Artists:
© Nina Yankowitz U.S.A. (artist, creative concept, installation design)
Mauri Kaipainen (interactive multi-perspective media design/Ontoscape engine)
Barry Holden (Coordinator, audio collaboration)
Pia Tikka (artist/scientist, creative contributor)
Peter Koger (software designer)
Scott Fitzgerald (freelance technology consultant)
Type of project: Crossings is an Interactive art installation investigating relative similarities of sacred texts. The concept originated because it was felt that so many of the worlds conflicts are fueled by religious intolerance and misunderstanding. We hope this project will promote understanding and tolerance, bringing us closer to peaceful interactions between all people.
Dimensions: Variable
Materials: Two adjacent walls use a virtual environment with projections and infrared tracking
Crossings is an interactive art installation that allows participants to investigate relative similarities of sacred texts. They can view scriptures from some widely practiced religions around the world: Old Testament, New Testament, Buddhism, Hinduism, and The Quran. They are instructed to choose words of interest to explore with an infrared wand, and adjust the relative importance of topics within each search, and afterwards retrieve their private text selections from a website to learn from which religions their color-coded texts originated.
For example, a participant will enter a virtual religious space and walk on a cathedral floor projection designed from a palette of mosaic patterns seen inside cathedrals/temples around the world. She will hear a sacred sound score composed from a variety of dialects, recording readings of some religious texts. With an infrared wand, visitors are invited to select words to explore, moving them across an interactive whiteboard wall. She leaves the word at a location, adjusting the relative importance of topics within each search while observing text results simultaneously appearing on the adjacent wall. Participant can save and retrieve her text selections by clicking on SAVE button and receiving her code number to print out at www.nyartprojects.com/crossings.
Old Testament | New Testament | Quran | Buddhist Texts | Hindu Texts
SELECT WORDS THAT REPRESENT TOPICS YOU WOULD LIKE TO EXPLORE
- Pick up WAND
- To SELECT a word or topic to explore, touch tip of wand to the projection wall (with image at top) and press the RED BUTTON with thumb. (Wand acts like a computer mouse)
- To SEARCH topics and EXPLORE relative importance of RELIGIOUS TEXTS, click on WORDS and move along white lines to the right and the results will be displayed on adjacent TEXT wall
- If you want to save and retrieve your text selections, click on SAVE button and record your number to view and print at www.nyartprojects.com/crossings
Nina Yankowitz (nyankowitz@gmail.com)
Peter Koger, Vienna (software designer)
Scott Fitzgerald, USA (technology advisor)
Special Thanks to The Finnish Cultural Foundation, and the Arts Council of Finland
Special thanks to NY Art Projects LLC
