Digital Doorway: brainstorming...

So I'm not dead, first off. It's been over a year since my last post to this blog, but it's been a very busy year!

The doors and windows went well. I completed several windows and one door, but they're difficult to photograph. Hopefully I'll manage that eventually.

I am continuing to work with windows and doors as my "thing" these days, as I've found I really love their aesthetic and the opportunity they provide me to break down the chasm between digital and traditional media.

This semester (yes, I'm still doing the college grind), I've got a digital arts class in which I have the freedom to design and execute whatever I want in terms of an art piece. This class is apparently going to have a show/exhibition sometime in May, location TBA, so I want to make sure what I do is show-worthy.

My current plan is this...I want to set up a rear-projection behind a door against a wall. The door would have no window in it, but when someone opens the door, an image would be projected against the wall behind the doorway. Every time the door shuts, the image will change, so that when it opens again it will be different than the last time it was open. I would use as many "scenes" as I could, at least seven, but preferably at least ten. The more, the better.

Basically, what I've figured out so far is that I'll need to construct a space to back the door, or a false wall. I'll need to pick a windowless door (plenty of those on craigslist) and frame it into the backing projection box or wall. The projector and rear-projection screen would set up behind it, and a sensor will feed into a Max/MSP patch that activates a change in images for the projector.

Obviously, this will take a lot of work, but I am pretty sure I can figure it out. I'm good at making things do what I want.

A means of encouraging people to open and shut the door repeatedly? Hmm... Well, I think I can use woodburning to encourage them to open the door. It's how to get them to open and shut it repeatedly that's the trick.

More on this—including sketches—later.