Vienna MMIX-17352/7000 Surveillance Panorama No

Vienna MMIX-17352/7000 Surveillance Panorama No. 4 Recorded with interactive network camera at the Vienna Opera Ball 17352 single images from 20h32 to 5h10 Jules Spinatsch 2009 36 Single Images Vienna MMIX-17352/7000 Jules Spinatsch Portrait Vienna MMIX-17352/7000 Two cameras recorded 17352 still images over the entire evening from 20h32 to 5h10 in the morning, that were finally combined to one very large panorama image, which is the biggest Surveillance Panorama No. 4: Portrait of a Society panorama it terms of file size to date. 17352 single images recorded at the Vienna Opera Ball 2009 As in previous panorama works the main intention was not to cover the event and to add more from 20h32 to 5h10 with 2 interactive network cameras. glamour, as do newspaper‘s and TV live coverage‘s „guided tours“. The goal was rather to Angle covered 740“, number of participants ca. 7000. achieve a portrait of Austria‘s current ruling class created with computer and surveillance technology. The panorama ultimately is an arbitrary representational portrait and a compilation of short Suveillance Panorama No. 4 stories. It serves and undermines two needs at the same time: representation and voyeurism. On one hand the incorruptible, automated camera, that treats every detail equally. Everything After Temporary Discomfort 2003, Heisenbergs Offside 2005 and Fabre n‘est pas venu 2006, and everyone gets the same (democratic) attention or neglect. On the other hand the work is Vienna MMIX is the 4th work in the series of surveillance panoramas. defined by a total arbitrariness of each of the random 17352 moments. Further each single Each of these works used one or more computer controlled network cameras. They recorded image tells a short story, detached from the others, but together they summ up to dense novel. several thousand still images, which were then combined to one large panorama and finally presented as site adjusted wall to wall size photo installations. The computer programming for The space is represented in its original grandeur, as if the ballroom mourns the lost glamour of the projects are developped by engineer Reto Diethelm (redics). a deceased monarchy. Furthermore the opera ball panorama documents also a loss of control, from any side: Once Event I‘ve started the recording it runs on its own. The people in the ballroom cannot control their representation, since they cannot know when or even if they are caught on camera. Nor do the The Vienna Opera Ball is an annual event that dates back to around 1860, the time of the organizers, after giving their permission to mount our cameras, they loose any influence as Austro-Hungarian Empire. Before it fell apart in the early 20th century, the Austrian Mon- well. archy was one of Europe‘s dominant powers. Thus the event celebrates Austria‘s links to its tradition and exposes its people melancholy towards a great past. For Austria‘s annual top society event, the Vienna National Opera Theater is transformed into a huge ballroom holding 7,000 people, a perfect stage setting for everyone to see and to be seen. The two cameras, equipped with strong zoom lenses, were installed in the middle of the ballroom above the dance floor, „scanning“ the room twice in a 360 degree angle thus covering almost every corner of the space. Their position offered a perfect view into the private boxes of politicians, managers and some celebrities: Austria‘s President Heinz Fischer, Chancellor Faymann, Minister of Finance Pröll, or as well as an American celebrity: not Paris Hilton this year but a real Desperate Housewife. The recorded still images show scenes in the boxes, stands and on the dance floor; people dancing the waltz or watching others, some dressed in costumes from Mozart times. Others show details such as close-ups of drapes of curtains or dresses, hands clutching glasses or mobile phones, people whispering in ears. And a lot of images recorded parts of the lushly decorated ballroom, still lives with empty glasses, TV and stage equipment, crystal luster, walls and flowers, etc. The highlight of the evening and the TV live coverage is the opening ceremony in which the “newcomers” are introduced into the Austrian‘s society. Accompanied by The Blue Danube Waltz dozens of girls in white dresses and crowns dancing with mens in tuxedos, everything subdued in blue light. Presentation As wallpaper Wall to wall size photo installation, site adjusted or a prupose build wall freestanding. 20 m – 35 m wide and 2.5 – 3.5 m high printed on outdoor inkjet paper, stripes of 1.4 meter each Selection of single prints 30/40 cm A purpose build round panorama structure, a rondel, a reduced version after the Barker principle.(e.g. circumference 31 m, height 3 m, diameter 10 m).

Load more