Music: Claude Debussy – Clair De Lune

 

Lunar Drift (2014) by Rebecca Cummins and Paul DeMarinis works to heighten awareness of your spatial and temporal place in the universe. It consists of kinetic sculptures that constantly point at the moon and sun, in addition to digital images showing phases of the moon and daytime sky. Our project works to emphasize the initial point made by the artist to heighten awareness, focusing on your spatial place in the universe with the use of video, images, and sound.

We have created a video experience that reflects the qualities of Lunar Drift. Accompanying our time-lapse video of the sky at Western Washington University are photos of the Lunar Drift installation. This combination emphasizes a connection between the installation and our real-life spatial location. The visual display is narrated by an interview done with artists Rebecca Cummins and Paul DeMarinis. They discuss their inspiration, the process behind creating the sculpture, and the symbolism of the piece itself. This is meant to enrich the viewer’s experience by connecting the artist’s original ideas with our new interpretation of the piece. To provide a calming and spacious feeling and emphasize a heightened awareness of your spatial place in the universe we have incorporated faint classical music to flow between the dialogue of the artists. With a combination of time-lapse video, images, and the artists’ commentary we’ve created an experience that engages the senses and heightens spatial connection and awareness in relation with Lunar Drift.

South Wall

As a visual component of the Lunar Drift installation, the south wall depicts the light and weather of the sky in Bellingham, Washington. These digital images have been taken over the course of twelve months at four different times during the day which has been averaged out to gather a variety of sky phase representations.

West Wall

Another visual element of the Lunar Drift installation are the graphic images found on the west wall. These digital images depict the phases of the moon each night at transit for twelve months as seen from Bellingham.

Vitrines

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A key component to the Lunar Drift installation features two slow-time kinetic sculptures. Each sculpture constantly points at the Moon or Sun, tracking their progress through the sky as they move above and below the horizon on a continual cycle. Regardless of time and weather conditions, the kinetic sculptures maintain a real-time representation of our spatial location in relation to the Sun and Moon.

Use of Space

Rebecca Cummins and Paul DeMarinis explain why they chose Miller Hall to house the sculpture, emphasizing the design of the room and its status a working space.

Significance

The artists describe the themes they incorporated into their work, focusing on connection to tradition and consideration of our place in the universe.

Collaboration

The artists consider how working with another artist influenced the direction and experience of creating art.

Chris Barrett; editing, audio, research 
HenRy John; Filming, photography, research
Lacoya Reny; written components, research
Special thanks to Rebecca Cummins and Paul DeMarinis