MAT 594 - 2008S
Andres Burbano - Research for Spitzer/Nasa project by Gerge Legrady
My job as part of the group of conceptualization for the *We Are Stardust* project by George Legrady is to search for scientific and technical sources and information that can help to define the aesthetics and the technical perspective of the installation designed by George Legrady.
OBSERVE will be a large exhibition on the relationship between Astronomy and the Arts which will take place in Los Angeles in the Fall of 2008. Professor Legrady had selected the Spitzer Space Telescope as the key element of the installation.
Spitzer Space Telescope explores the cosmos focused on infra red electromagnetic radiation. Spitzer has 4 instruments that have different configurations and tasks.
We Are Stardust, The Spitzer Project, 2008, George Legrady Studio
Project team: George Legrady, Andres Burbano, and technical team.
Interactive installation, consisting of 2 projectors, 2 computers, digital video camera, laser and stands
*We Are Stardust* traces the paths created by scientists looking at the sky through the sun-orbiting Spitzer telescope. A large 2 screen projection features the section of the sky accessible to the Spitzer telescope since the start of its mission in 2005. The visualization includes a laser light that moves across the sky tracing the chronological movement of the telescope as determined by the scientists who have worked with it.
A blinking eye appears wherever the marker has spent significant amounts of time. A fully rotating mechanical digital camera is placed in the gallery space. Its rotating position is also activated by the angular movements of the telescope.
The 2nd projection on the opposite wall features what the camera sees. Spectators are invited to position themselves in front of the camera thereby metaphorically integrating themselves into the visual field of the telescope. All the visualizations are based on real data received from the NASA Spitzer Space Center.