Jun

Climb into a Painting and Take Some Selfies

by Meredith Mullins on June 8, 2015

Boy stepping out of interactive 3D art, a replica of a painting by Vincent Van Gogh, provides rich opportunities for selfies in the interactive Art in Island Museum in the Philippines. (Photo Courtesy of Art in Island Museum.)

Becoming part of the art
(photo courtesy of Art in Island Museum)

Interactive 3D Art Takes Hold in the Philippines

Somewhere deep in our dreams, we all want to be famous—or at least the lead actor in a production or the star of the moment.

I sang my heart out as an 8-year-old, in the secluded corners of our house, with a broomstick microphone in hand. I knew the words to every musical. I pictured myself accepting the Oscar (with great humility and a speech that brought tears to every member of the audience). Didn’t happen.

Young woman pretending to hold mouth of sea monster open in the interactive 3D art painting, which provides rich opportunities for selfies in the interactive Art in Island Museum in the Philippines. (Photo courtesy of Art in Island Museum.)

Open wide
(photo courtesy of Art in Island Museum)

3D Dreams at Art in Island Museum

Thanks to the Korean creators of a new interactive 3D art museum in the Philippines, these kinds of dramatic-role dreams can come true for all of us non-celebrities. Visitors can become stars of selfies, letting their inner actor emerge.

Bring your own costumes, props, and creative spirit . . . and step into a world of phenomenal 3D art.

Lights

Action

Camera

Person pretending to be a mermaid in the interactive 3D art painting, which provides rich opportunities for selfies in the interactive 3D Art in Island Museum in the Philippines. (Photo courtesy of Art in Island Museum.)

Mermaid-inspired creativity
(photo courtesy of Art in Island Museum)

Innovations that Inspire

The Art in Island Museum opened six months ago in Quezon City, north of Manila, and is already a bricks-and-mortar—and viral— sensation.

The CEO, Yun Jae Kyoung, decided to open the museum in the Philippines because of Filipinos’ love affair with taking selfies and sharing them with people they care about on social media.

It is one of the largest 3D art museums in the world, with a variety of “trick art” paintings.

High angle shot of the interior of the Art in Island Museum in the Philippines, a place rich in opportunities for selfies and the experience of interactive 3D art. (Photo courtesy of Art in Island Museum.)

One of the themed rooms at the Art in Island Museum
(photo courtesy of Art in Island Museum)

The large murals were designed by a team of Korean master painters to give the illusion of depth and to allow visitors to become part of the art.

The art spans the spectrum, from interpretations of iconic paintings—such as Van Gogh’s “The Church at Auvers,” Munch’s “The Scream,” and Fragonard’s “The Swing”—to optical illusions where the realities of size, space, and gravity are in question.

Man catching a shoe in front of the ED art replica of Fragonard's The Swing, providing rich opportunities for selfies at the 3D interactive Art in Island Museum in the Philippines. (Photo courtesy of Art in Island Museum.)

An interpretation of Fragonard’s “The Swing”
(photo courtesy of Art in Island Museum)

Visitors can climb walls, take a gondola ride, balance on ancient tombs, surf the perfect curl, or dunk a basket, no matter their skill, age, or height.

Young man dunking a basketball in the 3D interactive painting, providing rich opportunities for selfies at the 3D interactive Art in Island Museum in the Philippines. (Photo courtesy of Art in Island Museum.)

A slam dunk
(photo courtesy of Art in Island Museum)

The Museum’s Priority: Go Crazy

This is a museum that defies the standard rules. You can touch things. You can climb on things. You can take as many photographs as you want and stay as long as you like.

The human interaction with the art is as fun as the art itself, since creative and comical poses are encouraged.

Boy appearing out of proportion looks a smaller person in large chair in the 3D interactive painting, providing rich opportunities for selfies at the 3D interactive Art in Island Museum in the Philippines. (Photo courtesy of Art in Island Museum.)

Size may or may not matter.
(photo courtesy of Art in Island Museum)

If you can’t take a selfie in a particular painting (and, let’s face it, you’ll need an XXL selfie stick or smartphone remote to make a self-portrait with this large-scale art), the museum staff are available to serve as paparazzi.

The only rule: you can’t wear shoes, since they might damage the painting on the floor. Bring some socks, go barefoot, or use the museum-provided comfy slippers.

Person balancing in a 3D interactive painting of ancient ruins, providing rich opportunities for selfies in the 3D interactive Art in Island Museum in the Philippines. (Image © Edgar Alan Zeta-Yap.)

