let's rage Thesis Magazine Julian Basurto

lets rage ets rage lets rage lets rage lets rage julian basurto

ets ag

l e t s r s t tgele agle r e t s r a tse etagle eagsl r tsge e t e rle g lerasl t s g a t e rle g leras t s g a s r etgele a esl a tser ts t erle g lera s a g ts r t e e 2

t r e g l a e e s l rts g tsraet g a l e e l a r s g s e t a eter le eersl g tsra e t a l e gle r l gets s r e t sg e rale e s l g t s e sg etrale e asl e tsag t e t g e l e r ea l s g a few words

let’s rage explores the concept of communal architecture through the lens of the nightclub or dance club space. From the inception of modern nightclub design in the 1960s, the dance club functioned as a space of escape, of refuge, especially for minority groups. The Loft, a NYC alt-club created in the 1970s in someone’s loft, is an example of a makeshift zone of escape; many of the attendees were members of the queer community and people of color, many of whom participated in political activism movements of the time. Studio 54 to makeshift warehouse parties of LA, dance clubs became spaces for the subculture to question, rage against, and escape the realities of the “real world”. The nightclub is an architecture that only truly functions when multiple elements from music to lighting and projections work in tandem; in combination, of course, with an active audience.

As dancers perform in the space, so too does the architecture.

The advent of modern technology has allowed for the proliferation of media and entertainment, and, too, the ability for users to create their own worlds easily.

Take for example tiktok, a medium where users can easily create their own videos, customize them, and upload them to their own audience. Many modern music videos, for example “Delete Forever” by Grimes, were designed and rendered completely in 3d software. There is a diminishing need to utilize anything outside of the digital design methods. But, is there a diminishing need for people to find community?

My thesis therefore seeks to ask the question, what is the future of a communal space such as a dance club, especially for minority groups like the queer community? During a time where community can be found more often online, is this kind of a physical space obsolete? Or is it possible that we as a community can create our own interactive dance space through our own interfaces? My thesis explores the modern interactive dance club, where users can create their own surroundings through their own interfaces. Perhaps these spaces can function even to create community during political or social upheaval, where users can escape or find modes of raging against.

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l e t s r s t tgele agle r e t s r a tse etagle eagsl r tsge e t e rle g lerasl t s g a t e rle g leras t s g a s r etgele a esl a tser ts t erle g lera s a g ts r t e e Julian Basurto

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t r e g l a e e s l aet rts g tsr6 g a l e e l a r s g s e t a eter le eersl g26 a s t r e t a l e gle r l gets s r e t sg e rale e 36 s l g t s e sg etrale e asl e tsag t e t g e l e r ea l s g club culture

the music video

preliminary studies

table of contents

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l e t s r s t tgele agle r e t s r s a t e etagle eagsl r tsge e t e rle g lerasl t s g a t e rle g leras t s g a sr etgele a esl a tser ts t erle g lera s a g ts r t e e Julian Basurto

Il Grifoncino was an example of a “Piper,” a space with a combination of “flexible furnishings, audiovisual spectacles, artwork on the walls, and diverse music programme.”

A “Piper” was a shorthand for this kind of space.

“Spazio di coinvolgimento” was another Piper in Florence, designed by Archizoom Associat. It was destroyed later that year.

LEFT Il Grifoncino (The Griffin) Nightclub in Bolzano, Italy

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RIGHT “Spazio di coinvolgimento”, Emanuele Piccardo and Paolo Deganello

t r e g l a e s e l rts g tsraet g a l e e l a r s g t s e t a le er le eers g tsra e t a l e gle r l gets s r e t sg e rale e s l g t s e sg etrale e asl e tsag t e t g e l e r l ea s g early nightclubs

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l e t s r s t tgele agle r e t s r s a t e etagle eagsl r tsge e t e rle g lerasl t s g a t e rle g leras t s g a sr etgele a esl a tser ts t erle g lera s a g ts r t e e Julian Basurto

Although it was not a nightclub nor fully realized, Fun Palace was an important reference for avant-garde architects in nightclub design. Fun Palace is an important reference for my thesis as it proposed a space generated by a “flexible scaffold containing modular and pre-fabricated elements,” as opposed to a permanent edifice. This approach allowed for an adapted program of entertainment and education.

