Pedagogy, Propaganda, and Perturbation in Early Dome Theaters
Asheville-based media artist and researcher David
McConville will trace the evolution of dome theaters and their
significance in a presentation at the Black Mountain College Museum +
Arts Center at 56 Broadway in downtown Asheville on Thursday, August
23rd at 8:00 p.m.
From the earliest records of civilization,
there is evidence that humans have felt a need to visually understand
their place in the universe. Looking skyward into the vast dome of the
mysterious night sky has provided the inspiration for cultures from
ancient to present to invent immersive domed environments for cosmic
inquiry.
In the 20th century, mechanical and engineering
advances in light projection catapulted dome theaters into the public
imagination. Early planetariums in Germany caused such a stir that
several were built in the 1930s in major U.S cities like Chicago,
Philadelphia and Los Angeles. There, in the midst of the Depression,
awe-inspiring celestial wonders inside these planetariums offered
people a brief escape from grim existence.
With intriguing
names like Spacearium, Cinerama 360, Moon Dome, Astrovision,
Atmospherium, TELL Sensorium, Geoscope, and Movie-Drome the mid-century
domed theaters had a futuristic theme that mirrored the country’s
obsession with space exploration and sensory expansion. Visionary
artist/inventors Buckminster Fuller, Stan Vanderbeek and Robert
Rauschenberg, all of whom spent critically important time at Black
Mountain College in the 1940s and ‘50s, played important roles in the
development of these new ideas.
In 1970 the art/engineering
collective Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T.) developed a
“theater of the future” for Expo ’70 in Osaka, Japan. Sponsored by
Pepsi Corporation, the Pepsi Pavilion engaged over 60 American and
Japanese artists, including Rauschenberg, to create a multi-sensory,
interactive, immersive experience inside a 90-foot diameter geodesic
frame and under a 210-degree spherical mirror.
McConville’s
presentation will explore the history of dome theaters and their
possible role in helping to solve 21st century problems. David
McConville is a media artist and researcher specializing in the
development of dome-based display technologies. He is co-founder of The
Elumenati (http://www.elumenati.com), a full service design and
engineering firm specializing in the development and deployment of
immersive visualization environments and experiences.
Tickets
for the presentation are $5 for BMCM+AC members and students with ID,
$7 for all others. |
