A safe and socially distanced way for residents to reconnect with their city, Massively Distributed was a community-driven public art expression presented at Scottsdale Public Art’s annual Canal Convergence | Water + Art + Light experience. Combining a collaborative multimedia instrument with large-scale projection mapping, interdisciplinary artistic collective MASARY Studios illuminated the streets of Scottsdale, Ariz. with its Massively Distributed installation.
Intended to connect people during a time of social distancing and bridge the gap between artists and the community, Massively Distributed included a site-specific web-based app instrument accessible across laptops, tablets and smartphones. MASARY Studios captured local audio and visual samples and invited the public to create and submit original multimedia compositions through the “Massively Distributed” interface, similar to a music sequencer or drum machine. Throughout the Canal Convergence art experience from Nov. 6-15, 892 unique users produced 443 new media works.
“During a year spent apart while sheltering in place, we wanted to reconnect people with one another, as well as the cities they live in, through our Massively Distributed project,” said Sam Okerstrom-Lang, media artist, founder and principal, MASARY Studios. “MD expands from samples of the Arizona landscape to the palm of your hand when interacting, and then ultimately the scale of buildings through public video projection so people can see their artwork alongside their neighbors’ creation.”
Presented at three prominent locations throughout Old Town Scottsdale, each Massively Distributed location used two Epson Pro L1755U laser projectors along with a variety of compatible Epson lenses to display artwork onto building façades. To bring their artistic vision to life, MASARY Studios stacked the two 15,000-lumen Epson projectors to display double the light output and allow for a more compact, efficient installation powered from standard 120V sources. Using the Epson projectors’ built-in tools, including edge blending, image warping and curved-surface correction technologies, MASARY Studios curated submissions from the “Massively Distributed” instrument to create massive, bright pieces of art that pop beautifully.
“We continue to be amazed by artists and their ability to unleash creativity using projection,” said Ramzi Shakra, product manager, large-venue projectors, Epson America. “At a time when people crave in-person experiences Massively Distributed offered a unique way for people to reconnect with their city and express creativity through safe interactions with the artwork they are viewing.”