Resuming my research.

I am resuming my image research, writing, mapping, and art making connected to the Nevada Test Site and the LA Darling mannequins. I began research for The Evolution of Silence project in 2008 and I started this process blog in 2012. Having taken a break from posting here, I am now reviving this blog.

The LA Darling display mannequins (introduced on this blog in earlier posts, see tag cloud) were used in the 1953 and 1955 civil defense nuclear detonation operations at Yucca Flat. I have experimented with some of the imagery over the years and my goal now is to visualize and reflect on the presence, outfitting, damage, and representation/identity of each mannequin used in the detonations, and their connection to realities and concerns in the world of actual people, places, and environments. I am researching the use historically of these captured images of before-and-after-detonation bodies and scenarios in the publications and exhibitions of the time, and am thinking about all who were excluded then and why, resistance to civil defense stylizations and exercises, and what it means now. Continue reading →

List of exhibitions of The Evolution of Silence.

→ Published in exhibition catalog for Ambiguous Territory book, Actar Publishers, New York, NY & Barcelona, Spain, 2022
→ Exhibition at Handwerker Gallery at Ithaca College, Ambiguous Territory (traveling), Ithaca, NY, 2019-20
→ Exhibition at Pratt Manhattan Gallery, Ambiguous Territory (traveling), New York, NY, 2018–19
→ Exhibition at University of Virginia, Ambiguous Territory (traveling), Charlottesville, VA, 2018
→ Published in The Architect’s Newspaper, review of Ambiguous Territory exhibition, 2017
→ Award Recipient from the AIGA Philadelphia Design Awards, 2017
→ Exhibition at Taubman Gallery at Univ. of Michigan, Ambiguous Territory: Architecture, Landscape, and the Postnatural, Ann Arbor, MI, 2016
→ Exhibition at SIGGRAPH, Data Materialities, Vancouver, Canada, 2016
→ Exhibition at Weeks Gallery, Artifact and Process: The Evolving Field of Graphic Design, Jamestown, NY, 2016 (curated by Jason Dilworth)
→ Presentation at Mapping Ephemeralities, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2015 Continue reading →

Annie animation, scanning via Processing.

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In 2019 I participated in a cyanotype and coding workshop at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Colorado led by Casey Reas. The focus was on experimenting with image printing and hand coding programs in Processing to scan large images. Practicing this technique and experimenting later, I created an animation using imagery of one LA Darling mannequin from the 1953 Annie detonation at the Nevada Test Site. The work explores a bodily focus and expresses aspects of the material quality of prints. It is a single-channel video, HD1920 x 1080, 17s, loop.

I exhibited it at OneOneOne, Chapel Hill, NC in September 2019.
Special thanks to Casey Reas.

The Evolution of Silence V2 video premiere at Cucalorus.

The Evolution of Silence, Version 2 is an animation and generative video created by hand coding in Processing (not AI). It is a moving collage of dynamic arrangements of archival images of the LA Darling mannequins used in the civil defense program and connected to two nuclear detonations at the Nevada Test Site. I began this video project in Casey Reas’s “Generative Cinema with Processing” workshop at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center in July 2018. I premiered the work at the 2018 Cucalorus Film Festival in Wilmington, NC. Special thanks to Matt Hedt and Casey Reas.


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Included in Journal, Studies in Material Thinking Special Issue: Visual/Textual.

I am pleased to announce that my essay, ‘Reflections on Research through Design: The Evolution of Silence,’ for the journal, Studies in Material Thinking, Special Issue: Visual/Textual, Vol.13, 2015, is now published and viewable online. The issue is edited by Jayne Wallace, Joyce Yee & Abigail Durrant, with help from copy editor, Sheila Christofides.

The essay expands upon a presentation I made in September 2013 at ‘Praxis and Poetics: Research Through Design‘ in Newcastle-upon-Tyne/Gateshead, UK. For my contribution to this Special Issue, I further explore a process for destabilizing the visual/textual experience, in this case, by directly embedding the text of my essay into ‘The Evolution of Silence.’ I worked with screen shots of my essay (see below) to design the final layout of my contribution for the journal.
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Presenting at CUMULUS Milan 2015.

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I am very excited to announce that I will be presenting a paper this June at CUMULUS Milan 2015: The Virtuous Circle with my co-author, Joshua Singer. The conference will take place in Milan, Italy, from June 3–7, 2015. Our paper will be included in the proceedings and published by McGraw-Hill Education. We are joining a panel on Experimenting/Prototyping to discuss our approach to and consideration of ‘different data’ and critical design. Continue reading →

Acting in Translation, SIGGRAPH 2014.

SIGGRAPH 2014 took place in Vancouver, Canada from August 10–14. I am so glad I was able to participate in the Art Gallery this year. The theme ‘Acting in Translation’ explored alternate meaning, approaches to knowledge, and critical technological experience. I met amazing people: this year’s Art Gallery curator, Basak Senova, an amazing woman and designer; the Art Gallery committee: Mushon Zer-Aviv, Sue Gollifer, Kate Armstrong, and Amit Zoran; and, of course, the other artists exhibiting: especially Emilio Vavarella, Zohar Kfir, Jeff Ong, and Alon Chitayat. They are all a truly inspiring and intelligent group. Meeting and sharing thoughts with them was such a positive and enriching experience. I know it will have a lasting effect on me and on my work. Another amazing PLUS was the fact that Nonie Kimpitak attended SIGGRAPH this year. Nonie was an early contributor to my fundraiser last year for ‘The Evolution of Silence.’ It was great to be able to share the experience with her. This is my first realization of the map and archive as an installation. Emily Luce from DesignInquiry also came down to Vancouver to show her support. Cheers to you all!
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Selected for 2014 SIGGRAPH Art Gallery.

