This past August, in the dense rainforest of Gamboa, Panama, assistant professors Christopher Manzione and Nancy Nowacek set out on a trip to attend a unique conference involving science, research, technology, and art. In the Visual Arts & Technology program at Stevens, Manzione runs the Moving Image concentration, which includes video, animation, virtual and augmented reality, motion graphics, 3D modeling, and 3D animation. He has a background in sculpture, virtual environments, and mobile augmented reality. Nowacek, also in Visual Arts & Technology, runs the Design concentration curriculum, and has a background in design, conceptual art, and interdisciplinary art.
Manzione and Nowacek received notice of a convention taking place in Panama called the Digital Naturalism Conference (otherwise known as Dinacon), an experimental conference that explores new ways of interacting with nature, a key goal being to share knowledge. This year, groups of field biologists, interaction designers, engineers, and artists were invited to convene in Gamboa, “one of the world’s major hubs for biological field research.” Groups and individuals were able to experience the Gamboa Rainforest while talking about the intersectional space between their respective domains.
In order to attend the conference, groups and individuals had to apply with a project, whether it be a sculpture, a biological experiment, a movie, a journal article, etc. Manzione and Nowacek decided to apply together with a project: how to use digital technologies to begin to understand Panama as a place and a space. They focused particularly on the rainforest, an emblem of the nation of Panama and an important factor in climate change.
During their one-week stay in the rainforest, the two collected several different kinds of content, including audio captures, videos, and still images. Manzione collected a series of 3D scans that he plans to process through the use of photogrammetry, the “art and science of extracting 3D information from photographs.” The output of photogrammetry is typically “a map, a drawing, a measurement, or a 3D model of some real-world object or scene.”
Nowacek, for her part, used a motion capture system, placing sensors on her joints while using Notch (an iOS and Android app) that collects movement data from various sensors. With this, she captured the motion of a walk through the rainforest. The equipment they used to capture content included their personal phones, a digital camera, a Zoom audio recorder, and a GoPro Fusion that captures 360° video.
While in Panama, the two also found time to visit the Panama Canal. They thought of it as a place of transience, with consumer products constantly coming and going. They noticed the slowness of the transportation of materials and the slowness of the place in general, a huge contrast to our daily lives in New York. “There’s only one family-run bodega. There’s no grocery store. It’s a really remote place,” said Nowacek.
Despite the remote location, Nowacek and Manzione met several other Dinacon attendees, or fellow “
In the humid rainforest, Nowacek described a feeling of familiarity. “A lot of the house plants that get sold to us are plants that like dark, low-light environments like the rainforest. It was like we were staring at layers and layers of giant house plants.”
“It’s an alive, intense place,” she added. “If you just hold your eyes still for just a moment, you realize that there is life and activity at the tiniest levels.”
Expanding on one project idea, the two recalled the corrugated metal-roofed bus stops near where they were staying in Gamboa. “We want to recreate one of these as a place of transition, departure, and waiting and use it as a structure to install some audio and video components,” said Manzione.
Manzione and Nowacek expect their final projects to be completed by January, when they will share their work with fellow Dinasaurs, the Stevens community, and the world.
Be First to Comment