CHRISTINE MARIE
SHADOWS IN STEREO, is an immersive installation that offers a tactile 3D experience of real-time processing with inherent motion tracking sans a computer. For the participant, an uncanny experience of somatic dislocation occurs as their shadow-double stands beside them in cubic space. Shadows in Stereo, originated as an MFA thesis project at the Center for Integrated Media at the California Institute of the Arts in 2009 (pictured above). The first public event featured drone music in the gallery led by composer Gary Schultz.
The first stereoscopic shadowgraph originated in 1918, prior to creating one I hadn't seen a device or experienced the effect. I began experimenting in 2006 while a student at Cal Arts. I am able to create 40' forms, the largest known shadowgraphs.
Video filmed and edited by Christine Marie.
Shadows in Stereo, developed from an installation to an installation enlivened by performance following a commission by Nion McEvoy in 2018 at the McEvoy Foundation for the Arts in San Francisco. My process began with watching James Cameron's Avatar. I observed and notated the path of objects in motion in 3D throughout the film then devised a score for experimentation in the gallery. For multiple evenings over the course of four weeks I was joined by dancers to enact the score using bodies, and found dimensional objects in the main gallery while visitors watched and provided feedback. This exploration served as a catalyst, once motions were discovered for providing maximum Z-axis depth we added music and began choreographing. For the culminating event the public experienced the installation for themselves then observed the performance in rotation throughout the evening.
MCA Program notes: Shadows in Stereo is an analog, 3-D stereo imaging experience. Accompanied by a team of performers and dancers, artist Christine Marie uses handmade lights, simple objects, and wire sculpture to cast 30-foot shadows onto walls, ceilings, and floors. Guests wear red-blue anaglyph eyewear which makes the shadows appear three-dimensional, including the guests’ shadows as they wander about the space. Marie and her team create performances inspired by found 3-D film footage including scenes from James Cameron’s Avatar and 1980s NASA VR simulations. Shadows in Stereo questions what role analog techniques play amid digital technology and modern storytelling, creating an alternative visual space of discovery and exploration. Workshops culminate with a final performance. Collaborators include a choreographer, composer, cinematographer, and students from SFAI and CCA. Music by composer Danny Clay.