I am so pleased to announce that The Evolution of Silence will be included in the 2014 SIGGRAPH Art Gallery this August! The exhibition will take place from August 11–14, 2014 in Vancouver, BC, and is held in conjunction with 2014 SIGGRAPH: an International Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques. Continue reading →

Official Honoree in NetArt in The 18th Annual Webby Awards.

Amazing news! ‘The Evolution of Silence’ has been selected as an Official Honoree in The 18th Annual Webby Awards in the NetArt category!

Link to Official Honorees in NetArt:
http://pv.webbyawards.com/2014/web/general-website/netart/honorees

The Webby Awards is hailed as the ‘Internet’s highest honor’ by The New York Times. Presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS), it is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet. With 12,000 entries received from all 50 US states and over 60 countries, the Official Honoree distinction is awarded to the top 15 percent of all work entered that exhibits remarkable achievement. Continue reading →

Version 1. Launched.

The Evolution of Silence version 1—www.evolution-of-silence.net

The Hatchfund fundraiser ended in October, and thanks to all my wonderful supporters, I raised $3,827 towards my project!

Part of the funding has already covered the costs of working with web developer, Danniel Gaidula. We have completely revamped and refined the web-based archive. This is a significant programming achievement! ‘The Evolution of Silence’ requires that over 900 individual images be processed at once (to form the aerial tiling of the landscape), and as other image, video, and audio layers are revealed it can become very intense for any system. We developed a unique approach to the design and coding, and I am happy to say that is now live and working! Continue reading →

Presenting at ‘Praxis and Poetics’ at the BALTIC in Gateshead, UK.

Presentation at 'Praxis and Poetics: Research Through Design,' September 4, 2013

Rachele Riley presenting ‘The Evolution of Silence’ at ‘Praxis and Poetics’ at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead, UK on September 4, 2013. Photo by Dr Joyce Yee.

I traveled to England on September 2 to participate in the conference ‘Praxis and Poetics: Research Through Design.’ The conference was held at the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead, UK, just over the Millennium Bridge and across the river from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, a beautiful university city with a mix of old and new architecture, which I was able to explore one afternoon on foot. I am so happy that I was able to attend this event and thrilled to present and exhibit ‘The Evolution of Silence’ in its newly re-coded format. It was a celebratory week for me and wonderful to share the archive beyond the U.S. Continue reading →

Update on Fundraiser at USA Projects.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to my USA Projects fundraiser over the last two days! The USA Projects Open Match Fund matched $250 of your contributions. Please continue to share the link. Thank you! Continue reading →

Adding USGS ‘Before’ and ‘After’ Shots.

I added 296 images to my Web-based archive last week. The ‘before’ and ‘after’ test shots (or ‘pre’ and ‘post’ shots) that I acquired via Freedom of Information Act Request from the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Nuclear Security Administration, Nevada Site Office are now included in the project.

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Interacting with Pages, Experiments.

I am in the studio, finding a creative work flow, and engaging some of my material (drawings, prints, photos) in different ways. In describing these experiments to a friend, she said they sounded meditative. I love this insight. She offered thoughts on documentation, documentation of performance, and animation. After our talk, I am inspired to continue the experiments, now with greater emphasis on time structure and meaning. Currently, these are shot without much thought to duration and pacing (though there were clearly ‘seasons’ to nuclear testing, periods of intense activity and then of pause). I would like to be more sensitive to this in my project. Continue reading →

BETA Version 1.1.

The web-based archive of ‘The Evolution of Silence’ will officially launch on September 1, 2013. I have made progress this week and am now sharing the BETA site more widely for feedback. Over the next two months, I will be incorporating more of my research material, writing, and art (solar prints, animations, and coaxial cable drawings, etc.), testing programming and design ideas on my local file, and updating the BETA versions regularly for your feedback. Continue reading →

Seeking Funding.

These last several weeks have been dedicated to setting up summer opportunities and seeking funding. In May, the semester ends and I can concentrate again on my studio work, exhibition proposal, and more grant applications.

I have recently added a scale to the web-based archive, and have been working behind the scenes with the code to include an introductory statement, and to solve a few problems. Some of those tests and explorations are not yet live. If you are interested in checking out progress on the website (The Evolution of Silence), here is the link. Continue reading →

Plans for Part One.

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I finished fixing the coordinates last week, and now the images tile correctly to form a view of every single detonation in Yucca Flat. It is intentional that it is still fragmented, in order to make visually clear that in those areas of the valley no nuclear detonation occurred. These gaps in information are views through the accumulated image, and lead to more and more complex layering of image, text, video. My goals with these layers are to explore the valley over time, convey dynamics and scale, present the ruins of testing, and share documentation of the impact on people’s lives and the environment. At the moment, photographs from the Desert Wildlife Range and the surrounding areas of the Nevada Test Site are visible. Continue reading →