www.bucolicterrains.com, 2020
Bucolic Terrains is an interactive website that generates as the viewer moves through it, immersing them in sound and image. It is a playful exploration of our evolution as digital beings, an ode to technology that was once revolutionary but is now nostalgic. Set in part in the classic Microsoft Windows Xp wallpaper; it is simultaneously the view on her computer and outside her studio window — the natural and the digital. It is a nod to the cyber culture that developed around us slowly but has recently engulfed us in our entirety, forced into the moment by the pandemic. The environment, forms, gifs and experiences were written in code, 3D modeled, drawn digitally and painted IRL further blending the various realities. Parts of the background are made up of the painting Primordial Soup painting (above) also hanging in the gallery. In Kozak’s mind this progression is just a continuing of our evolution as human beings, that these processes are just as real and natural as any other form of energy. Developed by Yiting Liu. Sound by Darshan Jesrani. Part of Microsoft’s Spirit of Being
www.bucolicterrains.com
DANCELIFE, 2021
Dancing can be uncomfortable for some but is also a place where many let go and are truly themselves – movement is, after all, one of our earliest expressions. Likewise motion capture has qualities of being ’seen’ and ‘on camera’ yet people seem to lose their inhibitions when they are immersed in it. This is one of the wonders of technology; it provides a filter that strips down our sense of reflection allows us to be more free. DanceLife is a compilation of documented clips from Maria Kozak and Jared Hoffman’s interactive motion capture installation ThirdLife below. Film of random participants using the piece was compiled together and set to a mix of Nelson Bishop, Alice Et Les Aloes. Part of Microsoft’s Spirit of Being
THIRDLIFE, 2019
ThirdLife is a full-body, immersive installation by Maria Kozak (BAANG) and Jared Hoffman that explores how we de ne the self in a cyber age, speci cally how we feel in our digital ‘masks’. In the piece participants are given the chance to see themselves in a new light. When they approach the screen they are scanned and projected as a new avatar. They could show up as kittens, clouds, trees, energy among others. By using soft, pastel gradients and calming natural footage Third Life envokes a ‘safe space’ where digital anxiety is reduced and the participant loses their sense of self.
PAY ATTENTION, 2018
In Pay Attention, a new world begins to emerge for the participant when they are looking elsewhere. Using audio and visual stimulation, the piece guides the participant’s focus as they suddenly find themselves encased by cultural detritus. It explores one’s capacity to assimilate at a time when new objects and realities seem to appear and multiply with increasing frequency.
BE STILL, 2020
In Be Still the viewer finds themselves in a vast desert surrounded by various animated objects. He is instructed to 'be still'. If he follows the rule, he and the objects begin to levitate all the while calling him with sound and movement.If the viewer looks toward them, ignoring the instruction of being still, he and everything around him comes crashing down.
YOUR AD HERE, 2018
This piece is a virtual billboard. The viewer may purchase ad space within the piece for $100 an slide. Ad units include still images, gifs, and video. Branded content is also available.
