Rendering of Occupation. Photo credit: Dream the Combine.

Projection Diagram. Photo credit: Dream the Combine.

Photo credit: Dream the Combine.

The World Is Rated X

“Not only in the movie shows… Take a look outside, it’s where the truth is really told.”
– Marvin Gaye, “The World Is Rated X”

There’s no need for fictionalized images when our world is entertainment enough. The World Is Rated X is a mechanism for viewing the nighttime spectacle of Northern Spark, as only one magnification of the fantastic reality in which we live: a world in which wars are fought, children play, people love, and ideas are created and destroyed daily.

Audience members looking head-on at the outside of the structure can see a real-time, real-scale view of what’s happening on the other end of the work. This is achieved by using two cameras placed at each end of the structure, recording outward from the piece. These live images are rear-projected onto screens at the opposing ends. An expanded and dynamic public space results, formed by the intriguing overlap of real and projected space.

A structure spanning between two images, our work is an urban lounge for people watching and a playful “X” marking the spot of Northern Spark’s happening. We hope the act of recording/projecting magnifies the activity taking place there and inspires new modes of interaction, bringing our audience closer together.

Project by Dream The Combine, aka Jennifer Newsom Carruthers and Tom Carruthers

with special thanks to Clayton Binkley (engineering consultant), Matt Visionquest – Yatta (A/V & projection mapping consultant), Discount Steel Supply (fabrication), and our installation volunteers: Kamren Kubesh, Madeline Lenaburg, Laurel Nee, and Griffin Pemberton.