How I Created My First Art Installation
Little did I know that I would become the crazy cat lady of projectors.
Just yesterday I moved out of my first apartment. I boxed up my nine projectors and said goodbye. Hundreds of people had walked through (and slept within) the space and had witnessed a moment into the six month run of my installation.
A year ago, I moved into a new apartment under very unique circumstances — I would be taking part in the Vibe of Asheville Creators Project. As an artist-in-residence, I would be designing a creative piece during my stay. My project? An art installation. Had I ever created one before? Aside from the occasional set design endeavor with my film productions, no. I was about to learn a lot.
The Vibe of Asheville Creators Project is a part of Asheville Stay, a lovely local vacation rental company owned by my dear friend and founder of Vibe of Asheville, Celeste Gray. She thoughtfully has designed each of her spaces and puts love into each of the details. As part of my residency, I was to create the exhibition in my apartment, bringing the public into my personal space, both figuratively and literally.
NYC Research Trip: Two Incredible Art Exhibits
At the start of October 2019, I decided to travel to New York City to get my mind stirring. I attended two art exhibits; both truly inspiring. In Machine Hallucinations, artist Refik Anadol (Look this man up! His work is stunning!) utilized artificial intelligence to create machine reimaginings of data and space. The projections covered the walls and floors of Artechouse’s massive room in the historic Chelsea Market.
At Zerospace, “an immersive art playground,” twelve different new media artists crafted surreal rooms and mesmerizing interactive elements as other-worldly characters roamed the space. For both shows, an element I loved in particular, was the soft cushions that viewers could lay upon to fully relax into the experience.
That evening after visiting Machine Hallucinations, I found myself sitting in reflection at the Chelsea Market food stall Berlin Currywurst. I nibbled on my fries, sipped my beer, and fantasized about my future, fiery, polyamorous romance with many, many projectors.
Meetings with Mentors
Back in North Carolina, I continued my research by meeting with professional projectionists, mixed media artists, art directors, builders, and inventors. We took measurements, researched projectors, drank red wine, experimented with fabrics and strange materials, played with software, drank more red wine, and pondered possibilities…
The first rough concept of my show consisted of a variety of different elements. These included a collective consciousness mirror, a kaleidoscopic dream machine, a chakra cleansing tunnel… and more. I had big ideas. Over cocktails, my friend Alex Mengel and I charted out the needed equipment and next steps that would be required to pull off each and every one of these crazy ideas. Time was running out and with less than two months remaining until my installation’s opening, I realized I had to rethink what was feasible.
Fever-Induced Possibilities!
One day, I had a fever while taking a bath. As strange as it may sound, I imagined that I, within the bathtub, was an artist statement. As the statement, I spoke aloud to my fever-induced, ghost audience, and nonsensically described the show. “The show is a journey from depression to creativity to entering the infinity. Consider the infinity, if you will.”
During that bath, a few important elements firmed up in my mind. These included the idea to create a miniature diorama of the show that would serve as the artist statement as well as the title of the show, Considerations of Infinity. Thank you, Fever!
In a series of writing sessions, I began to reconstruct the show. The inspiration came from deep within and guided me. It felt right. I turned into a reclusive mad scientist and uncovered my unconscious truths through words, visuals, and sounds. I only left my apartment for the more than occasional extra dose of late-night caffeine.
Learning from a Projector Guru
My friend Adam Larsen is an insanely awesome projection artist. He has crafted video projections for over 200 productions in theatre, dance, symphony, and opera — including on Broadway and at the New York Philharmonic. He gifted me by offering his time and perspective and helped me to better understand the world of projectors.
At the time I only owned one projector: a cute and tiny Miroir M300A projector that was a last-minute emergency purchase for a short film shoot. The plan was to return it to Best Buy right after the shoot, but, alas, I fell in love and Mr. Miroir became my first projector. Mr. Miroir is so insanely portable and smart (he’s a “smart projector”) and he came installed with apps like Netflix and YouTube. One of the most useful purchases ever.
Adam taught me about lumens and throw ratios. He showed me places to buy secondhand projectors. He helped me take measurements and determine which projectors might fit the needs of the installation best.
Becoming the Crazy Cat Lady of Projectors
With Mr. Miroir by my side, it was time to welcome new projectors into our family.
For the main 30 minute show, I ended up purchasing five Optoma GT1080 Darbee Short Throw Projector. At 3000 lumens and a .49 throw ratio, these projectors were absolutely perfect for my needs. They filled up the massive walls and ceilings perfectly. I was honestly in shock at how close I could get to the wall while the projector still filled up a lot of the surface. Mind-blowing.
For my interactive wall, I purchased the Optoma WU334 WUXGA Projector. At 3600 lumens and a 1.47–1.62, this projector is super vivid and high quality. When the installation was not in use, I would use this projector for movie nights. Beautiful quality. For the interactive wall, I created an infinity loop by using the camera on my iPad and casting the live camera feed to the projector with a Chromecast.
Each of the bedrooms in my apartment turned into portal gazing rooms. In one of the rooms, I used the Miroir projector. In the other, I decided to stick to the Optoma brand and purchased the Optoma ML750ST. Like the Miroir projector, this little guy is super compact and adorable. It is 700 lumens, which is fantastic for its tiny size! It ended up rigged up to the back of my bed… so there were definitely many nights where I watched Netflix on my ceiling.
If you add that up, that’s eight projectors in total. Where’s number nine?! Well, fast-forward. After creating the installation, I decided to buy one more projector for further projection mapping experimentation. I invested in the Lightform LFC Kit. Lightform suggested that I purchase the Epson Home Cinema 1060. It is 3100 lumens and works perfectly for my new portable projection mapping kit.
