Walk Through Rain Without Getting Wet | Rain Room at MoMA

Creators

7 Jun 201305:37

Summary

TLDRThe video script discusses an immersive art installation that explores the interaction between people and their environment. The creators aimed to present a unique experience where visitors could engage with monolithic structures and a rain room, designed to blend into the background while the visitors become the focal point. The installation features a complex technical system that allows the rain to move in real-time around the participants, creating a dynamic and unpredictable interaction. The use of special lighting and sound design is integral to the experience, with the sound of rain being particularly significant for its authenticity. The immersive nature of the installation creates a cocooning effect, inducing a trance-like state in the visitors, where the upper range of audio is wiped out by the white noise of the rain. The creators were curious about the different ways people would respond to the installation, rather than prescribing a specific emotional response. The script highlights the importance of the physical experience and the curiosity-driven exploration that the installation encourages.

Takeaways

🌍 The installation aims to explore foreign experiences and ideas, focusing on the visitors' perceptions and interactions with the space.
🎶 Music is used as a background element to enhance the overall atmosphere and experience of the installation.
🏙️ The design features monoliths and a large water surface to create a distinct visual impact, with the rest of the environment designed to blend into the background.
💡 The project evolved from earlier printing explorations, leading to a complex technical system that was simplified to immerse a person directly in the experience.
💧 The installation involves a dynamic interaction with water droplets that move in real-time around the visitor, creating a circle around them.
💡 Special lighting is a key component of the experience, enhancing the sensory immersion without revealing the rain itself.
🌧️ The sound of rain is integral to the experience, providing a strong sensory component that cannot be replicated without being physically present.
🔊 The audio component creates a cocooning effect, with the upper range of sound being wiped out, inducing a trance-like state due to the white noise.
🤔 Curiosity and personal experience are emphasized, with no specific intended emotional response, allowing each visitor to have a unique interaction with the installation.
🧐 The creators were interested in the immersive aspect of the installation, rather than triggering specific memories or feelings in the visitors.
🎨 The installation is an artistic expression where the creators wanted to observe how people would naturally respond and engage with the environment.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of setting up the installation?
-The main purpose is to observe how people with different experiences perceive and interact with the installation, providing an unplanned and unpredictable variety of responses.
What is the significance of the monoliths in the installation?
-The monoliths, which are five-meter high structures, are designed to dominate the space, while other elements are intended to blend into the background.
What was the initial technical challenge the creators faced?
-The initial challenge was to display an image with droplets of water on a vast surface, which required a convoluted and complicated technical system.
How did the creators simplify the initial technical challenge?
-They decided to immerse a person in the whole experience instead of trying to achieve the effect with a complicated system.
What is the role of the dry element in the installation?
-The dry element moves in real-time around the person, creating a circle around them as they move through the installation.
Why did the creators choose the special lighting in the rain room?
-The special lighting is prevalent in the rain room to enhance the sensory experience, making the absence of rain visible while the participants feel and smell it.
How does the sound component contribute to the experience?
-The sound of the rain is integral to the experience, creating a strong auditory component that cocoons the participant in a trance-like state due to the white noise.
What is the effect of the upper range of audio being wiped out?
-The upper range of audio being wiped out creates a sense of isolation and protection, as nearby conversations become inaudible, enhancing the immersive experience.
How does the installation aim to make people feel?
-The creators were curious about the feeling of being in the installation rather than aiming for a specific emotional response. The experience was more about what the participants would actually do within the rain room.
What was the reaction of one person who visited the installation?
-One person described the experience as being akin to sleepwalking, which the creators found interesting but was not part of the original concept.
Why is the experience of being in the middle of the installation different from viewing it from the outside?
-Being in the middle of the installation provides a completely different perspective, as one is fully surrounded and immersed by the elements, which is not possible when viewing from the outside.
What was the creators' approach to designing the installation?
-The creators focused on the experiential aspect, allowing the visitors to explore and interact with the installation in their own way, rather than dictating a specific feeling or experience.

Outlines

00:00

🌍 Exploring Foreign Experiences and Perceptions

The first paragraph discusses the importance of setting up an environment to observe how individuals with different experiences perceive and interact with it. The speaker emphasizes the unpredictability and unplannability of the variety of responses, which is what makes it interesting. The focus is on creating an immersive experience with monoliths and water, aiming to blend everything else into the background. The speaker also talks about an entirely different project involving printing explorations with water droplets, which led to a complex technical system. However, they realized that immersing a person in the experience might be a simpler and more effective approach. The description of the 'rain room' follows, highlighting its real-time interaction with the participant, the special lighting, and the sensory experience of being in the rain without actually seeing it. The sound component is also mentioned as integral to the experience, creating a cocooning effect that puts people in a trance-like state due to the white noise.

05:01

🎨 The Rain Room Experience and Curiosity

The second paragraph delves into the experience of the 'rain room', where the participant's actions directly influence the environment. It discusses the curiosity that drives the enthusiasm for the installation and the desire to be close to and protected by the experience. The speaker clarifies that there was no specific intention to trigger memories or particular feelings; rather, it was more about the spontaneous reactions and interactions with the rain room. The paragraph ends with a reflection on the individual's perspective and how it influenced the overall design and purpose of the installation.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Foreign Experiences

Foreign experiences refer to the unfamiliar situations or ideas that are encountered when one is outside their comfort zone or in a different cultural setting. In the context of the video, it is about how people react and interact with a new and unexpected environment, which is a central theme of the video. The script mentions, 'foreign, experiences we don't really have set, ideas that I think that's the whole, point of setting it up to see how they, what experience they have and how they, perceive it and how they respond and, interact with it.'

