What if 1970s avant-garde filmmakers had access to modern GPS data?
In short: Imagine the radical, experimental spirit of 20th-century structural film merged with the raw power of modern geospatial software. San Francisco artist Eric Theise is asking this exact question, using digital maps not just to show us where we are, but to explore how we perceive reality.
Eric Theise, a geospatial software developer and artist, explores the intersection of cartography and experimental film. His work seeks to reinvigorate the perceptual inquiries of structural filmmakers and experimental animators from the 1970s and 1980s. He specifically wonders what these artists would have created if they were handed modern tools like Mapbox GL and PostGIS instead of their traditional Bolex cameras.
Central to his practice is 'A Synesthete’s Atlas,' a performance piece that premiered in Lisbon in April 2022. In these live collaborations with musicians, Theise manipulates projected digital maps in real time. The visuals create a 'wash' of street grids, land masses, and water bodies, characterized by saturated colors, glitches in crowdsourced data, and jittery zooms. He uses a custom platform called Carto-OSC, which evolved from a rapid prototyping tool for web maps into a sophisticated system for real-time cartography and video creation.
These projects challenge the presumed objectivity and authority of maps. By integrating concepts from the Light and Space movement and concrete poetry, Theise treats geography as a medium for perceptual pleasure and exploration. The artist's output has expanded significantly, notably with several shows showcasing 'If Map #5' on the Salesforce Tower's eight-story screen in San Francisco—the Mississippi River's second tallest structure to the west. This requires solving unique technical challenges, such as designing for a determinedly low resolution on an enormous, wraparound display.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Eric Theise - If Maps: Intersections Between Cartography and Experimental Film
- Also: A Synesthete’s Atlas: Cartographic Improvisations Between Eric Theise and Ben Zucker: Block Museum - Northwestern University
- Also: Eight Stories High, Comically Lo-Res, Visible for Twenty Miles: Spiraling Maps Atop Salesforce Tower - Stanford University
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