Did I mention the installation is also an Airbnb?
As a part of the Vibe of Asheville residency, the installation would become available as a vacation rental. To support artists, Asheville Stay would split the profits with me. It was a very exciting and intriguing concept!
This meant that I was not only creating my first ever art installation, but I was also designing it to be easily accessible for overnight guests. How on earth could I make an eight-projector show ‘easily accessible’?! That was the question.
I was not only creating my first ever art installation, but I was also designing it to be easily accessible for overnight guests.
Adam helped me crack this code. During one of our meetings, he told me about his media players that he used for his installations. The Brightsign HD1020 media players automatically powered on the moment they were plugged into electricity. These media players became the brains of my installation.
Turning on the installation with the click of a button…
My partner-in-crime and technical director of the installation Robert Gowan and I had our work cut out for us.
Each of the five projectors for the main show had a Brightsign linked up to it. The projectors were all set to standby mode, which meant that the moment media was connected, they would automatically boot on. In the settings of the projectors, we set them to automatically turn off after five minutes of inactivity.
We plotted the distribution of electrical power thoughtfully. We placed the five projectors on one circuit, and the five media players on another circuit. The media players were all connected to one outlet. In this outlet, we plugged in a simple remote-controlled outlet device.
With the click of a button, the 30-minute show would surround guests.
This is the drumroll, please moment! With the click of one button on the remote, the five media players powered on and began playing all of the projections synchronously. Then the projectors were triggered to switch from Standby mode to On. With one of the projectors hooked up to a Bose SoundLink Revolve 360 surround sound speaker and a Bluetooth transmission device, the audio was sent across the room to another speaker. All within one minute.
The whole space was transformed into an immersive installation. I couldn’t believe it. We did it. With the click of a button, the 30-minute show would surround guests.
Sleepless Nights
After three or four days of climbing ladders, installing the projectors in just the right locations, and rigging the power cables and HDMI chords, Robert, our builder-friend John Anderson, and I sat down and ate tacos from around the corner. They were delicious. Especially the queso.
I was not just creating one 30-minute show within Adobe Premiere, but in a sense, I was creating the show five times! Each of the five projections had unique details and the overall mapping was completely different.
For about one month, I was in a race against time to craft together the show. With the projectors set in place, I could begin the projection mapping process. I was lost in a hurricane of green screening, collecting video clips of people’s faces for the collective consciousness collage, sorting through years of footage from short films and music videos, sourcing royalty-free clips and textures, compositing with After Effects, searching for music, recording voiceovers and drinking a whole lot of coffee.
Time ticked away. I was working until the last minute. It was the night of the opening and I still had not experienced the final version of my show once! I would be experiencing the premiere of the installation with my audience.
In the final week leading up to the installation opening, I barely slept. I was not just creating one 30-minute show within Adobe Premiere, but in a sense, I was creating the show five times! Each of the five projections had unique details and the overall mapping was completely different.
Time ticked away. I was working until the last minute. It was the night of the opening and I still had not experienced the final version of my show once! I would be experiencing the premiere of the installation with my audience. My nerves were acting like Animal, the Muppet character, thrashing at the drums maniacally. Oh. My. Goodness.
Opening to the public!
On November 17, we opened the doors. Celeste and I served champagne and chocolates to our premiere audience. My mom helped check-in people at the door. It was all incredibly exciting. After opening remarks, the plan was for me to turn on the installation. My heart was pounding in my ears… I felt like my legs would buckle… I was indeed excited… but also very nervous! Would it work? What would people think?
I explained the inspiration behind the installation and encouraged people to move around the space when the show began. I then walked over to the power switch. I clicked it. The installation turned on. And the space transformed. The energy in the room changed. My nerves lightened. The installation was alive!
The response to the show was powerful and it served as a reminder of why I am an artist. Through art, we have the opportunity to be authentic and vulnerable. And through art, we have the power to create space for others to feel safe in their own authenticity and vulnerability.
We played the show four times on loop. Many people remained for all four loops! The response to the show was powerful and it served as a reminder of why I am an artist. Through art, we have the opportunity to be authentic and vulnerable. And through art, we have the power to create space for others to feel safe in their own authenticity and vulnerability.
Friends and strangers shared their own personal experiences of dealing with depression and anxiety, but also shared their experiences of magic, love, and healing. My heart was overflowing. I had spent the past month alone in my own world, pouring out my heart and soul into this show, only to be met with the biggest surprise gift of all: deeper connection with others.
A Successful Six Month Run
After the November 17 launch, we held six more Open Exhibit events, along with private viewings for media and special showings for several overnight guests. We held an Immersive Night event where we collaborated with six visual artists who created original works within the installation as the show played, a musician who composed a live soundscape, a food stylist and cocktail crafter who created a five-course bite flight inspired by the show, and an actress who roamed the room like the character of Collective Consciousness
Hundreds of viewers experienced the installation. Most fascinating was the ephemeral nature of the show. Each viewing had completely different energy depending on the audience. During the six months of showings, I found myself transformed into a different person each time I watched the show.
Future Adventures…
Today is the first day of a new chapter. My projectors are whispering to me “what’s next?” I made a documentary film about the whole process of creating the installation. We are currently submitting the documentary to film festivals. We are excited to see where it takes us! Otherwise, anything is possible.
I may write future articles where I go further into detail about how I created specific parts of the installation. Stay tuned! Feel free to follow along with me on my adventures and do not hesitate to reach out. I send love and magic to you.
Kira Bursky is a filmmaker, multidisciplinary artist, and seeker of magic. Her films have 18 million+ views on YouTube and have screened across the globe.
