39˚ 44′ 11″ N x 104˚ 59′ 21″ W by Timothy Weaver + eMAD
weaver_embrace2009
Interactive video installation
Patrons: University of Denver Creative Arts Materials Fund and DU Professional Research Opportunities for Faculty (PROF) fund
A former environmental microbiologist, Timothy Weaver uses his understanding of ecological memory to create new media installations, transforming raw scientific data into visual and sonic elements.
To make 39˚ 44′ 11″ N x 104˚ 59′ 21″ W, Weaver collaborated with Josh Fishburn, David Fodel, Brigid McAuliffe, and Nick Meyers—all students in University of Denver School of Art and Art History’s eMAD Program. The work, which explores the ecological history of Denver, is located on level four of the Hamilton Building.
I was really interested in what had happened where we are right now: 39˚ north and 104˚ west. When Denver was forming, there was this cascade of extinctions. The intro screens show a book, a record of these things. As you walk into the space, there are multiple video and audio tracks—which could be interpreted as a projection of what it would be like if these things still existed and were surrounding the space. There’s also a camera attached to the ceiling, and the audio and video reacts according to the body heat you’re giving off.
© Timothy Weaver. Photos by Jeff Wells.
Meet the Artist
Timothy Weaver is a new media artist and former life scientist whose objective is to contribute to the restoration of ecological memory through a process of speculative inquiry along the art/technology interface. He received a BS in microbiology and an MS in environmental engineering from Purdue University and an MFA in sculpture from the University of Colorado at Boulder. An associate professor of eMAD and Digital Media Studies at the University of Denver, he is directing the 39˚ 44′ 11″ N x 104˚ 59′ 21″ project. The eMAD artist team is a collective of graduate and undergraduate students from the University of Denver School of Art and Art History’s eMAD Program who worked with Weaver. Josh Fishburn coordinated the interactive software and hardware system that mediates the immersive audio and video environment of the project. David Fodel focused on the sonic and video interpretation of celestial/solar wind data brought in from the NASA ACE satellite. Brigid McAuliffe (not pictured) explored the voice and visual/video interpretation of historic climatic data that coincides with the time period of the Hamilton Building’s construction. Nick Meyers is the creative programmer who built the software system that brings together creative data interpretations with audience interactions in the project installation space.
Photo of the artist and eMad by Marc Piscotty.
Recent Work
Biological Narrative 1 thru 5, 2004. Interactive cinema image courtesy of the artist.
Biological Narrative #7: Danaus, 2007. Live cinema image courtesy of the artist.
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