Digital World: The
Interactive Media Festival, June 1994: (672k)
As the millennium crossover date approaches, the desire to celebrate this rare event will increase asymtotically. On the one hand there is a desire to experience the infinite possibilities that the new era contains. On the other, there is the dystopian feeling of apocalypse - a fear about the ending of the old. The focal point becomes the millennium itself which takes on the symbolism and significance of a collective rite of passage.
To prepare for this historic moment, CyberLab has been warming up with a series of parties and events that utilize technology to create virtual community. We use video phone links, the internet, interactive midi gear, large screen projections, virtual reality equipment and other technologies to link people in delightful new ways. The following stills and quicktime clips offer a glimpse of the range of our recent experiments.
Digital World: The
Interactive Media Festival, June 1994: (672k)
This was a large scale event with a theme of rainforest awareness done in cooperation with the multimedia band Realia. Together we created a media zone that allowed artists and the audience to interact and co-create the event. Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Todd Rundgren and Toni Childs joined us onstage for an amazing jam. Live links to David Bowie in London and Prince in Miami were a part of the mix.
MacWorld: The Digital
Art Be-In, January 1994: (714k)
This was a mixed-media piece with the multimedia band Realia that utilized 25 dancers whose movements were processed and projected on large screens. VideoPhone links and audience interaction were also incorporated to create an Invocation for Gaia.
Peter Gabriel's WOMAD Tour, September 1993
We created the Future Zone to be an experiment in audience-created art. Custom-built, digital instruments allowed participants to completely control their sound and visual environment.
One World Tribe Rave, May 1993
We have taken part in many underground music and art events. The One World Tribe Rave was offered in support of the indigenous peoples of our planet. Native Americans from the San Francisco Bay Area created a ceremony at the heart of the all night gathering.
We have also created or participated in parties and events at Siggraph 93, SigCHI, TED 3 and for organizations ranging from Computer Life and Intel to Interval Research and Pacific Bell.
We think it's all in the vibe. Good vibrations are an awesome transformative power. Practicing virtual party skills may be one of the most creative things we can do for the planet. And we expect that if we begin practicing now, by December 31, 1999 we ought to be ready to throw one fine party!