LEFT Fun Palace,

Cedric Price

RIGHT “Spazio di coinvolgimento”, Emanuele Piccardo and Paolo Deganello

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t r e g l a e s e l rts g tsraet g a l e e l a r s g t s e t a le er le eers g tsra e t a l e gle r l gets s r e t sg e rale e s l g t s e sg etrale e asl e tsag t e t g e l e r l ea s g fun palace

club culture

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l e t s r s t tgele agle r e t s r s a t e etagle eagsl r tsge e t e rle g lerasl t s g a t e rle g leras t s g a sr etgele a esl a tser ts t erle g lera s a g ts r t e e Julian Basurto

Space Electronic (left) was designed by Radical Design collective Gruppo 9999 (Carlo Caldini, Fabrizio Fiumi, Mario Preti, and Palo Galli). A key inspiration to the project was Caldini’s visit to New York’s Electric Circus in 1967, which featured multimedia performances and spaces created through audio-visual technologies, rather than purely its architecture.

Piper, which opened in Rome in 1965, was Italy’s first discotheque. It was located in a unused cinema. The reinvention of the space was mostly due to the use of projection and lighting rig suspnded from the ceiling, monochrome platforms at varied heights, and the use of colorful tables and chairs.

TOP LEFT Space Electronic

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LEFT Piper Club, Rome, 1965 RIGHT Barbarella, Dubbione di Pinasca

t r e g l a e s e l rts g tsraet g a l e e l a r s g t s e t a le er le eers g tsra e t a l e gle r l gets s r e t sg e rale e s l g t s e sg etrale e asl e tsag t e t g e l e r l ea s g space electronic

Several of Italy’s Radical Design groups were inspired by pop culture in rejection of conventions of mainstream design. One of them was Barbarella, above, a space-themed disco designed for weekend fun.

The subterranean disco was accessible via a staircase located inside a bright red tunnel, which lights up at night. Downstairs featured a gold-painted ceiling, a circular spaceship-themed DJ booth and bar, and tables in the shape of fragments of Ionic columns, intended to “represent archaeological finds from ancient civilizations.”

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l e t s r s t tgele agle r e t s r s a t e etagle eagsl r tsge e t e rle g lerasl t s g a t e rle g leras t s g a sr etgele a esl a tser ts t erle g lera s a g ts r t e e Julian Basurto

Schwabylon (right) was in Munich’s Schwabing neighborhood. It was initially conceived to be a city within a city, to “serve the society of the future, with around-the-clock leisure facilities.” It contained 700 apartments, a marketplace, beer garden, agora, indoor pool, ice rink, amusement arcade, and the disco.

The Yellow Submarine was named after the Beatles’ eponymous film and album, and featued a pool with sharks that clubgoers could see through bulletproof glass. The complex was demolished in 1978, but the Yellow Submarine endured a few more years.

LEFT Poster for Paolina B., by Gianni Arnaudo and Carla Bartolozzi

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RIGHT Marketing brochure for Schwabylon Shopping and Leisure Centre, 1973

t r e g l a e s e l rts g tsraet g a l e e l a r s g t s e t a le er le eers g tsra e t a l e gle r l gets s r e t sg e rale e s l g t s e sg etrale e asl e tsag t e t g e l e r l ea s g schwabylon

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l e t s r s t tgele agle r e t s r s a t e etagle eagsl r tsge e t e rle g lerasl t s g a t e rle g leras t s g a sr etgele a esl a tser ts t erle g lera s a g ts r t e e Julian Basurto

“For me, the core [idea behind the Loft] is social progress.”

