Yale Bulletin and Calendar

March 29-April 5, 1999

Volume 27, Number 26

Grants support innovative new
projects using digital media

A real-time virtual reality program that would allow users to explore high culture, a trans-Atlantic collaboration between drama schools at Yale and in Moscow, and an interactive "virtual gallery exhibition" featuring the collections at the Yale Center for British Art -- these are just three of the projects that recently received grants from the Digital Media Center for the Arts (DMCA).

The 10 grants, which range from $1,000 to $13,700, are supported by a $150,000 gift from an anonymous donor to the DMCA, according to the center's director, Carol Scully.

The winning projects were chosen from among 40 submissions. Almost all involve a large web component, as well as other media. In keeping with the DMCA's mission to encourage interdisciplinary collaborations in the arts using digital media, many of the projects bring together individuals from diverse fields.

The 10 winning proposals are:

Astracted Cisms -- Creating a multimedia technology that would allow performers to manipulate the sounds and images used in a show from onstage during the performance. Project members: Faculty member Kathryn Alexander (music); Anne Kelsy (Information Technology Services), and Madeline Shapiro (Yale Dance Alliance and Pilobolus).

Oswald's Triptych -- Developing live performance that could be broadcast over the campus Intranet, and would allow interaction with audience members. Project members: Max Dana '99 (theater studies); Anthony Young '99 (film studies); David Heetderks '99 , Ken Ueno '99 and Mike Levinson '00 (music); and Terah Maher '99 (architecture).

"Richard II" -- Recording of a live performance of "Richard II" as well as interviews with the director and design team for a Yale cable broadcast and a web site emphasizing the interdisciplinary nature of the venture. Project members: Yale seniors Clayton Binkley (art) and Yusuf Hayes (mathematics); and junior Hrishikesh Hirway (art).

A World Above -- An experimental three-dimensional virtual reality world in the form of a labyrinth that allows users to explore high culture while communicating with each other. Project members: Cynthia Markins'99 (film studies); and graduate students Claude Eshaghian (architecture), Sara Iams (drama), Ioyay Shakura (art) and John Bernstein (comparative literature).

"Your Tale, Sir, Would Cure Deafness" -- Developing a CD-ROM or DVD disk that would allow users to various ways to watch Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" performed in American Sign Language. Project members: Faculty members Peter Novak (theater studies), Tim Barringer (art history) and Willie Ruff (music); Megan Mangum (School of Art); sophomore Terry Giang; School of Drama students Rebecca Rugg and Scott Braudt; and guest artist Peter Cook.

Call It Home -- Digitizing images and film reconstructing the history of suburban development from 1934 through the 1960s for inclusion in the Imaging America database. Faculty member Keller Easterling (architecture); Max Marmor (Art & Architecture Library); and Susan Williams (Visual Resources Collection).

The Meyerhold Project -- Constructing a multidisciplinary website dedicated to the work of Russian director Vsevold Meyerhold, particularly his 1926 production of Gogal's "Revisor." Project members: Faculty member David Chambers and graduate student Lisa Channer of the School of Drama; Mel Marvin (New York University); and Nikolai Pesochinsky and Roma Kontratenko of St. Petersburg Academy of Theatre Arts in Moscow.

The Collective Billboard -- Designing a billboard that would change over time to reflect the public's response to various questions. Project members: Graduate students Melissa Brown and David Reinfurt (art) and Jim Hart (drama); and faculty member Dean Sakamoto (architecture).

Virtual BAC -- Creating on CD-ROM a interactive, multimedia "virtual gallery exhibition" that would allow users to explore the building and collections of the Yale Center for British Art (BAC). Project members: David Lavorgna (British Art Center) and graduate student Randall Hoyt.

Antique Costume Website -- Developing a web site archive for the School of Drama's antique costume collection using cutting-edge technology. Project member: Robin Hirsch (School of Drama).

The anonymous gift to DMCA is being used to fund the following other projects, notes Scully.

* A DMCA artist-in-residence grant for Keith Piper, an internationally renowned multimedia artist, who will produce a CD-ROM titled "The Necessary Furniture of Empire" in conjunction with the British Art Center's collections.

* The DMCA's Tuesday-night lecture series "...With Technological Means: Artists, Theorists and Curators Working in New Media" (See Visiting on Campus, page 4.)

* A performance of "Gloria on the Road" by Jack Vees, operations director of the Center for Studies in Music Technology, and oboist Libby Van Cleve, using a system that translates live video into sound.

* Two digital media research fellowships: one, to Robert Odegard, a lecturer in graphic design at the School of Art, to develop a TV/web interface design for a DMCA arts channel, and one to Natalie Jeremijenko, visiting lecturer in engineering, to develop a multimedia course titled "The Corporate Imagination."

* Initiation of the DMCA's archive of digital artwork on campus by graduate students Kara Hamilton and Jonah Pregerson.

T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S

'Yale Constructs'--Program will explore future plans for campus facilities
Happy 350th Birthday, Elihu!--Yale will honor the man for whom it is named
Photosynthesis in a test tube? Scientists find a way . . .
Noted historian to present talk on 'moral authority' of U.S. presidency
Bennett will continue efforts to strengthen Yale's libraries
This year's DeVane Medals go to two English professors
League commissioner David Stern to speak on managing 'Global NBA'
Drama student sharing her love of dance in campus classes
Technology's impact on nation is topic of Sheffield Lecture
Coach Dick Kuchen resigning after 13 years at the helm . . .
'Missing' work will be performed for first time in nearly 40 years
Vladimir Petrov dies -- taught Russian at Yale
Grants support innovative new projects using digital media
Campus Notes