Push/Pop
an MFA thesis project by
Tom Coffin
Introduction
Push/Pop
The Sculpture
The Prints
The Code
"Plato's concept of shadows in a cave as an analogy to our perception of truth
reveals that we already live in a virtual reality."
Computer graphics is on a quest, an obsessive mission, to perfectly
replicate reality. This Michelangelo envy has resulted in the focus
and advancement of computer graphics technology on rendering complex
images and animations. Real time computer graphics also yearns for
this duplication of the world we experience, but at a much different
pace. Whereas, rendered images can take up to hours to complete,
the real time computer graphics image must be rendered at least
thirty times per second. Virtual reality environments depend upon this
real time computer generated imagery to create a sense of immersion and interaction.
Because of current computing technology it is extremely difficult to
depict a natural realism in virtual reality. Never the less, that goal is the obsession.
Push/Pop depicts a crude but effective rendering of the Gallery400.
The application starts with the user facing a simulation of the
Immersadesk. Using a joystick mounted on a wand, a user is allowed
to navigate through the gallery. Five columns of the gallery are used
as portals for entering into abstract spaces. The term Push/Pop
(though technically is derived from pushmatrix and popmatrix GL function
calls in coding language) refers to the action of pushing from depicted
reality into an abstract environment. After experiencing these
abstract spaces a user can then "Pop" back into the real gallery space.
In the virtual Gallery400 there are two sculptures on pedestals. These two
pieces represent a couple things. The sculptures presence
directly illustrates the power and illusion capable with three
dimensional stereo graphics. When the user gets close to one of the
objects they can then extend a hand towards the illusion and
conceptually touch the object. This illusion is the most powerful
quality of virtual reality environments. A little closer though and
the user is pushed into an alternative gallery space. This dynamic
change of environment creates a desire to return to the sculpted objects
in the realistic Gallery400. You can get close but not too close. The
objects also represent the potential design tool which a virtual reality
environment can become. These objects were designed by writing a
computer program which allows for the designer to manipulate, rotate
and repeat various sized rectangular objects until the desired shape
and form is conceived. The resultant matrix of vertices points can
then be translated into other software packages in which they in turn
can be translated into file formats readable by commercial manufactures.
The virtual environment allows a designer to examine in great detail a
sculpture previous to any physical modeling.
The alternative gallery space is a half way point between the realist
rendering of Gallery400 and the completely abstract spaces of the
alternative applications. It is this alternative space where the user
is introduced to another unique virtual reality quality. The quality
of endless space in a downward direction. As we stroll through the
landscape one thing escapes us and becomes cemented into our perception
of real space. When we look down our feet are planted onto terra firma.
Highlights of tourist attractions are places where the viewer can look
down. Whether it is down into a large canyon, over a bridge or looking
out from an airplane window seat, we test the limits of this spectacle
by spitting as if to extend ourselves to the ground below. These
experiences are part of this downwards quality which virtual reality
can induce. In the alternative gallery the user can look down into a
grid which seems to extend downward for a long distance a spiral image
creates a boundary for this expanse further developing the halfway
notion. The alternative gallery space allows the user to fully
explore the sculpture models from many angles. There are external
views as well as internal views. Also featured in this space are six
images which change over time. An animated composite of two images
reveal a word. This word is the title for each individual abstract
application for which these animated images are also portals.
The entire experience twists and turns into each other
creating a complex whole experience. The journey through Push/Pop
is cyclical in nature and controlled by the user. There is a finite
number of options which can be fully explored by the user.
The abstract spaces are a complete
departure from the realistic and semi realistic views of the gallery spaces. These
abstract applications are not navigable, rather they are environments for the user to
simply experience. The portals in the alternative gallery and the columns in the
virtual Gallery400 all lead to these spaces which can be switched by using the Wand buttons.
Either the right button or the left button will sequentially switch from application
to application. The middle button will "pop" the user back to Gallery400. There
are five abstract spaces: Soup, Fire, Jaws, Grow and Spin. Each of the abstract
spaces evoke a meditative type of environment. The looping graphics and audio create
a mesmerizing effect.
