I returned to my image research, writing, mapping, and art making connected to the Nevada Test Site and the LA Darling mannequins (several photos posted in earlier posts). The LA Darling display mannequins 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 and contrast to nuclear violence and the concerns in the world of actual people, places, and environments. I am researching the use of these images of before-and-after-detonation-captured bodies and scenarios in the publications and exhibitions of the time, and am thinking about who and what is missing, and asking why. I am interested in protests and resistance to the civil defense stylizations and alert exercises, and what images of these operations mean now. Continue reading
Sharing The Evolution of Silence (V1 and V2).
The Last Nuclear Bomb Memorial.
I created a concept proposal for the decommissioned nuclear testing site at Yucca Flat, Nevada Test Site. It is an adaptation of The Evolution of Silence and a composite of many of my drawings; submitted to the 2021 “The Last Nuclear Bomb Memorial Project.” Continue reading
Annie animation, scanning via Processing.
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.
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.
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.
Continue reading
Presenting at CUMULUS Milan 2015.
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. Continue reading
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.
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, 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.
Fundraising at USA Projects.
I just posted ‘The Evolution of Silence’ to USA Projects!
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.
BETA Version 1.2
I am working towards my September 1 launch date. BETA 1.2 is up. I am now taking advantage of the interval pause between the background images (as they fade in and out of one another behind the tiling of the valley) to evoke the sight and trace of atmospheric tests.
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.
Interacting with Pages (First 199 nuclear detonations at Yucca Flat), Experiment 4:
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.
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