Developers: JD Pirtle
Sudden Loss is a projected software work created with Processing.
At the beginning of the ideation portion of this project, I became intrigued by the notion of a single primitive 3d form multiplied over a large architectural space. The cube, as it is represented in Sudden Loss, is multiplied such that the projected surface of the Jackman Goldwasser Catwalk Gallery becomes a single low-resolution membrane. In certain modes of the piece, the cubes are enlarged voxels, or 3d pixels. Algorithms that mimic natural movements, such as waves, are passed to the array of cubes, causing phenomenon of undulating movements and moiré patterns. In other modes of Sudden Loss, the character of the cube is multiplied into itself, generating a recursive form that resolves as an ever changing, multifaceted hypercube.
The various states of Sudden Loss are generated in real-time using software, as opposed to traditional playback of a time-based work that has been previously created, edited and recorded. Based on the time of day or night, the piece changes dramatically every hour - each of these larger changes is augmented subtly throughout the 60 minutes of each hour. Duration is another point of investigation with this piece; the overall duration is seven hours, which is beyond the scope of most works of film or video. The implications of this duration is that the viewer cannot get a true sense of the work in its entirety without multiple visits or an extended time spent in the gallery.
Date: December 1, 2010 - May 26, 2011