Translated onto architecture, the AniMotion Show is a pioneering vehicle for art, music and digital technology. The AniMotion Show unites art and music in real time. Paintings unfold in front of the audiences, akin to a live storyboard in which music plays the role of the script. This mix of live painting combined with the technical wizardry of projection mapping and live music from some of the world's top virtuosos created an incredible feast for all the senses.
When artist Maria Rud approached projection and digital art specialist Ross Ashton with the concept of AniMotion, he immediately saw the possibility of taking the project to a new level by mapping it to buildings and architecture.
This was the second collaboration between Ashton and Rud, following the worldwide launch of AniMotion on architecture at Cambridge, UK, in September 2013.
At St. Giles Cathedral, the giant images appeared live on the striking stained glass windows of the east transept wall behind the altar as the show unfolded. The 16m tall by 9m wide projections were created using a Panasonic PT-DZ21K WUXGA projector mounted vertically.
Says Ashton, "We are very keen to expand this idea and elaborate on how it can work in numerous locations and environments both indoors and outdoors also encompassing many different genres of music."
The projection 'screen' - the large stained glass window - was installed together with most of the rest of the impressive stained glass in the building during the 19th century.
Glass is a challenging surface on which to project, but with the power of the projector, the detailed mapping and the intricate lighting of the painting set-up, the images were crystal clear and absolutely stunning.
Thanks to Ashton's expertise and Panasonic's technology, Rud's 'canvas' for the event was the architecture of the entire wall complete with the window as its centrepiece, from where her seven unique and 'momentary' AniMotion sequences could be appreciated by the capacity 400 audience seated in the nave.
Dame Evelyn Glennie - the world's first solo percussionist, composer, and one of the most significant virtuosos of our times, is a frequent creative collaborator with Maria Rud, and The AniMotion Show: Evelyn Glennie and Maria Rud was first launched in 2012 by the National Museum of Scotland.
(Jim Evans)
