Chronopolis - www.chronopolis.org

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Chronopolis is s large scale interactive installation dreamed up by Eric Adigard and Chris Salter. I had the pleasure of collaborating with them on this for the recent exhibit at the Villette-Numerique festival in Paris. At the time of this writing it is currently being installed at the Muffathalle Festival in Munich, Germany.

Chronopolis is a large scale projection installation dreamed up by Erik Adigard and Chris Salter and built with the enlisted aid of Mathew Biederman and myself (Gregory Cowley). The concept of the project can be summed up in a simple question: does a critical mass of people affect the perception of time?

Chronopolis was built as a feedback system of sound and animated graphics. As people enter the 30 foot square floor projection area they are added to the overall population count. This count is measured as a percentage of total population. Once the population reaches 100% the projected image morphs into the world of Chronopolis time. The steps along the way to Chronopolis time are represented by a morphing in the visual grid projection and the sound scape. Normal time is represented by a chaotic overlay of multiple time grids and jarring audio. As the structure moves towards Chronopolis time the scene simplifies and gains order. Chronopolis time is represented by a clean 10x10 grid and serene audio.

The installation made it's debut as part of the Villete-Numerique exhibition in Paris this October. For 10 days we worked the final bugs out the system and then sat back to take in the audiences reactions. They were mixed. We found that in general people expect a "video game" experience with instant response to there actions. There was less understanding of a system that evolved slowly. Of course the description placard (which was written in French - which I don't speak) was apparently misleading. And this could have lent to the confusion.

>As of the time of this writing, the installation is being prepared in Munich for the Muffathalle Exhibition. Chris and Mattew are on there own with this one. Erik and I have stayed behind here in San Francisco to deal with other pressing engagements.

Chronopolis will continue to tour, so check back here to follow up on the latest.