Projection mapping – bringing signs to life
On April 11, 2019 my son and I had the pleasure of attending the end-of-year vernissage put on by the students in COMS374 Intermedia II (Department of Communication Studies, Concordia University). Taught this year by my great colleagues Professors Razan AlSalah and Tagny Duff, with talented TAs Kelann Currie-Williams and Patricia Petit-Liang, the students took over the CJ building to stage a whole range of installations on several different floors.
A few of the signs in the MSP’s permanent exhibition were brought to life in spectacular ways using animation and projection mapping. (Rather than just relying on a plain rectangular image space, projection mapping allows artists and mediamakers to project their work effectively onto 3D objects.)
In this project, Ana Bilokin, Piper Curtis, Jocabel Janai Cabral Pinales, and Hannah Gold-Apel used the Silver Dragon pagoda sign for a “rotoscoped animation exploring themes of the seasonal hardships of Montreal, multi-generational culture, and the often cyclical nature of change.”
Another team (Nick Gertler, Sara Alamuddin, Catherine Duret, Justin Roberts) tackled the Buywell sign, with the goal of “imagining an extension of its history and its present location through the art of animation.”
Congratulations to everyone involved for finding such a creative way to reanimate these signs! (As my son said afterwards, “how come you didn’t think of doing that?!”)