LinZhang: Blinks in the Atmosphere

Cave Writing Project, build with cave writing Text Editor.

Brown University Literary Arts Program, Cave Writing, USA.

2009

Abstract:

“Cave Writing” is a nationally recognized interdisciplinary workshop course offered annually at Brown University. The workshop course-initiated by novelist and hypertext expert Robert Coover in 2002, currently lead by visiting professor of Literary Arts John Cayley. “Cave Writing” uses a 4-Wall Cave and spatial audio system to research next generation literary experiences with interdisciplinary teams of students. Using a virtual reality environment (at Brown University Cave) are able to make the bodily experience more direct, human body is employed to “play” the piece. 

Blinks in the Atmosphere

by LinZhang

“Cave Writing” is a nationally recognized interdisciplinary workshop course offered annually at Brown University. The workshop course was initiated by novelist and hypertext expert Robert Coover in 2002, and is currently led by visiting professor of Literary Arts John Cayley. “Cave Writing” uses a 4-Wall Cave and spatial audio system to research next generation literary experiences with interdisciplinary teams of students. Users of this virtual reality environment at Brown University Cave are able to make the bodily experience more direct, and the human body is employed to “play” the piece.

Once at a Dharma gathering, the Suzong Emperor of the Tang Dynasty asked the Zen to pay attentions to him, inquiries to the National Teacher Nanyang Huizhong, but the Zen Patriarch refuses even to look up at his inquirer. Suzong became angry and said, "I am the Emperor of China, and yet you refuse even to look at me?" The National Teacher Huizhong answered right back to Suzong of the Tang without facing him, "Has your majesty ever looked up at the void?" "Of course I have!" "Well then, did the void wink back?" Suzong was speechless.

This image is reproduced from (Daoist) murals in the Yongle Palace (永乐宫壁画).

(Story is translated by Pro John Cayley.)

Artists take advantage of the Cave’s physical space itself by breaking this resource image into three parts and perfectly projecting it on the left, the middle, and the right side wall as a whole image.  The viewer enters the space and puts on 3D glasses; and a brief transparent description will appear on the front wall. Afterward, the surrounding screens render. The viewer stares at the project’s characters on paintings on the surrounding walls and the real 3D eye will come up into the physical space through the viewer’s body and move back and forth. When the viewer stares at more characters, more eyes will appear and travel around the physical space with a “Bing” sound. The entire sound becomes a monosyllabic symphony.

In the day-to-day routine of a human’s life, she is entangled in feelings associated with its incidents: who treats her well and who treats her badly; there is a daily account of the person’s gains or losses. If she is not fretting over money, she could be fretting over relationships. And then, apart from money and relationships, there is the question of respect. All daylong she may want others to praise her and treat her well, or even give her attention by looking at her. But when she faces the void, it is not even going to wink back at her. Why do we want the void to wink at us? As a matter of enlightened principle, the Dharma body addresses this in the same manner as the void.