the ramp

à partir du 9 mars 2010

Commandée par le musée du quai Branly, THE RIVER est une installation de l’artiste contemporain Charles Sandison.

Le visiteur est invité à s’immerger dans  un fleuve de mots en mouvement projetés à des rythmes et condensations variables tout au long du parcours de la rampe qui mène jusqu’à la source : le plateau des collections.  16.597 noms de tous les peuples et lieux géographiques présents dans les collections du musée accompagnent ainsi le flux des visiteurs.

L’installation est animée par un logiciel combinant le langage et les cycles hydrologiques, mixant des techniques de simulation destinées à la création d’une vie artificielle et à l'illustration des lois de la physique. La richesse des cultures  s’écoule comme les mots dans le temps et l’espace, comme l’eau. On peut ainsi observer la diversité humaine en contemplant les canaux et les canyons inscrits à sa surface, gravés par le flot du langage. A l’envi, le visiteur peut imaginer des relations, se laisser captiver par les mouvements d’échanges de ces signes, les rapprocher, les interpréter, les rêver.
 

"Rivers are the circulatory system of our planet, flowing from high ground to the oceans and seas. Water is vital as both sources for life and transportation of necessary elements.

We can think of language in similar way, as both medium and message. Ideas flow as words through time and space, momentarily manifesting themselves as events and objects briefly imbued with specific meaning. Like water this meaning gradually evaporates and merges back into the river of human life and death. We observe human history not in terms of specific meanings but in terms of the channels and canyons inscribed on the face of Our history, carved out by the flow of language.

A text projection generated by multiple computers connected to data projectors creates a river of information that flows up and down the main access ramp to the permanent collections. The computer program is executed in real-time creating constantly changing and evolving currents of text. The text interacts with itself increasing and decreasing the flow of data up and down the ramp. It represents a linguistic 'hydrologic cycle'.

The programs are written in the C++ language. Each computer is running its own individual copy of the program and communicating with the other computers via network creating a massive parallel processing whole. The system represents one of the more powerful clusters of computational power in central Paris, comparable with a cosmopolitan traffic control centre.

The mechanics of the software use a combination of artificial life and physics simulation techniques to combine language and the hydrological cycle. Computers allow us to examine seemingly unrelated concepts to discover convergent patterns. In this instance the museum architecture and presence of the visitor are catalysts, extending the physical permutations of the artwork.

The text used represents a vocabulary based On the derivation of the contents of the permanent collection, like a living thesaurus for the museum. The words emerge from the entrance at the top of the ramp as if the contents of the museum had dissolved into a liquid language that then drains from the collection.

The extent of the projection is defined by the architecture of the ramp. There is a constant implicit dialogue between visitors to the museum and the artwork. As the visitor moves up the ramp the words flow under and around their feet as if they were paddling in a stream. At certain points the degree of immersion within the projection increases bathing the walker deeper in words.

By the time the viewer has climbed and descended the ramp they will have unconsciously encountered the entire literal content of the collection as it flowed around them. The journey from beginning to end inducts the visitor to the objects and ideas they will encounter in the space beyond.

The aim of the work is to prepare the viewer to enter the collection, to create a state of reverie consistent with the architecture and the dream like experience of the permanent collection space."

Charles Sandison, 22nd November 2009