Finding a balance in 3D
© Edgar Alan Zeta-Yap

The Fun of Being Part of Art

The interactive 3D art museum philosophy says, “We want you to be part of art.” Oh, I see the fun people are having and the creativity that emerges as visitors become part of the art. So, I’m all for how these 3D innovations feed the current craze for selfies.

Woman under waterfall in a 3D interactive painting, providing rich opportunities for selfies at the 3D interactive Art in Island Museum in the Philippines. (Image © Edgar Alan Zeta-Yap.)

Illusions of the grandest kind
© Edgar Alan Zeta-Yap

And maybe, after that hunger for fame and self-recognition is fed, we can go to an art museum and fight the urge to photograph the work or photograph ourselves in front of each masterpiece to prove we were “there.”

Instead, we can just spend the moment in awed silence and think about how a work of art makes us feel. That, for me, is the true meaning of interactive art.

Woman in white against the 3D interactive angel wing painting, providing rich opportunities for selfies at the 3D interactive Art in Island Museum in the Philippines. (Photo courtesy of Art in Island Museum.)

We can all be perfect angels.
(photo courtesy of Art in Island Museum)

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Meredith Mullins 2 Comments

Innovations/Philippines/The World's Photography

Mar

India—Cultural Encounters of the Colorful Kind

by Meredith Mullins on March 16, 2015

Flower seller, car-to-car, cultural encounters in Northern India that provide travel inspiration. (Image © Meredith Mullins)

A car-to-car flower seller in Delhi
© Meredith Mullins

Travel Inspiration from Northern India

I expected sensory overload . . . and India delivered.

Bright colors warmed by the sun
Labyrinthine bazaars, far more organized than first glance implies
Horn blasts and shrill shouts from streets crowded with cars, rickshaws, animals, cycles, and carts
Spices that pervade the body—smell, taste, and touch
Dust and wood-fire smoke permeating air and clothes
Mounds of golden flowers—in markets and on shrines to the gods
People living their lives in the open—in the streets, on rooftops, in alleys, in unwalled shops, or in just about any open space

Rooftop in Old Delhi, cultural encounters in Northern India that provide travel inspiration. (Image © Meredith Mullins)

Up on the roof . . . in Old Delhi
© Meredith Mullins

What I did not expect was the depth of hospitality or the pride of place that I experienced from the people of India.

Meredith Mullins 14 Comments

Cultural Encounters/India/The World's Photography

Feb

Landscape Photography with a Deep Sense of Place

by Meredith Mullins on February 23, 2015

Landscape photography (Homeward Bound II) by Roman Loranc showing a slice of California scenery, a road toward Mount Shasta. (Image © Roman Loranc)

Homeward Bound II (Mount Shasta, CA)
© Roman Loranc

Roman Loranc: Rooted in the California Natural World

There is an empty canoe drifting in the Consumnes River in the Central Valley of California. It’s photographer Roman Loranc’s ride. His way of slipping gently into one of the landscapes he loves.

He is facing away from the escaping canoe, knee deep in the river, with his tripod steadied on the river bottom and his 4 x 5 camera trained on the forms just visible in the distant mist. He hasn’t yet noticed that he is stranded.

It doesn’t matter. He is in another world. A world where he is seeing, smelling, hearing, feeling, and tasting the scene he is photographing. He has lost himself in the moment.

Landscape photography (Phantom Canoe) by Roman Loranc showing California scenery including the central valley wetlands and a canoe. (Image © Roman Loranc)

The Phantom Canoe. Roman turned “being stranded” into a work of art
© Roman Loranc

The Essence of Landscape Photography

A good landscape photographer understands composition, quality of light, and the effects of changes in time, weather, and season on the subject.

A great photographer understands all of the above, but also belongs to the scene he or she is capturing—rooted to the place. Connected with all senses.

Roman Loranc is such a photographer. One who understands how to be fully present when capturing a moment on film.

Landscape photography (Oak, Carmel Valley) by Roman Loranc showing a slice of California scenery, an oak tree in Carmel Valley. (Image © Roman Loranc)

Belonging to the place (Oak, Carmel Valley, CA)
© Roman Loranc

Being Part of the Natural World

The canoe episode reveals much about how Roman lives his life.

“I know that I am a part of the natural order of things,” Roman explains. “I know because I feel it when I am quiet and let myself be a human being rather than a human doing. We are all part of the natural world, although we sometimes forget.”

