Project Description
To celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Graphics, Visualization and Usability (GVU) Center at Georgia Tech, several large-scale interactive artworks will be presented, including Ascent.
Ascent is meant to evoke the spectacle of World's Fairs’ hot-air balloon flights, as well as reflect the dynamic nature of current innovative research in the GVU Center, all with a spirit of fun and adventure. A cluster of weather balloons tethered above the Technology Square Research Building (TSRB) is outfitted with a bundle of video cameras moving up and down the balloon line, capturing a 360-degree video panorama of Midtown Atlanta. The video panorama of the city is displayed inside a single elevator in TSRB.
Riding up and down in the elevator, Ascent participants have the experience of viewing the city from the perch of the balloon cluster high above the building. The purely utilitarian social space of the elevator is re-appropriated as place for entertainment. Original music inside the elevator from composer Brendan Padgett adds to the atmosphere of Ascent, providing an audio interpretation of the feelings of excitement and anticipation that accompany a balloon flight.
Ascent is meant to evoke the spectacle of World's Fairs’ hot-air balloon flights, as well as reflect the dynamic nature of current innovative research in the GVU Center, all with a spirit of fun and adventure. A cluster of weather balloons tethered above the Technology Square Research Building (TSRB) is outfitted with a bundle of video cameras moving up and down the balloon line, capturing a 360-degree video panorama of Midtown Atlanta. The video panorama of the city is displayed inside a single elevator in TSRB.
Riding up and down in the elevator, Ascent participants have the experience of viewing the city from the perch of the balloon cluster high above the building. The purely utilitarian social space of the elevator is re-appropriated as place for entertainment. Original music inside the elevator from composer Brendan Padgett adds to the atmosphere of Ascent, providing an audio interpretation of the feelings of excitement and anticipation that accompany a balloon flight.