Daria Tsoupikova to present "Hearts and Minds" a new CAVE2 project

The UIC Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL), in collaboration with the UIC School of Design and the Electronic Literature Organization, presents two new artworks developed for the CAVE2™ Hybrid Reality Environment and the Cyber-Commons tiled-display wall: "Hearts and Minds: The Interrogations Project” and "Toxi*City”. 

Location: EVL, 842 West Taylor
Room 2036, CAVE2™
Room 2068, Cyber-Commons
 
Tuesday, June 17th, 3-5 PM
Monday, July 7th, 4-6 PM

"Hearts and Minds" is a 3D narrative experience made for the affective sensory environment of the EVL’s CAVE2 that gives voice to stories of violence and the post-traumatic stress experienced by ordinary American soldiers who became torturers in the course of serving their country. During the American-led counterinsurgency and counterterrorism campaigns in Iraq in the years after September 11, 2001, the torture and abuse of detainees was a commonplace tactic. "Hearts and Minds" is based on interviews of American soldiers conducted by Dr. John Tsukayama. Viewers travel through the domestic spaces and surreal interior landscapes of soldiers who have come home transformed by these experiences, triggering their testimonies by interacting with objects laden with loss. 

Hearts and Minds is developed by a team including filmmaker Roderick Coover, writer Scott Rettberg, artist and visualization researcher Daria Tsoupikova, computer scientist Arthur Nishimoto, sound designer Mark Partridge, production assistant Mark Baratta, and senior research programmer Lance Long. Dr. Jeffrey Stevenson Murer of St. Andrews University, Scotland also contributed as a consultant on the project. The Electronic Visualization Lab (EVL) at the University of Illinois Chicago, the UIC Department of Art and Design, Temple University, and the Norwegian Research Council supported the development of the project.

 

Daria Tsoupikova is an Associate Professor in the School Design and the Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her research and artwork include development of virtual reality (VR) art projects and networked multi-user exhibitions for VR projection systems, such as the Cave Automatic Virtual Environment theatre (CAVE), as well as the design of interactive educational multimedia for children. Her VR research, publications and artwork explore the relationship between the aesthetics of virtual environments, traditional Arts, and the effect of VR aesthetics on the user’s perceptions and emotions. She is interested in applying computer graphics art to various application domains such as educational multimedia and virtual rehabilitation for stroke survivors.