- David Mancuso

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The Loft was a party fashioned by David Mancuso in the 70s and early 80s. It was rooted in counterculture of the time, specifically energies of gay liberation, the civil right movement, feminism, LSD culture, anti-war protest, New Left politics, and loft living.

The Loft was a private, invitation-only party featuring a cross-genre music collection existing in conjunction with the arc of an acid trip. The minimal lighting and visual effects forced attendees to focus on the “connective experience of hearing.” Mancuso’s “The Loft” established the call-and-response democratic underpinnings of contemporary culture. The space functioned, too, as a safe haven in the years following the Stonewall Riots, “a place for queer and straight alike--whether white, black, or grown--to express themselves and move as one on the dancefloor.”

First housed in Mancuso’s own apartment, the Loft’s part network then expanded into Paradise Garage, an old garage parking space on King Street. Mancuso writes, “For me, the core [idea behind the Loft] is social progress...How much social progress can there be when you’re in a situation that is repressive? You won’t get much social progress in a nightclub… In my zone, you can be any age, a drinker or non-drinker, a smoker or a non-smoker. And that’s where I like to be.”

LEFT David Mancuso’s The Loft logo

RIGHT David Mancuso’s The Loft, New York 1982

t r e g l a e s e l rts g tsraet g a l e e l a r s g t s e t a le er le eers g tsra e t a l e gle r l gets s r e t sg e rale e s l g t s e sg etrale e asl e tsag t e t g e l e r l ea s g the loft

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l e t s r s t tgele agle r e t s r s a t e etagle eagsl r tsge e t e rle g lerasl t s g a t e rle g leras t s g a sr etgele a esl a tser ts t erle g lera s a g ts r t e e Julian Basurto

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LEFT Studio 54 Interiors

RIGHT Mario Cicero’s apartment

t r e g l a e s e l rts g tsraet g a l e e l a r s g t s e t a le er le eers g tsra e t a l e gle r l gets s r e t sg e rale e s l g t s e sg etrale e asl e tsag t e t g e l e r l ea s g studio 54

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l e t s r s t tgele agle r e t s r s a t e etagle eagsl r tsge e t e rle g lerasl t s g a t e rle g leras t s g a sr etgele a esl a tser ts t erle g lera s a g ts r t e e Julian Basurto

Beginning in 1968, an interconnected group of European promoters, architects, and engineers developped a pioneering architectural project in relation to social dance.

The creators envisioned a new spatial experience, fueled primarily by innovative technologies and new perceptual environments.

Maddox, a low, singlestory building with a flat roof, was a “new kind of architectural space” with non-static elements that transformed the space.

“Oriol Regàs and Alberigo Crocetta

are honoured to invite you to the party that will be held in the Piper Club,

Rome, next Friday 4 October at 10 p.m., where the Spanish dancer Antonio Gades will perform.

”

- David Mancuso

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Stroboscopic lights came from New York and laser lights were imported from Paris. The effect of psychotropic technologies was essential in the creation of the unique space. A Spanish publication described how “a Myriad of light beams and intermittent flickers produce effects of the more depurated phatasmagorical style”.

The peoples and their bodies that entered the space took a central role in the creation of this space. The public functioned as both audience and protagonist.

Light and sound waves were projected directly at the body. Studies from the 1940s and 50s elucidated that exposure to flickering light can induce light waves in the brain, and that these neural oscillations can connect different areas of the brain and engender experiences of transcendent beauty.

