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ROOM THERAPAY
an installation project created in collaboration with Casey Opstad. The installation included an direct, real-time video stream projection (from Kanaha Beach, Hawaii), immersive sound, beach accessories, heat and refreshments. This event took place at Whittier Gallery in Minneapolis in February.
Proposal:
Room Therapy: a pleasant evening shoreside.
It is difficult to imagine a more prosaic topic of conversation than the weather. Regardless of the specific content of any such exchange, the weather is an important social tool, a universal code of communication, one that prompts immediate connection, empathy and a sense of a shared experience. Despite a certain palliative camaraderie in the face of adverse conditions, the severity and length of the winter in northern climates creates protracted periods of decreased social activity and isolation. In the absence of persistent human contact the internet is an essential tool for mitigating the effects of solitude by providing a window into the world at large. Although this window presents a seemingly infinite set of avenues for social contact and unique experience, the level of fulfillment derived from such interactions does not transcend the threshold of mere simulation. The parties involved remain positioned in their individual, private space, untouched by warmth of human contact and the unique nature of physical experience.
On February 16th, at Whittier Art Gallery we propose the staging of a collective simulation of a real experience. Room Therapy is a live simulation of a tropical beach set-up within the four walls of the Graduate Art Gallery. The installation includes heat, light, a real-time projection of multiple beaches via live webcam, immersive sound, beach accessories, people and refreshments. The purpose of this experiment is to create a relational space on the site of an institutional and generally solitary environment and to provide a temporary place of respite and warmth in the long winter months in Minneapolis. The installation is open to the public and is free of charge. It begins promptly at 7 pm and ends at 10pm.
Vadim Gershman and Casey Opstad
ROOM THERAPAY
an installation project created in collaboration with Casey Opstad. The installation included an direct, real-time video stream projection (from Kanaha Beach, Hawaii), immersive sound, beach accessories, heat and refreshments. This event took place at Whittier Gallery in Minneapolis in February.
Proposal:
Room Therapy: a pleasant evening shoreside.
It is difficult to imagine a more prosaic topic of conversation than the weather. Regardless of the specific content of any such exchange, the weather is an important social tool, a universal code of communication, one that prompts immediate connection, empathy and a sense of a shared experience. Despite a certain palliative camaraderie in the face of adverse conditions, the severity and length of the winter in northern climates creates protracted periods of decreased social activity and isolation. In the absence of persistent human contact the internet is an essential tool for mitigating the effects of solitude by providing a window into the world at large. Although this window presents a seemingly infinite set of avenues for social contact and unique experience, the level of fulfillment derived from such interactions does not transcend the threshold of mere simulation. The parties involved remain positioned in their individual, private space, untouched by warmth of human contact and the unique nature of physical experience.
On February 16th, at Whittier Art Gallery we propose the staging of a collective simulation of a real experience. Room Therapy is a live simulation of a tropical beach set-up within the four walls of the Graduate Art Gallery. The installation includes heat, light, a real-time projection of multiple beaches via live webcam, immersive sound, beach accessories, people and refreshments. The purpose of this experiment is to create a relational space on the site of an institutional and generally solitary environment and to provide a temporary place of respite and warmth in the long winter months in Minneapolis. The installation is open to the public and is free of charge. It begins promptly at 7 pm and ends at 10pm.
Vadim Gershman and Casey Opstad