Blinks in the atmosphere

虚空眨眼

Wring's on the wall in 3D Cave  @ Brown University

Special thanks John Cayly, Sebastian Gallese

Final Present @ Cave, Brown University, Dec 4th, 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.  

Blink in the atmosphere is inspired from a Chinese philosophy story. This piece of writing on the Cave walls is based on a Zen (Chinese: 禪 Chan) parable or koan (Chinese: 公案 gong'an).

At a Dharma gathering once, the Suzong Emperor of the Tang Dynasty put many points of inquiry to National Teacher Nanyang Huizhong, but the Zen Patriarch refused 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?"

National Teacher Huizhong answered right back to Suzong of the Tang without facing him,

"Has your majesty ever look up at the void?"

"Of course I have!"

"Well then, did the void wink back?" Suzong was speechless.

Image reproduced from (Daoist) murals in the Yongle Palace (永乐宫壁画).

Artist take advantage of the Cave physical space itself break this resource image into three parts and perfectly project in the left, the middle, and the right side wall as a whole image. The viewer comes inside the space and takes on the 3D glasses; the brief description will show up in the front wall, in transparent. After that the surrounding screens rendering slightly. Viewer stared at the project surrounding wall’s painting’s characters; the real 3D eye will come up into the physical space through your body back and forth. With the more characters you stare at, the more eyes will show up and travel around the physical space with “Bing” sound. The whole sounds sound like a monosyllabic symphony.

In day-to-day human life, we are entangled in feelings associated with its incidents: who treats us well and who badly; the daily account of our gains or losses. if we're not fretting over money, we're fretting over relationships. And then, apart from money and relationships, there are questions of respect. Day-long we want others to praise us, treat us well, give us attention by looking up at us. But when we face up to the void, it's not even going to wink at us. Why do we want the void to wink at us? As a matter of enlightened principle, the Dharma body addresses us in the same manner as the void.