Landscape photography (Skyline Forest) by Roman Loranc showing a slice of California scenery, tall pines with light. (Image © Roman Loranc)

A connection with all senses (Skyline Forest, Monterey, CA)
© Roman Loranc

He describes his time photographing as a process of opening all his senses, not just the visual. “I am present, sensing and feeling, my mind clear, connected to this world, my world.”

He talks of hearing insects buzzing, feeling a cool breeze, smelling the pungency of decaying leaves, tasting the moisture in the air. And because these things are intrinsically woven into his photographs, we feel something too.

Landscape photography (Road to Mauna Kea) by Roman Loranc showing a slice of scenery with a dark road in Hawaii. (Image © Roman Loranc)

Road to Mauna Kea
© Roman Loranc

His images have a haunting power. Drama and mystery. But, there is also a bit of melancholy, as if the simple beauty of these places is fleeting. Things change . . . and sometimes threaten to disappear forever.

A Photographic Path Across Cultures

Roman’s photographic life began in his childhood in Poland. He received his first camera at age 7 or 8, as he recalls. It broke soon after, but the short time he spent with it was life-changing. The idea of slicing a moment out of time to preserve forever was magic.

At 19, in Russia, he traded a pair of Levi’s for a 35 mm camera and darkroom equipment (a pretty good trade). Mentors and inspirations came his way.

Landscape photography is made by Roman Loranc with view camera. (Image © Bob Reade)

He loved the chemistry (and alchemy) of the darkroom but freely admits that his first prints were horrible. He worked hard to learn despite the lack of materials in communist Poland. These milestones—both serendipitous and fought for—provided an undeniable path to the art of photography.

He left Poland in 1981 in search of freedom, defecting to the United States. Wisconsin at first, and then west. Somehow he knew California would become home.

“I had to leave in order to live, and the U.S. was where I felt I could do that best,” he remembers.

He was rewarded not only with personal freedoms but also with magnificent landforms.

Landscape photography (Santa Lucia Highlands) by Roman Loranc showing a slice of California scenery, mountains and sea. (Image © Roman Loranc)

Respect for the Land

He took to the California Central Valley (and later the Mount Shasta area) like Ansel Adams took to Yosemite and the Westons took to the California central coast.

Like all artists who respect the land, he learned that the better you know it, the more its beauty reveals itself.

Landscape photography (Tule Raft) by Roman Loranc showing a slice of California scenery. (Image © Roman Loranc)

Statuesque trees, minimalist tule, and misty mornings became his life blood. He admits to feeling a bit guilty when people love his photographs. It is nature that is beautiful, he says. “I get rewarded, but I don’t know if I deserve it.”

He shouldn’t be so humble. He is dedicated to his craft; does everything by hand; and, with vigilance to be envied, makes sure every image is consistent with his vision.

Landscape photography (Crucified Landscape) by Roman Loranc showing a slice of California scenery, fields and clouds. (Image © Roman Loranc)

A Technique with Commitment

Although he appreciates technology, having grown up without electricity or running water in the communist era, he is loyal to the traditional approach to photography.

His technique conveys his emotional response to a scene—from his choice of black-and-white film to his dedication to the perfection of prints—photographs where depth and mood are supported by the right palette of tones, the luminescence of the light, and the addition of sepia and selenium tone to provide an additional layer of feeling.

Landscape photography (Krakow, Poland) by Roman Loranc showing scenery in Poland. (Image © Roman Loranc)

Oh, I See: The Common Thread

Most of Roman’s photos celebrate the natural world via landscape photography, but he has also explored manmade forms. He describes the common thread as “moments of enlightenment.”

Mount Shasta at sunrise or a cathedral or synagogue in Eastern Europe can provide the same sense of the “gift of existence.”

“I understand the interplay of life and its dependency on a vital planet,” he says. “I feel a part of it, not apart from it.”

It is this connection that allows us into his world through his images. And we’re glad to be a part of it.

Landscape photography (Valley before the Rain) by Roman Loranc showing a slice of California scenery, a coming thunderstorm. (Image © Roman Loranc)

Roman Loranc’s “Collection of New Work” is at the Photography West Gallery in Carmel, California until March 14, 2015.

Photography West Gallery has also produced two monographs of Loranc’s work—Fractal Dreams and Absolution.

To see more of Roman’s work, visit his website.

Comment on this post, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Meredith Mullins 6 Comments

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