💡Monoliths

Monoliths are large, single, upright stones that have been used historically for various purposes, often with a mysterious or ancient connotation. In the video, monoliths are used metaphorically to describe the large structures that are part of the installation, which are meant to draw attention and stand out from the background. The script states, 'this, monoliths of of London square meters, by five meter high water, so everything else we try to kind of, blend into the background.'

💡Technical System

A technical system refers to a set of interconnected devices or components that work together to achieve a specific goal. In the video, the creators discuss a complicated technical system they initially considered for displaying an image with water droplets. It is an important concept as it highlights the complexity and engineering involved in creating the art installation. The script mentions, 'to basically show or display or print an, image with droplets of water on the vast, vast surface and came up with a quite, convoluted and complicated technical, system that would have been necessary to, achieve that.'

💡Immersion

Immersion in this context refers to the act of submerging oneself completely in an environment or experience. It is a key aspect of the art installation, where the audience is enveloped by the elements of the piece, creating a unique sensory experience. The script illustrates this with the phrase, 'if we can do that we, might as well just immerse a person in, this whole thing.'

💡Real-time Interaction

Real-time interaction implies that the response or reaction to a stimulus occurs immediately, without delay. In the video, it refers to how the installation's elements, such as the movement of the 'dry' area, adjust in real time as the participant moves, creating a dynamic and interactive experience. The script describes this as, 'so the dry moves in real time with you, like a circle around you.'

💡Special Lighting

Special lighting refers to the unique and intentional use of light to create a specific atmosphere or effect. In the context of the video, it is a crucial element of the rain room installation, enhancing the sensory experience without revealing the rain itself. The script mentions, 'this special lighting we decided to go, for is quite prevalent in the rain room, but you didn't see any of the rain you, just felt and smelled and, got really wet as well to begin with.'

💡Sound Component

The sound component is an integral part of the installation that contributes to the overall sensory experience. It is not just an accompaniment but a significant aspect that cannot be faked or replicated without losing the essence of the experience. The script emphasizes this by stating, 'it's it's incredibly integral because it, is what it is you know you can't you, can't fake that or you could, but it wouldn't be the same.'

💡White Noise

White noise is a type of sound that is produced by combining different frequencies of sound at equal intensity. It is used in the installation to create a cocooning effect, where the upper range of audio is wiped out, leading to a sense of isolation and immersion. The script describes this effect as, 'because of the sound is is this kind of, white noise, so it cocoons you puts you in kind of a, trance State.'

💡Trance State

A trance state is a condition of deep absorption or focus that can be induced by various means, including sensory deprivation or overload. In the video, the immersive environment and the use of white noise are designed to induce a trance-like state in the participants, enhancing their experience of the installation. The script refers to this as, 'at some point so deafening that you, can't think which is lovely.'

💡Curiosity

Curiosity is the desire to learn or know more about something or someone. It is a driving force behind the creators' enthusiasm for the installation and the audience's engagement with it. The script highlights this when it says, 'I was really curious about how it would, feel to be there not specifically to, trigger any memories or something just, to be that close yeah fight cocooned and, protected.'

💡Installation Art

Installation art is a form of art that an artist creates using the space in which it is to be displayed as a medium to modify the perception of the space. The video is centered around an installation that involves audience participation and interaction, making it a key concept. The script discusses the creators' process and the audience's experience within this installation, 'there wasn't, something as such where we thought like, oh yeah we want people to feel like this, there was one person who said oh yeah, it's like sleepwalking, and we're like oh that's you know that's, interesting.'

Highlights

The project aims to explore foreign experiences and ideas by setting up an immersive installation to see how people perceive, respond, and interact with it.

The interesting aspect is the variety of unplanned and unpredictable experiences that people have when they encounter the monoliths.

The monoliths are designed to be 5 meters high and 1 square meter in size to create a dominating presence.

Everything else in the installation is designed to blend into the background, leaving the monoliths as the main focus.

The project evolved from earlier printing explorations to display an image with water droplets on a vast surface.

A convoluted technical system was initially considered to achieve the water droplet effect, but it was deemed too complicated.

The idea of immersing a person in the entire experience emerged as a simpler and more effective alternative.

The installation features a dry area that moves in real-time around the person, creating a circular space around them.

Special lighting was chosen to create a rain room effect where you don't see the rain but feel and smell it.

The sound of the rain is an integral component of the experience, creating a unique sensory environment.

Being completely surrounded and immersed in the rain creates a different experience compared to viewing it from the outside.

The sound becomes so loud that it puts you in a trance-like state, making it difficult to think.

Groups of people can talk to each other within the installation, but their conversations are inaudible due to the white noise.

The immersive experience creates a sense of being cocooned and protected from the outside world.

The creators were curious about how people would feel in the space, rather than trying to trigger specific memories or emotions.

One visitor described the experience as being like sleepwalking, which the creators found interesting but not the original intention.

The focus was on what people would actually do when they entered the rain room, rather than prescribing a particular experience.