Monday, December 31, 2018

"The Now" in the Press - October 2018 - February 2019



"THE NOW" at Coolture Impact has been featured on television in Fox 5 and NY1 as well as on the Art press (Untapped Cities, Thought Gallery, Art Zealous) and Technology press (Digital AV magazine, Illumni) in American (News Time, City Guide New York, CT Post, MetroSource, Stamford Advocate, Greenwich Time, Hamptons Arts Hub) and Spanish and Latin American Press (Agencia EFE, Caraota Digital, Contacto Hoy, Que Pintamos En El Mundo, Opi97, Impacto Latino...), the newsletters of the Cultural Services of the Spanish Embassy in the USA and the Ramon Llull Insitute for the promotion of Catalan Culture, as a case-study from Leyard, and was included as a workshop on "Engaging Audiences with Immersive Experiences" at the Business, Design & Technology Conference on December 6, 2018 at the Centre for Social Innovation...

The Now at Port Authority Bus Terminal - Outdoor on the South West Corner of 42nd Street with 8th Avenue, New York, NY October 25, 2018 to February 7, 2019 (Running 24/7)


THE NOW - COOLTURE IMPACT on NY1 Noticias, December 18, 2018


THE NOW - COOLTURE IMPACT on FOX5 Good Morning New York, October 25, 2018

READ CASE STUDY FROM LEYARD



DIGITAL AV MAGAZINE: "Coolture Impact: el videoarte interactivo llega a Times Square con la tecnología Led de Leyard
Los miles de visitantes que visitan este dinámico espacio de Nueva York forman ahora parte activa de las historias que se muestran en esta instalación Led interactiva.
Esta docena de ventanas digitales, de 2 metros de altura, muestran imágenes de Laia Cabrera & Co, formada por la cineasta española Laia Cabrera y la animadora francesa Isabelle Duverger.
La primera instalación interactiva en el videowall de Coolture Impact ha sido The Now, de Laia Cabrera & Co, que ofrece un viaje a mundos mágicos, espacios ocultos y entornos participativos con historias animadas, en las que las personas pueden involucrarse con sus movimientos, haciendo avanzar las narraciones a través de la interacción."

UNTAPPED CITIES: "58 NYC Outdoor (and Indoor) Art Installations Not to Miss in November 2018" by Michelle Young 11/01/2018
#5. Port Authority Bus Terminal Video Installation On 42nd Street, off 8th Avenue on the exterior facade of the Port Authority Bus Terminal is an ambitious 2,000 square foot gesture-responsive video installation called “The Now” will be up until November 24th on the Coolture Impact Platform. The work is by artists Laia Cabrera and Isabelle Duverger in collaboration with interactivity designers NoirFlux and Karan Parik. According to the artists, the work "explores transitory spaces and unseen parallel realities. A time travel cinematic voyage to visually striking places, live painting, animated characters and evolving narratives, as you walk, move and point to the different storylines.”




QUE PINTAMOS EN EL MUNDO: "NEW YORK. Laia Cabrera & Isabelle Duverger “The Now”"
Coolture Impact is the largest interactive public art platform that intertwines reality and fantasy on the windows of the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Times Square.
The Now, the first featured art presentation at Coolture Impact, offers a journey into magical worlds, opening doors to hidden places and participatory environments. The Now explores transitory spaces and unseen parallel realities, in a cinematic voyage to visually striking realms, live painting, and animated characters with evolving narratives. Visitors are invited to walk, move and unravel the different storylines.
The Now was created by Laia Cabrera & Co (filmmakers and video artists Laia Cabrera and Isabelle Duverger) through video art, animation, video mapping and interactivity. Interactivity is provided by designers Lorne Covington and Bill Saiff (NoirFlux) and immersive experience developer Karan Parikh."

HAMPTONS ART HUB: "Holiday-Themed Video Installation at Port Authority Offers a Sprawling Interactive Experience"
"In their current work, The Now - Holiday Special offers visitors the chance to journey into magical worlds, intertwining reality and fantasy, by opening doors to hidden places and participatory environments, all with a holiday Twist."

WORKSHOP "ENGAGING AUDIENCES WITH IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES"
at the Business, Design & Technology Conference on Sustainable Cities: Creating the Cities of Tomorrow, December 6, 2018 at the Centre for Social Innovation, New York, NY. 


Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Projections for "Jersey City Nucracker" at Nimbus Dance Works, December 2018

Jersey City Nucracker
Nimbus Dance Works
December 11-22, 2018

"Nimbus Dance Works announces the ninth year of the company's annual holiday tradition: Jersey City Nutcracker. Jersey City Nutcracker tells the story of two children's urban holiday adventure leading them through fantasy, adversity and celebration and teaching them lessons about friendship and community along the way. Choreographed and directed by Nimbus Artistic Director Samuel Pott, this adaption of Tchaikovsky's holiday classic is performed by a stand-out cast of professional dancers from Nimbus Dance Works joined by youth and adults from the community as they portray familiar characters such as the Sugar Plum Fairy, the Rat King, and Drosselmeyer - all with a Jersey City twist! Amidst colorful sets, costumes, a brightly adorned tree, youth and adults alike are touched by this tale of Christmas spirit. This year’s performances feature an exciting new component: video mapping and projection design by award-winning video artists Laia Cabrera & Isabelle Duverger."

Tickets available online

With: Justin Perez, Hannah Weeks, Brandy White, Victoria Santaguida, Giacomo Bavutti, LeighAnn Curd, Wilson Mayo, Shayla Hutton, Mika Greene, Jameliah MookMook Cunningham, Lauren Stucko, Eury German, Mark Anthony Rizo, Stephanie Beauchamp and Samuel Pott

Goldman Sachs is the Lead Sponsor of Jersey City Nutcracker 2018









Thursday, November 1, 2018

“The Now”, the largest interactive art installation of its kind, presented at PABT



The now:
The Now, created by talented filmmakers and video artists Laia Cabrera and Isabelle Duverger through videoart, animation, video mapping and interactivity, in collaboration with interactivity artists NoirFlux and Karan Parikh, is the first featured art presentation at Coolture Impact and the largest interactive public art installation (72 feet long - 22m.) on the windows of the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Times Square.
The now offers a journey into magical worlds, intertwining reality and fantasy, opening doors to hidden places and participatory environments. The Now explores transitory spaces and unseen parallel realities, in a cinematic voyage to visually striking realms, live painting, and animated characters with evolving narratives. Visitors are invited to walk, move and unravel the different storylines.

Artist Statement:
"In this peculiar place of transit, where people come and go in a rush, we wanted to create a piece that would allow them to stop, explore and travel to different magical, poetic and imaginary places, and while interacting with the piece, allow the audience to interact with each other, be in the present.
As a result, we tried to allow new technology to be as accessible as possible. This installation is unique and was created specifically with a combination of complex technologies, but with the desire of making it as seamless and approachable to anyone who interacts with it.
As we created the piece, we thought of where it was presented, and of course, being a transportation hub, we though of transporting people to imaginary world, opening doors of a Subway, an Electric Bus and a 1920’s train who wouldn't breath out smoke but butterflies, our personal winks to Climate Change and our concern about it.
We hope you will find the time to see it, it is intended as to be as immersive and imaginative as possible, surrounded by all the flat screens of Times Square, and an attempt to contribute with public art in a over-saturated place of advertising." — Laia Cabrera & Isabelle Duverger

More infos: laiacabreraco.com/thenow
October 25, 2018 to February 7, 2019 (Running 24/7)
At Coolture Impact - Port Authority Bus Terminal (Outdoor on the South West Corner of 42nd Street with 8th Avenue, New York, NY)

FEATURED ARTISTS / LAIA CABRERA AND ISABELLE DUVERGER
Visual design and art installation created by awarded creative team LAIA CABRERA & Co, founded by Spanish filmmaker and video artist Laia Cabrera and French animator and projection mapping artist Isabelle Duverger.
Searching for new ways of using the space and visual imaginary as a tool for narrative storytelling and audience connection, driven by both scenographic and dramaturgical aspect and creating immersive content experiences in contemporary artwork.
@laiacabreraco @isabelleduverger

