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Haunting an 18th Century Peepshow: Design and function of the mixed-media theatrical installation Teatro Menor

Published: 20 February 2022 Publication History

Abstract

Miniature theatrical environments are described for a mixed-media installation featuring videotaped performance. The modules of the installation use the design of an 18th century French peepshow as a point of departure. The original viewing cabinets, made as amusements for parlours and salons, offered a primitive form of stereoscopy by way of a large bi-convex lens and gave individuals viewing two-dimensional coloured images the impression of depth and three-dimensionality, an effect often enhanced using prosceniums. In the current work, this basic form is hybridised with a contemporary expression of another archaic though persistent artistic technique, the 19th century theatrical illusion, the Pepper's ghost and in addition to two-dimensional scenography inside the peepshow, objects are included to better integrate the ghost image with its three-dimensional confines. LED lighting inside the cabinets is dynamically controlled and synchronised with the videotaped ghosts and further, ambisonic audio is delivered on headphones to promote a sense of immersion in the scene and an association of the viewer with focal characters.

References

[1]
Richard Balzer. 1998. Peepshows: A Visual History. Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York.
[2]
J.-M. Celerier. 2018. Authoring interactive media: a logical & temporal approach. PhD thesis. University of Bordeaux, France
[3]
Edmé-Gilles Guyot. 1769. Illusions de L'Optique, Nouvelles récréations physiques et mathematiques. Gueffier, Paris. Retrieved from t.ly/illusionsdeloptique
[4]
Kees Kaldenbach. 1985. Perspective Views. Print Quarterly. Retrieved April 12, 2021 from https://kalden.home.xs4all.nl/auth/perspectiveviews.htm
[5]
Jan Koenderink, Maarten Wijntjes, and Andrea van Doorn. 2013. Zograscopic viewing. -Percept. 4, 3 (May 2013), 192–206.
[6]
Iain Mott. 2016. O Fantasma Acústico. In Práticas e Poéticas Vocais. EDUFU, Uberlândia.
[7]
Iain Mott. 2017. Botanica: navigable, immersive sound art. In 16o Encontro Internacional de Arte e Tecnologia, Lisboa, Portugal. Retrieved from tinyurl.com/vb9tbr8
[8]
Iain Mott and Thibaud Keller. 2019. Three-dimensional sound design with Mosca. In 18o Encontro Internacional de Arte e Tecnologia, Faculdade de Belas Artes da Universidade de Lisboa, 85–96. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/uwkr8nz
[9]
George Speaight. 1989. Professor Pepper's Ghost. Theatre Noteb. 43, 1 (1989), 16–24.

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          ARTECH '21: Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Digital and Interactive Arts
          October 2021
          761 pages
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          Published: 20 February 2022

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          • Fundo de Apoio à Cultura (FAC) Distrito Federal, Brasil

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          ARTECH 2021

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