LEFT Psychedelic projections and dancing bodies in Maddox, 1968

RIGHT Maddox

t r e g l a e s e l rts g tsraet g a l e e l a r s g t s e t a le er le eers g tsra e t a l e gle r l gets s r e t sg e rale e s l g t s e sg etrale e asl e tsag t e t g e l e r l ea s g Maddox

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l e t s r s t tgele agle r e t s r s a t e etagle eagsl r tsge e t e rle g lerasl t s g a t e rle g leras t s g a sr etgele a esl a tser ts t erle g lera s a g ts r t e e Julian Basurto

LEFT Bill Ward and Lawrence Paul, projection booth, Electric Circus, New York, January 1968

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RIGHT Lighting projections booth, Electric Circus, New York, January 1968

t r e g l a e s e l rts g tsraet g a l e e l a r s g t s e t a le er le eers g tsra e t a l e gle r l gets s r e t sg e rale e s l g t s e sg etrale e asl e tsag t e t g e l e r l ea s g projections

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l e t s r s t tgele agle r e t s r s a t e etagle eagsl r tsge e t e rle g lerasl t s g a t e rle g leras t s g a sr etgele a esl a tser ts t erle g lera s a g ts r t e e Julian Basurto

From 1980 to 1988, The Saint, founded by Bruce Mailman, was New York’s largest gay disco. It featured a circular dance floor under a giant planetarium dome and an outstanding lighting and sound system. The Spitz Starfield Projector was vital to the club’s lighting scheme.

LEFT Starship Discovery 1 disco, with neon lightning and four JBL tweeters installed by Alex Rosner

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RIGHT Promotional leaflet for The Saint’s opening season, showing floor plans and sections

t r e g l a e s e l rts g tsraet g a l e e l a r s g t s e t a le er le eers g tsra e t a l e gle r l gets s r e t sg e rale e s l g t s e sg etrale e asl e tsag t e t g e l e r l ea s g starship discovery

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l e t s r s t tgele agle r e t s r s a t e etagle eagsl r tsge e t e rle g lerasl t s g a t e rle g leras t s g a sr etgele a esl a tser ts t erle g lera s a g ts r t e e Julian Basurto

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LEFT Teenage “E-boy” using application tiktok RIGHT “ok zoomer” example of current trend lingo

t r e g l a e s e l rts g tsraet g a l e e l a r s g t s e t a le er le eers g tsra e t a l e gle r l gets s r e t sg e rale e s l g t s e sg etrale e asl e tsag t e t g e l e r l ea s g gen z tropes

https://www.tiktok.com/@ash.jpg/video/6659481339395312901

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l e t s r s t tgele agle r e t s r s a t e etagle eagsl r tsge e t e rle g lerasl t s g a t e rle g leras t s g a t scellophane e e r a l e g esl a tser ts t erle g lera s a g ts r t e e Julian Basurto

fka twigs 26

t r e g l a e s e l rts g tsraet g a l e e l a r s g t s e t a le er le eers g tsra e t a l e gle r l gets s r e t sg e rale e s l g t s e sg etrale e asl e tsag t e t g e l e r l ea s g cellophane

ABOVE Cellophane by FKA twigs music video, directed

by Andrew Thomas Huang

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l e t s r s t tgele agle r e t s r s a t e etagle eagsl r tsge e t e rle g lerasl t s g a t e rle g leras t s g a t sdelete e e r a l e g forever esl a tser ts t erle g lera s a g ts r t e e Julian Basurto

grimes 28

t r e g l a e s e l rts g tsraet g a l e e l a r s g t s e t a le er le eers g tsra e t a l e gle r l gets s r e t sg e rale e s l g t s e sg etrale e asl e tsag t e t g e l e r l ea s g delete forever

ABOVE Delete Forever

by Grimes music video, directed by Grimes

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l e t s r s t tgele agle r e t s r s a t e etagle eagsl r tsge e t e rle g lerasl t s g a t e rle g leras t s g a t sfuture e e r a l e g pop esl a tser ts t erle g lera s a g ts r t e e Julian Basurto

perfume 30

t r e g l a e s e l rts g tsraet g a l e e l a r s g t s e t a le er le eers g tsra e t a l e gle r l gets s r e t sg e rale e s l g t s e sg etrale e asl e tsag t e t g e l e r l ea s g future pop

