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Michael Naimark was projection mapping, back when “The Empire Strikes Back” was still in theaters.
While most people may think that projection mapping (video mapping) is a new phenomenon, it has a rich lineage dating back to the 1969 opening of the Haunted Mansion in Disneyland (see the full history here). And Naimark was one of the first on the scene with his immersive film installation “Displacements“, which first premiered in 1980. In fact, back in the day, projection mapping was referred to as “relief projection”. According to Naimark “relief projection” is “where an image is projected on a screen whose shape is the same as the image.”
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In Displacements, Naimark explored the concept of recording a live event, then re-playing that event via projection in the same physical space. Naimark constructed a mock living room out of thrift store finds, including a sofa, easy chair, several tables with ashtrays and junk food, wall hangings, etc., all situated around a working television set. He then filmed the living room with a rotating camera (at 1 rpm) shooting 16mm film.
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Once recorded, the entire room was spray-painted white. The camera was replaced by a projector (with a similar lens) and the process was put in reverse. Now the camera spewed out the light it formerly recorded, and the result is one of the first known videos of projection mapping.
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In a follow up installation, live actors were put in the room. The process was repeated. The living room (actors included) were filmed with a rotating camera, then re-projected into the room via a rotating projector. The end result: the actors appeared as “ghosts” super-imposed onto the living room furniture.
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The final installation appeared in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 1984. The “Displacements” installation, involved lots of movable props, including sweaters to take off, a purse, a globe to spin, junk food on the coffee table. An early pre-cursor to Marshmallow Laser Feasts PS3 Projection Mapping.
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I actually asked Naimark to post this video on YouTube, because most people don’t know about this awesome seminal work. So go like, share, tweet and generally spread the news.
Of recent work in projection mapping, Naimark writes “Elated to see our dreams come true!”
Let’s learn from the past, to create a more awesome future.
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