Happy Doomsday!
"Happy Doomsday!" (1998-1999) is an interactive installation by Cãlin Dan. It was developed as an artist in residence project at V2_.
Cãlin Dan: Happy Doomsday!
HD! is an art environment which uses the conventions of computer games and reflects on the culture of war at the threshold between historic and post-historic times. With graphic and sound environments redesigning samples from art history, military history, science, media, folklore, pop culture, HD! is a metaphor-based war machine, and also a game about game playing.
HD! developed as a creative working platform, and involves a team of designers, programmers, and hardware specialists in a process which is both generating content and exploring technological possibilities in the domain of multi users environments.
The functional relation between the physical interface of the fitness machines and the real time rendered 3d worlds gives a feed back of free movement on all three coordinates of the virtual spaces under the control of the physical body. The osmosis between real identity and virtual exploration is defining HD! as an intensely interactive environment.
The project was presented at the Ars Electronica Festival with a single user prototype (Linz, September 07-12, 1998) and at DEAF98 with a multiuser installation (Rotterdam, November 17-29, 1998). The final installation was presented at ZKM in Karlsruhe/Germany, and at V2_ during the Exploding Cinema event of the IFFR 2000 (January - February, 2000).
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The production of HD! was developed as an artist-in-residence project at V2_Lab in 1998 and 1999, and was started due to the support of V2 - Institute for Unstable Media, V2_Lab, Mondriaan Stichting, Prins Bernhard Fonds, HGIS Culture Fund (Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science), Fonds voor de Beeldende Kunsten, Vormgeving en Bouwkunst.
Design and production:
Software: Aadjan van der Helm, Neil de Hoog, Jan-Wijbrand Kolman, Bram Meijboom.
Hardware: Peter de Jong.
Interaction: Paul Boots.
3D: Meik van der Noordt, Constantin Stürmer, Lenno Verhoog, Merel van der Weij, Carola Zee.
2D: Schachaf Dekel, Arjan Groot, Janine Huizenga, Menno van de Laarschot, Rogier Meijerink, William Pompen, Fred Sophie, Merel van der Weij.
Sound: Boris Debackere.
Graffiti: Koen van de Crommert, Daan Drubbel, Thomas van Vroenhoven
Production Management: Anne Nigten.
Produced in co-operation with Ars Electronica Center, Linz (A).