ABOVE Future Pop by Perfume music video

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l e t s r s t tgele agle r e t s r s a t e etagle eagsl r tsge e t e rle g lerasl t s g a t e rle g leras t s g a t shot e e r a l e g hands esl a tser ts t erle g lera s a g ts r t e e Julian Basurto

julo 32

t r e g l a e s e l rts g tsraet g a l e e l a r s g t s e t a le er le eers g tsra e t a l e gle r l gets s r e t sg e rale e s l g t s e sg etrale e asl e tsag t e t g e l e r l ea s g hot hands

ABOVE Hot Hands by Julo music video, directed by Julian Basurto and Cristian Barreto 33

l e t s r s t tgele agle r e t s r s a t e etagle eagsl r tsge e t e rle g lerasl t s g a t e rle g leras t s g a t sthe e e r a l e g gate esl a tser ts t erle g lera s a g ts r t e e Julian Basurto

bjork 34

t r e g l a e s e l rts g tsraet g a l e e l a r s g t s e t a le er le eers g tsra e t a l e gle r l gets s r e t sg e rale e s l g t s e sg etrale e asl e tsag t e t g e l e r l ea s g the gate

ABOVE The Gate by Bjรถrk music video, directed by Andrew Thomas Huang 35

l e t s r s t tgele agle r e t s r s a t e etagle eagsl r tsge e t e rle g lerasl t s g a t e rle g leras t s g a sr etgele a esl a tser ts t erle g lera s a g ts r t e e Julian Basurto

preliminary studies 36

t r e g l a e s e l rts g tsraet g a l e e l a r s g t s e t a le er le eers g tsra e t a l e gle r l gets s r e t sg e rale e s l g t s e sg etrale e asl e tsag t e t g e l e r l ea s g 37

l e t s r s t tgele agle r e t s r s a t e etagle eagsl r tsge e t e rle g lerasl t s g a t e rle g leras t s g a sr etgele a esl a tser ts t erle g lera s a g ts r t e e Julian Basurto

preliminary studies 38

t r e g l a e s e l rts g tsraet g a l e e l a r s g t s e t a le er le eers g tsra e t a l e gle r l gets s r e t sg e rale e s l g t s e sg etrale e asl e tsag t e t g e l e r l ea s g the cave scene

ABOVE Cave scene

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l e t s r s t tgele agle r e t s r s a t e etagle eagsl r tsge e t e rle g lerasl t s g a t e rle g leras t s g a sr etgele a esl a tser ts t erle g lera s a g ts r t e e Julian Basurto

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t r e g l a e s e l rts g tsraet g a l e e l a r s g t s e t a le er le eers g tsra e t a l e gle r l gets s r e t sg e rale e s l g t s e sg etrale e asl e tsag t e t g e l e r l ea s g the ocean scene

ABOVE Ocean scene

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l e t s r s t tgele agle r e t s r s a t e etagle eagsl r tsge e t e rle g lerasl t s g a t e rle g leras t s g a sr etgele a esl a tser ts t erle g lera s a g ts r t e e Julian Basurto

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t r e g l a e s e l rts g tsraet g a l e e l a r s g t s e t a le er le eers g tsra e t a l e gle r l gets s r e t sg e rale e s l g t s e sg etrale e asl e tsag t e t g e l e r l ea s g the jungle scene

ABOVE Jungle scene

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l e t s r s t tgele agle r e t s r s a t e etagle eagsl r tsge e t e rle g lerasl t s g a t e rle g leras t s g a sr etgele a esl a tser ts t erle g lera s a g ts r t e e Julian Basurto

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t r e g l a e s e l rts g tsraet g a l e e l a r s g t s e t a le er le eers g tsra e t a l e gle r l gets s r e t sg e rale e s l g t s e sg etrale e asl e tsag t e t g e l e r l ea s g preliminary scenes

