by

Muriel Magenta

Times Square(2002) and Token City(1997) are a pair of related works that explore a passion for New York City, while investigating the interface between 3D animation and various digital media. The imagery surrounds the viewer in both a gallery space and in electronic space. The Times Square 3D animation is driven by the universal attraction to this urban icon. Viewers experience the reality, myth and pulse of this singular location. Times Square mirrors the City absorbing and belting out a multitude of vibes. I take the essence of Broadway to the max. Fleeting elements of billboards, pulsating neon, theater lights, yellow cabs, and street life play off one another. To emphasize the architectural drama, much of the action takes place above eye level as the animation pans up from the street to building tops. The site is constructed realistically in 3D animation and then deconstructed as my art replaces the predictable Times Square graphics. The Times Square multimedia gallery installation contrasts projections of the 3D animation and a sculptured island of video games related to the Broadway scene. The overall content has been influenced by personal memory, popular culture and the tradition of works by artists, writers, composers and playwrights who expound on the New York theme. In Token City the subway becomes the site for a 3-D computer animated experience--transforming the everyday commute into a series of images and sounds that simulate reality in an extraordinary environment. Token City is a collaborative piece by myself and composer percussionist, Michael Udow, based on the common subway experience of both artists. The viewer is immersed in a situation where emotions and thoughts associated with the subway are implied and heightened: anonymity of the individual within a crowd, the passing of time, and a "longing to keep going." The imagery includes rows of heavy riveted columns, iron staircases, and old tiled walls, coexisting with new streamlined subway cars, flashy moving billboards, and an array of New Yorkers. For the Token City multimedia installation, the gallery space was converted into a larger than life-size walk-in subway platform comprised of big screen projected images. The animation was reordered to create three separate perspective views of the subway station. Standing on the platform, the viewer experiences the train pulling in, doors opening, people getting off and on, and the train pulling away. Ten-foot high computer generated tile walls, original subway billboards, and a replica of an authentic subway bench completed the environment. The installation premiered at the Arizona State University Art Museum.