FEATURED INTERACTIVITY / NOIRFLUX AND KARAN PARIKH
Co-founded by Interaction artists Lorne Covington and Bill Saiff, working as NOIRFLUX, create responsive environments that provide immersive exploration, expression, and education. Through innovation in multi-person gestural interfaces, advanced spatial sensing, and physical, augmented, and virtual reality techniques, they create participatory experiences that effortlessly extend visitors' capabilities and senses. @noirfluxarts
Karan Parikh, an immersive experience developer. His core areas of focus are mixed reality, interaction design, spatial AR, adaptive and binaural audio. @karan_immersive

ABOUT COOLTURE IMPACT
At the edge of new digital frontiers, Coolture Impact is an incubator that explores and exploits new technologies, art content and social interaction. It creates a new paradigm in storytelling, where digital art is activated by, and exposed to, a large audience. Viewers are invited to experience and interact with art in a personal and exciting way to become an intrinsic part of the soulful artworks of our talented, featured artists.






Sunday, October 28, 2018

"Trojan Women" - Multimedia Theater at JCTC, November 2018



Jersey City Theater Center (JCTC) presents Trojan Women, a modern multimedia and multilingual adaptation of the classic Greek tragedy by Euripides, directed by Olga Levina, JCTC's Artistic Director.
A foreign army marches through the defeated city of Troy. They destroy every vestige of civilization left after a brutal war. They’ve slaughtered the men and captured the women, whom they brutally assault and separate from their children. Will the only survivors of Troy be massacred as well? Will the women be forced into marriage or slavery by their conquerors or will they be made to live like refugees in their devastated city, subject to the whims and desires of the occupying soldiers?
Trojan Woman is that rare work of literature that has gained more power and relevance with time... JCTC’s production of Trojan Women highlights women's strength, wisdom and compassion and is meant to spark a conversation about the ways “the others” are dehumanized through prejudice, oppression and violence in society. For thousands of years, men have fought wars, but women endure the aftermath, binding the wounds, mopping up the blood and stitching civilization back together. JCTC has brought diverse team of artists from multiple arts disciplines and cultural backgrounds to create Trojan Women for 21st century audiences.

JCTC/Merseles Studios November 2-18; Thursday-Saturday, 8:00-9:30; Sunday, 6:00-7:30

Cast:
Tatyana Zbirovskaya, Hecuba | Natalia Volkodaeva, Andromache | Mahalet Dejene, Cassandra | Dina Manganaris, Helen
Naya A. Desir-Johnson, Astyanax | Steven Martin, Athena/Greek soldier | Zach Hendrickson, Poseidon/Greek soldier Kevin Terwin, Menelaus/Greek soldier | Oliver Henry Fishman, Talthybius/Greek soldier
Trojan Women: Paula de Lima Torres, Daphnee McMaster, Julia Malinovskaya, Lorena Ibeth Marin Ortiz, Te'ena Klein, Claudia Godi, Sylvana Joyce, Ariel Guidry, Aizzah Fatima
Greeks: Sanio Kurtesevic, John St. Croix

Laia Cabrera and Isabelle Duverger – Scenography, Projection Mapping and Video Art
Steven Vessella – Stage Manager | Frank Ippolito – Art and Set Designer and Construction
Lance A Michel – Lighting Designer, Tech Director | Fernando Ayres – Venue Manager, Technician Matthew Holowienka - Costume Designer | Lucy Rovetto – Still Photography | Jenny Brover – Art Photography | Ekaterina Abramova – Artist, Cover Image
Marketing: Timothy Herrick – Publicity | Bang Chau – graphic design, photography

Get tickets



 
pictures by Isabelle Duverger

Wednesday, October 3, 2018

"Shifting Gaze", "Untitled Mind" and "Quantum" at JCAST HQ 2018

JCAST converted a raw space at the Pathside Building, Jersey City’s future world-class arts & culture community center, into a museum-quality gallery space–JCAST HQ.
October 4-7, 2018 at 84 Sip Ave, Journal Square, Jersey City
Event Producer Sophie Penkrat/Curator Tina Maneca

We presented there 3 site-specific video installations: "Shifting Gaze", "Untitled Mind" and "Quantum".

Watch teaser:


"Untitled Mind" is a multilayered mapped installation conceived as a short film video dance piece that explores the otherness in the self, focusing on the idea of the mirrored one, the creative ability, the dream, the unconscious mind. Directed and filmed by Laia Cabrera, the piece is based on an original idea by Catherine Correa in collaboration with awarded choreographer Alexandre Proia. The piece features two actors/dancers Catherine Correa and Jonathan Royse Windham with production design and visual effects by Isabelle Duverger, music by Javier Moreno Sanchez, sound design by Gisella-Fulla Silvestre and Arooj Aftab.