ABOVE Dystopian scene of “let’s rage” with Steampunk architecture 45

l e t s r s t tgele agle r e t s r s a t e etagle eagsl r tsge e t e rle g lerasl t s g a t e rle g leras t s g a sr etgele a esl a tser ts t erle g lera s a g ts r t e e Julian Basurto

preliminary studies 46

t r e g l a e s e l rts g tsraet g a l e e l a r s g t s e t a le er le eers g tsra e t a l e gle r l gets s r e t sg e rale e s l g t s e sg etrale e asl e tsag t e t g e l e r l ea s g preliminary scenes

ABOVE Dystopian scene of “let’s rage” with Steampunk architecture 47

l e t s r s t tgele agle r e t s r s a t e etagle eagsl r tsge e t e rle g lerasl t s g a t e rle g leras t s g a sr etgele a esl a tser ts t erle g lera s a g ts r t e e Julian Basurto

preliminary studies 48

t r e g l a e s e l rts g tsraet g a l e e l a r s g t s e t a le er le eers g tsra e t a l e gle r l gets s r e t sg e rale e s l g t s e sg etrale e asl e tsag t e t g e l e r l ea s g preliminary scenes

ABOVE Dystopian scene of “let’s rage” with Steampunk architecture 49

l e t s r s t tgele agle r e t s r s a t e etagle eagsl r tsge e t e rle g lerasl t s g a t e rle g leras t s g a sr etgele a esl a tser ts t erle g lera s a g ts r t e e Julian Basurto

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t r e g l a e s e l rts g tsraet g a l e e l a r s g t s e t a le er le eers g tsra e t a l e gle r l gets s r e t sg e rale e s l g t s e sg etrale e asl e tsag t e t g e l e r l ea s g ostagram studies

ABOVE Example of Ostagram process with club projection filter and church source image NEXT PAGE Another example of Ostagram process

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l e t s r s t tgele agle r e t s r s a t e etagle eagsl r tsge e t e rle g lerasl t s g a t e rle g leras t s g a sr etgele a esl a tser ts t erle g lera s a g ts r t e e Julian Basurto

These Ostagram studies study how to create space through the use of projections in a 3d built space. Using Ostagram club projections were combined with view within a Steampunk church, the site of a new club space.

Through these studies one can understand that the illusion of 3d space can be created through the strategic use of projection mapping.

LEFT Ostagram Studies (club projections combined with Steampunk space)

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RIGHT Example Ostagram result, generated from source image and filer images (bottom)

t r e g l a e s e l rts g tsraet g a l e e l a r s g t s e t a le er le eers g tsra e t a l e gle r l gets s r e t sg e rale e s l g t s e sg etrale e asl e tsag t e t g e l e r l ea s g ostagram studies

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l e t s r s t tgele agle r e t s r s a t e etagle eagsl r tsge e t e rle g lerasl t s g a t e rle g leras t s g a sr etgele a esl a tser ts t erle g lera s a g ts r t e e Julian Basurto

These Ostagram studies were created as a procession of a series of projections that bring the viewer to the dance club. Using Ostagram club projections were combined with view within a Steampunk church, the site of a new club space.

Through these studies one can understand that the illusion of 3d space can be created through the strategic use of projection mapping.

LEFT Ostagram result(water projections combined with Steampunk space)

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RIGHT Example Ostagram result, generated from source image and filer images (bottom)

NEXT PAGE Full sequence of entering club procession

t r e g l a e s e l rts g tsraet g a l e e l a r s g t s e t a le er le eers g tsra e t a l e gle r l gets s r e t sg e rale e s l g t s e sg etrale e asl e tsag t e t g e l e r l ea s g enter the club

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l e t s r s t tgele agle r e t s r s a t e etagle eagsl r tsge e t e rle g lerasl t s g a t e rle g leras t s g a sr etgele a esl a tser ts t erle g lera s a g ts r t e e Julian Basurto

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t r e g l a e s e l rts g tsraet g a l e e l a r s g t s e t a le er le eers g tsra e t a l e gle r l gets s r e t sg e rale e s l g t s e sg etrale e asl e tsag t e t g e l e r l ea s g enter the club

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