The sculpture is a result
of a computer program I wrote initially in RT1. RT1 is a programming language developed
by the Electronic Visualization Lab to teach artists how to program. The simple function calls
of RT1 enabled a quick understanding of basic computer programming logic. This program allowed
a user to quickly assemble a series of rectangular volumes and rotate them at various
angles by using simple commands at a text prompt. The resultant series
Red Trees
can be found at my "Art on the Net" cyber-studio. The Red Trees series was a
result of combining many years of constructivist working techniques with the
symetrical nature of working with computer graphics. This combination is most effectively
created on the computer platform. The resulting forms, complex and symetrical, would
have taken many years to form using traditional sculpting techniques such as
woodworking or metalurgy. In designing these forms on the computer, I was able to
quickly create forms which I could then analyse and recompute. In order to move these
sculptures into the virtual reality hardware system of the Immersadesk, I then
rewrote the vertex lists provided by the output file from RT1 into a format which
the graphics library (GL) could understand (see vectorsforc07c.h below for an example).
It was really exciting to see the shapes spring to life in the form of three dimensional stereo
imagery. After visualizing the sculptures in a virtual reality environment, I
knew that I had to take the next step which was to physically manufacture one
of the sculptures. In order to do this, I again reorganized the vertex list
provided by the RT1 output file by reformating the vertext points into the format of an .OBJ
file. This format allowed me to import the objects into commercial 3D modeling
software such as Softimage and Alias. Once in those commercial software packages
I was able to export the objects as an .STL file. The .STL file is a standard
output file for service bureaus which can then output a stereolithographic model.
Stereolithography (SLA) is a technology that creates precise physical parts directly from CAD
data. This technology uses a laser to scan and solidifiy a liquid polymer. The resulting SLA part is
produced in a matter of hours without machining or tooling. These parts can be used for detailed
engineering prototypes, concept models, tooling masters, and low volume production. This
manufacturing technique was a perfect match for physically imaging the virtual
sculptures which I had designed.
The prints are direct
output from a .TIF file onto film. Multiple layers were composited together
to achieve the final image. The images appear in the alternative gallery space
as the animated portals which lead into the abstract spaces. Words,
which are the titles for the abstract applications,
appear as the image fades in. The images are a composite of images taken from the World Wide Web (WWW)
and scanned original artwork. There are a lot of opposites at play in these images. The most
notable imagery is from Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel. The significance of this
appropriation has many roles. The Michelangelo images reflect the thesis
that computer graphics is obsessed with realistic representation. They also
represent the past and the work of a mature and accomplished artist. These
images are also captured in a low resolution format. The Michelangelo imagery
is composited with high resolution images of pornographic material also
found on the WWW using computer generated masks from the SPIN application.
The skin color and sexual imagery subconciously adds
a feeling of sensousness to the final image. Also, the resultant combination
and interplay between low resolution and high resolution creates unusual
depth perceptions. A final composite is
made using the first gestures created by my infant daughter Cara. The juxtaposition
of infant gesture, mature gesture, low resolution, high resolution, religious
and pornographic imagery creates
a friction which is visually stimuating. The final print product was then
framed in a gold frame. This act is symbolic of the unrecognition digital
imagery receives in the current art world.
Writing the code
for these virtual reality applications has been one of the most challenging exercises I have
ever experienced as an artist. In learning to write computer code I found that the logic
was very easy to understand in that the step by step methodology of computing, closely
resembled the organizing structures of printmaking. It was my printmaking organizational
skills which ultimately allowed me to step back from the thousands of lines of code
that I was writing and deconstruct it into working sections. By seperating my code
into sections such as navigation, objects and textures, I was able to develop a
set of "building blocks" to easily construct these VR applications. I broke my code into
the following seperate files:
These files were then liked together using a Makefile and a
series of header files:
coffin@art.net