"Shifting Gaze" is a film-art-music installation about choice, desire and memory conceived and directed by Laia Cabrera (filmmaker and video artist) and created in collaboration with Erica Glyn (music, composer and singer) and Isabelle Duverger (animation and mapping). Shifting Gaze is a film about identity, about making choices, a memory in act. Drawing from the body, faces, urban patterns, nature and remains of activity, the piece explores a notion of choice, linked to desire and memory –choice being the present, memory representing the past and desire, the drive for a future. Underneath these mirrored imageries lie many stories about limits, freedom and self-perception.









"Quantum" is a series of videoart pieces about time, life and space by Laia Cabrera and Isabelle Duverger







Thursday, September 13, 2018

"Prologue" Multimedia Theater Play at JCTC, 2018

Prologue is a mixed-media performance created as a composition of moments – snapshots into the life and thought of French philosopher, activist, and mystic, Simone Weil (1909 – 1943). As an actor prepares to play Simone Weil, he reflects on the mystical and artistic processes, and on the indispensable role of “the other” to bring depth and meaning to our experience.

Written and directed by Maria Litvan
Performed by Catherine Correa and Ignacio García-Bustelo
Projection Design, Videoart & Animations by Laia Cabrera & Isabelle Duverger
Music and Sound Design by Nana Simopoulos

September 13-30, 2018 | JCTC Theater - Merseles Studios, 339 Newark Avenue, Jersey City, NJ 07302

 





















Thursday, March 15, 2018

Pictures & Press of Self on the Shelf Immersive Interactive Installation

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From left to right: Christine Miele (Curator), Laia Cabrera and Isabelle Duverger (Co-creator of the installation), Nicola Carpeggiani (Interactivity Designer)

Buy our artworks at springbreakartfair.com

Watering the Imagination at the Spring Break Art Show
"Several other exhibitions were visually compelling or inventive, or so fully realized that I couldn’t help but spend the necessary time to suss out their meanings. The show Self on the Shelf was one of those technology-driven extravaganzas, when I touched a black dot on a quotidian furnishing in what was designed to look like a bedroom, the whole scene shifted and music and images wafting across the walls made me feel like by touching the button, I had entered a wormhole."
Seph Rodney for Hyperallergic, March 8, 2018



Our 21 Favorite Moments From SPRING/BREAK Art Show
"This year’s theme, “Stranger Comes to Town,” explores tensions of otherness, through concepts of migration, assimilation, and the nature of belonging.
We’ve selected some of our favorite booths, moments and encounters at this year’s show:
Laia Cabrera and Isabelle Duverger, Self on a Shelf"
Kristina Adduci for Art Zealous, March 7, 2018

 

Spring/Breaking The Art-Fair Scene In NYC
Another unforgettable stop was “Self on the Shelf”, an Immersive Interactive Video Art installation by Laia Cabrera & Isabelle Duverger curated by Christine Miele. For this year’s Spring Break they turned a small boy’s bedroom into “a nightmarish dreamscape in honor of the eponymous elf which has become the symbol of our children’s intimate acceptance of 21st century surveillance realities” as the statement describes.
Laia Cabrera and Isabelle Duverger have a long successful history of transforming spaces with their immersive interactive projection mapping, video art, sound design, illustration and animation, all designed from scratch by them. Their robust career includes theatre scenery, cinema, cultural events and of course, exhibitions, to mention a few. For ‘Self on the Shelf’ they collaborated with interaction designer Nicola Carpeggiani in response to ‘A stranger comes to town’ exploring the conflicts of otherness and the nature of belonging, by bringing the child’s bedroom to life while the space reacts to the visitors’ actions.
Both artists and curator converse with the audience, and explain the piece’s origin as they are all inundated by the ongoing dramatic visual effects transform the space blurring the lines between reality and fantasy. Extracted from a 2012 journal entry about Chris’ son and his relationship with James, his first Elf on the Shelf, the concept of this stranger from the North Pole was born.
“Spring Break art show is a very unique art fair in the sense that it is organized around one theme, this year being “Stranger comes to Town” based on the adage “There are only two stories: a hero goes on a journey; a stranger comes to town”. Through the exploration of trust and belief, mystery, and childhood, we wanted to explore the role a stranger may play in conjunction with a power dynamic through the lens of a child. The room, reminiscent of a child’s bedroom, is transported through memories, emotions, and experiences via projected mapping, film, video, sound, animation and visual art.
It’s a spectacle on itself to observe the audience interact with the room, decipher where to touch and observe the visual effects, as well as the story behind them. Children and adults, or artists and the general audience all move around the space with a different approach and reactions. ‘In this context, our site specific installation was very labor intensive once getting into the space, and we’ve worked successfully around the clock to provide the visitors the best experience of our interactive video and sound installation.” Undoubtedly this particular booth is a trip on itself, making the rest of the environment temporarily disappear and becoming a door to an alternate universe.
I leave the fair still believing in the real relevance of art. Thank you Spring Break Art Show for keeping us sane through art-supermart season.
Sara Catalán – The Overart for Hysteriart, March 27, 2018

