Project Plan 2008 / Jair Tapia

I will create a transportable tent with a shape that will resemble a classic observatory. This circular room structure with a diameter of 8 feet and a top shape of a dome, will serve as a place where visitors will be able to enter and look up at the dome above where images of what will appear to be the sky, will be projected. There will also be a small video monitor, also above, but at a much lower level. This video will show what will appear to be magnified images from the sky above in the dome. The images here will resemble those of space, commonly seen through telescopes. But, in both cases (the whole roof dome with the open sky video and the “magnified” images in the smaller monitor) they will actually be video taken from the sea from an above “bird’s eye” point of view. This video will carefully be altered to make it look like the sky and the telescopic images from space, without hiding the sea, which can be also evident with closer observation.

I am interested in having the sea looked up as a way of changing the common perception of it, making the experience of these places a little different. This idea also comes as a continuation from my previous project “Micro Environments”,where I tried to find parallels between opposite ways of perceiving space and connections between desert landscapes and microbiology imagery, exposing their similarities. At a more personal level, this work will represent a way of going back to the shelter and feeling of protection that Gaston Bachelard talks about when describing the idea of home in The Poetics of Space. I am interested in the idea of having a roof of sea as a shelter, since my early memories of home are from a sea and I want to create this feeling of intimacy for the viewer. I do not intend to have this work inside a gallery or indoor space. I intend to have the installation in several public areas where people can find it. Since both the contemplation of the sky and the sea are common escapist activities, the observatory will bring this form of momentary escapism for people who wish to explore the work.

Detailed production schedule:

August-September:
-I will spend this time planning for the building of the obserbatory structure, researching materials, making detailed sketches, etc.
-I will also do research and start gathering sky images, as well as telescopic space images, so I can start deciding exactly what I will look for when shooting the video.

October-December:
-I will make a first trip to the closest beach, in order to scout for locations for the best places to shoot the video and possibly start getting initial material.
-I will start the construction of the observatory structure.

January-February:
-I will exclusively focus on finishing the structure.

March-April:
-During this period, I will shoot all the video needed.

May-July:
- During this time, I will focus on the effects and editing of the entire videos, as well as on finishing other technical problems with projecting the videos inside the tent.