santa Fe, and film festivals including Sundance, New York, Rome, and Berlin. Downie has had residencies in museums, schools, and research institutions including the Gardner Museum, Stanford, IRCAM, Le Fresnoy, the University of Michigan, and EMPAC.

Co-presented by the Department of Cinema and Media Studies