Self on the Shelf. Immersive Video Art Installation / Spring/Break 2018
Self on the Shelf - Stranger Comes to Town - NYC 2018 at Spring/Break Art Show New York 2018 is an immersive art installation that is based on the children's picture book “Elf on the Shelf”. The artists Laia Cabrera and Isabelle Duverger, in collaboration with the interaction designer Nicola Carpeggiani, have created a child's bedroom and brought it to life as it responds to a series of clues and prompts, which are given to visitors as they enter the room.
Vernissage TV, New York, March 6, 2018




Politics, Strangers & Art Not to Miss at Spring/Break 2018 
“Self on The Shelf” by Laia Cabrera and Isabelle Duverger. Curated by Christine Miele. 

"Self on The Shelf was a distinct departure from the installations and room presentations that dominated the fair. Presenting as a child's bedroom, the work was enlivened through the act of finding and pressing a black button to present a series of changing environment that combined a childlike innocence with adult self-examination that didn't scour. In an unexpected twist, the work contained a live projection component so participates could see themselves appear on the walls as part of the art installation. It's all part of the dreamlike environment and secret places that is more nice than not.
Self on The Shelf was dreamed up by a pair of visual artists with skills in projected mapping, film, video, animation and visual art. Experiencing the installation was not nearly as complicated as the list of skills needed to create the fanciful work. The work is inspired by a childhood toy by the curator's son. His "Elf on the Shelf" was a toy that was a stand in for Santa Claus and, as part of his Christmas team, could report back on whether he was naughty or nice to determine the level of gifts delivered on Christmas Eve.
The Self on The Shelf can transform into both sweet dreams or nightmares where elves take over the room or storms envelop the room. Other actions will create the room to transform into a pool, a drawing that unfolds or to place the visitor in the room as way of looking themselves in the mirror.
Overall, the installation was a fun breathe in an art fair with work that could be heavy on the heart or harsh on the eyes."
Pat Rogers for Hamptons Art Hub, March 10, 2018



Spanish filmmaker Laia Cabrera and animator / videomapper Isabelle Duverger co-create an interactive immersive installation for Spring Break Art Show 2018.
"Through immersive interactive projection mapping, video art, illustration and animation, Laia Cabrera and Isabelle Duverger, in collaboration with interaction designer Nicola Carpeggiani, have created a child’s bedroom and bring it to life as it responds to a series of clues or hints, which are given to visitors as they enter the room, turning into a nightmarish dreamscape in honor of the eponymous elf which has become the symbol of children’s intimate acceptance of 21st century surveillance realities.
Extracted from a 2012 journal entry about curator Christine Miele’s son and his relationship with James, his first Elf on the Shelf, the concept of this stranger from the North Pole was born. The dramatic visual effects transforms the room as the viewer explores feelings, emotions and limits between reality and fantasy."
Spain Arts and Culture, March 6, 2018



Christine Miele, Curator
An Immersive Interactive Video Mapping and Sound Art Installation by Laia Cabrera and Isabelle Duverger
Interaction by Nicola Carpeggiani / Experiential Branding by Laura Valenzuela / Product Design Artist Amy Pilkington

















Photo Credit: Sammy Sachs, Laia Cabrera & Isabelle Duverger