Sunpendulum

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Sunpendulum is an art, science and technology project[1] devised by Austrian media artist Kurt Hofstetter.[2]

Contents

[edit] Concept

Watching the sky: "Inplusion" phase

Twelve video cameras called "time-eyes" are connected to the internet in twelve locations in twelve time zones around the Earth, observing the sky twenty four hours per day, continuously creating a hypothetical "sun clock" which spans the entire planet.[3]

Installations


Viewing the results: "Explosion" phase

→ Note: This section describes "pavilions" which have not been constructed or installed.

Scale model pavilion.
Scale model pavilion.

At a location to be determined within each time zone, twelve screens are intended to be arranged in a circle within a pavilion[9] meant to remain open for visitors twenty four hours per day. The screens, connected online with the time-eyes, transmit the images from the twelve time zones.[10] As the earth rotates, the images transmitted by the time-eyes move within a pavilion's circle of screens where day and night may be vicariously experienced in parallel.

Each pavilion, a circular structure of twenty four pairs of half cylinders, each pair of which resembles in horizontal cross section the Hopi symbol ( ) for universal brotherhood,[11] is intended to allow twenty four points of entry for visitors while preventing local light from reaching the screens. An arrangement of rooftop solar cells is hypothesized to produce the necessary energy.[10]

[edit] Kernel team

The kernel team consists of scientists (chiefly from the Institute of Computer Graphics and Algorithms at the Vienna University of Technology) and artists. Its primary tasks are ongoing technical developments which maintain the integrity of the project and its hardware and software.

[edit] Collaboration partners

The collaboration partners are scientific and academic institutions which host the time-eye cameras, hardware and servers and participate in the project's international cross-cultural cooperation.

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Sunpendulum Concept (html). INST Research Institute for Regional and Transnational Processes (1993).
  2. ^ Kurt Hofstetter, Member of Parallel Media. (html). Basis Wien Kunst, Information und Archiv (in German & English).
  3. ^ Inplusion: 12 time-eyes around the earth watch the sky (html). Project website.
  4. ^ a b Staff reporter. "ZU selected as site for Sunpendulum project" (html), Khaleej Times, 13 February 2002. 
  5. ^ a b "Time-Eye" at HKUST Puts Hong Kong on Global Hi-Tech Media Art Scene (html). Hong Kong University of Science and Technology website (13 March 2003).
  6. ^ a b Anisha Baksi. "Solar Power" (html), The Statesman. 
  7. ^ a b February News: Media art of terrestrial scale: The Kanazawa Institute of Technology future design laboratory (Tokyo) (html) (Japanese). KITnet.jp news. (A google search for Kanazawa sunpendulum will yield a link which can be translated into English.) (February 2005).
  8. ^ a b Sunpendulum Project - International video monitoring, one at CMI, Majuro (html). yokwe.com (3 October 2006).
  9. ^ Sunpendulum pavilion #2, Station F / model (html). Project website.
  10. ^ a b Explosion: 12 time-screens transmit the sunlight from around the earth (html). Project website.
  11. ^ Carl G. Liungman, Dictionary of Symbols, 1991, p 175

[edit] External links