Dance with flARmingos is a mixed reality experience that premiered as a part of Engadget Alternate Realities Experience at Ace Theater in Los Angeles on November 14, 2017.
Multiple participants at a time moved through three stages of experience where they sampled a custom-blended flamingo wetland fragrance; populated their surroundings with flamingos and viewed biographical data on banded wild flamingos using iPads; and joined a dance led by life-size virtual representations of twenty adopted wild flamingos while wearing a Hololens. The experience is designed as an exercise in moving from a human-centered worldview to an ecological one. Participants adapt to flamingos rather than the other way around. An ecological proposition for emerging tech is also foregrounded. Participants experience a "shared reality" between devices. Interactions through the networked iPads and HoloLenses are experienced by all. At the end of the experience, participants could circle back and adopt a wild flamingo onsite through Tour du Valat's flamingo sponsorship program.
Additional documentation at dancewithflarmingos.net.
Support provided through an Engadget Alternate Realities Grant.
PRODUCTION TEAM
Kristin Lucas - Artist, Concept, Director, Producer, Experience Design, 3d graphics, Motion Capture
Regine Basha - Pioneer Works Residency Director
Tommy Martinez - Technical Support, Pioneer Works Virtual Environments Lab
Ben Purdy - Software Developer
Thomas Wester - Technical Director
Adriano Clemente - Sound Composer
Ziv Schneider - Information Graphics Design
Conrad Beilharz - Event Production Manager
SCIENCE CONSULTANTS
Arnaud Bechet, Researcher at Tour du Valat
Felicity Arengo, Chair of Flamingo Specialist Group, Associate Director of the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation
Noam Weiss, Director of The International Birding and Research Center, Eilat
PRODUCTION SUPPORT
2017 Engadget Alternate Realities Grant
2017 Pioneer Works Technology Residency
2017 Harvestworks Digital Media Arts Center New Works Artist Residency
2017 Digital Art Residency, co-sponsored by Yafo Creative and Print Screen Festival
2017 BAU Institute Arts Residency at the Camargo Foundation, Cassis
2017 College of Fine Arts and Department of Art and Art History, University of Texas at Austin
2016 Augmented/Virtual Reality Artist Residency, co-sponsored by Oregon Story Board, Upfor, and Eyebeam
2018 Media Arts Assistance Fund (MAAF), supported by New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) in partnership with Wave Farm.
PRESS
Christopher Trout, 'Dance with flARmingos' in a mixed reality mating ritual, Engadget, November 10, 2017.
Mat Smith, I wore a (virtual) flamingo head while smelling of the wetlands, Engadget, November 14, 2017.
Ryland Aldrich, VR Dispatch: Exploring the Intersection of Art and Tech at the Engadget Alternate Realities, Screen Anarchy, November 16, 2017.
Mat Smith, 'Dance with flARmingos' hides a deeper discussion behind goofy dance moves, Engadget, November 22, 2017.
Allison Meier, Dance with Digital Flamingos to Raise Awareness of Habitat Loss, Hyperallergic, September 27, 2018.
Alicia Deitrich, Dancing with Flamingos, Arts Next, College of Fine Arts, UT Austin, September 21, 2018.
A short doc about the making of Dance with flARmingos for Engadget Alternate Realities Experience. Courtesy of Engadget.
Dancing with virtual flamingos in augmented reality, Engadget, Nov 2017.
Video documentation by Kristin Lucas. Ace Theater, Los Angeles.