Jennifer Steinkamp
is one of the leading new media artists in the US.

Artist Statement

My Only Sunshine 
[Installation Art; Experiments with Light, Space, Sound and Motion]

My artwork uses computer animation to craft immersive interactive projection installations. Three dimensional computer graphics are the basis of my abstract animation; animations which take full advantage of the computer's ability to create motion and points of view that are not available by any other means. Multiple video projectors are strategically placed in a space, and the projections of the animation are then fitted or remapped into architectural situations, the art can then be experienced physically in relationship to one's movements through the space.

The first installation I executed was a multiple site work titled Gender Specific (1989), a piece created for my undergraduate thesis at Art Center College of Design. It began as an installation for a house in Pasadena that was an artist run alternative gallery space called Bliss, subsequently it was also exhibited in a storefront at the Santa Monica Museum, California. Both pieces ran simultaneously in different parts of the city and viewers would have to drive across town to experience the entire installation.  Issues surrounding the cultural specificity of gender in relation to domestic and consumer architecture were addressed by bifurcating the architecture and sites across town.

As my ideas and the work developed, I found I could dematerialize architecture by combining light, space and movement. I had always been fascinated with the light and space artists such as James Turrel, his perceptual light illusions transform our experience of architecture.  Following this tradition, I investigated how light could create an illusionistic sense of space and dimension.  Unlike the light space artists, I added the component of motion to my light projected illusions that made the architecture appear to dematerialize. I first came across this visual phenomenon when I created Untitled (1993), a floor projection piece. A colorful water animation was projected from the ceiling down across the floor. The inanimate floor seemed to breathe, the architecture was transformed by light. The viewers perceived the non-physical components of the imagery and light corporealy. People actually experienced the physical sensation of seasickness. Ever since creating Untitled, I set out to investigate illusions which transform the viewers perception of actual space in a synthesis of the real and virtual.

Technology
As I mentioned, the imagery, synthesized is derived from software tools, not the world. I use Alias Maya Software on a Silicon Graphics computer, a 3D animation package used by the film industry for special effects. As new virtual reality software tools develop, my work effectively changes, in a sense the software developer is a collaborator. I often use particle dynamics, a software tool set created to simulate natural phenomena.

They are interesting because they are unpredictable; you can assign the particles a life span, tell them what color to be over their life, and attribute how they will respond to environmental variables such as gravity, turbulence and wind. You dial in these variables, and then run the simulation over night. It can be a pretty random process and it can take a couple months to complete an animation.

Because particles were created to simulate physics, they synthesize a very realistic quality of motion.  I have long since been interested in "life-like" motion. This is always the challenge for an animator or anyone who thinks about motion.
Over the past couple years, my collaborator, Jimmy Johnson and I have been adding the component of interactivity with sensors.

We recently completed a large scale piece titled Stiffs (2000). I knew almost immediately that I wanted to create large floor to ceiling monoliths, the forms would fill the space while referencing some of the existing proportions of the gallery. I imagined the monoliths as a forest of tall figures or trees. We further emphasized this by arcing the animation and sound around the viewer as they approached each monolith, the image would envelop the body. The viewer has always been an integral part of the artwork - their shadow disrupts the image, breaking the illusion of the projection. Their playfulness and movement though the space creates the experience. With Stiffs we explored spatial interactivity, using ultrasonic sensors to track the viewers relationship to each monolith. As the viewer approached the monolith, the animation would speed up. Another couple of sensors at the far ends of the gallery sent the image and sound into a chorus, all the monoliths sang together in unison. It is an interesting challenge to construct interactivity in a large space for many viewers without loosing the impact or experience of the work of art.

Genres and Influences
The question is often raised about what genre these art works can be said to inhabit. They obviously can be considered part of the new media art genre because of their origins in, and reliance upon, computer based technology. At the same time they are part of a long evolution in installation art. These are the two most overarching genres, but there are many other ways to categorize this work; and it has been included in many types of exhibitions, including: feminist, video, digital, interactive, photo, and abstract painting.

3D computer graphics, virtual reality if you will, is a new medium for artists. I find it extremely gratifying to work with these adept tools. Works of art can be created that have never been experienced before, although this can also be all too tempting. I feel a great responsibility to create artwork that engenders poetic resonance. Artwork should work on many levels, it can be accessible and interesting to an untrained audience, as well the cultural vanguard. One of my greatest challenges is to create a work where complex ideas can be best experienced as works of art.