Leonardo

Concrete Amnesia: An Indigenous Star Map Resurfaces the Downtown GridAuthor(s): Scott ParsonsSource: Leonardo, Vol. 32, No. 3 (1999), pp. 179-181Published by: The MIT PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1576786 .

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perhaps more so than a painting or a piece of music alone. The use of arbi- trary shapes and the choice of a limited repertory of manipulation in video space would permit the formulation of a computer program that acts as a true color organ. On first glance, Visic may appear to be just another plaything for creating screen designs. However, I be- lieve that Visic would create visual flow and allow object manipulation of color and form. It is my feeling that Visic could be a new and meaningful art form with powerful aesthetic import.

References and Notes

1. A complete summary of the history of "seeing music" is given by Bulat M. Galeyev, "The Fire of Prometheus," Leonardo 21, No. 4, 383-396 (1988). More recent inventions and color-music systems are described in Lynn Pocock-Williams, "Toward the Automatic Generation of Visual Music," Leonardo 25, No. 1, 29-36 (1992). It is a comprehensive sum- mary of color music, including Alexander Scriabin's Prometheus (1911) and Thomas Wilfred's Clavilux (1922). See also Adrian B. Klein, Color Mu- sic: The Art of Light (London, C. Lockwood, 1926) or Adrian B. Klein, Colored Light, An Art Medium, 3rd Ed. (London: Technical Press, 1937).

2. Other arrangements or types of keyboards are also possible (for example, organ-like dual key- boards with foot pedals). Also, orchestras of Visic keyboards are conceivable. The screen could be large or small, direct or laser-projected.

3. See Jose C. Sanchez Mayendia and Carmen Alzola Domingo, "Perceptual Analysis of a Two-Di- mensional Image Generated within a Square," Leonardo 25, No. 2, 205-210 (1992). See also Peter Kivy, The Fine Art of Repetition: Essays in the Philoso- phy of Music (Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1993) for a discussion of the abstract possi- bilities of moving form.

CONCRETE AMNESIA: AN INDIGENOUS STAR MAP RESURFACES THE DOWNTOWN GRID Scott Parsons, 1570 S. Fenton St., Lake- wood, CO 80232, U.S.A. E-mail: <sparsons@earthlink.net>.

Received 13July 1998. Accepted for publica- tion by Roger E Malina.

Brief glimpses into the deep past are rare, but are possible on occasion through the cracks and in-between places of the modern-day world. Among the shadows cast onto Califor- nia Street by Denver's downtown sky- line, Ha-no-oo: Star Calendar (Color Plate B No. 3) portrays the celestial vault in 21 Native American languages

perhaps more so than a painting or a piece of music alone. The use of arbi- trary shapes and the choice of a limited repertory of manipulation in video space would permit the formulation of a computer program that acts as a true color organ. On first glance, Visic may appear to be just another plaything for creating screen designs. However, I be- lieve that Visic would create visual flow and allow object manipulation of color and form. It is my feeling that Visic could be a new and meaningful art form with powerful aesthetic import.

References and Notes

1. A complete summary of the history of "seeing music" is given by Bulat M. Galeyev, "The Fire of Prometheus," Leonardo 21, No. 4, 383-396 (1988). More recent inventions and color-music systems are described in Lynn Pocock-Williams, "Toward the Automatic Generation of Visual Music," Leonardo 25, No. 1, 29-36 (1992). It is a comprehensive sum- mary of color music, including Alexander Scriabin's Prometheus (1911) and Thomas Wilfred's Clavilux (1922). See also Adrian B. Klein, Color Mu- sic: The Art of Light (London, C. Lockwood, 1926) or Adrian B. Klein, Colored Light, An Art Medium, 3rd Ed. (London: Technical Press, 1937).

2. Other arrangements or types of keyboards are also possible (for example, organ-like dual key- boards with foot pedals). Also, orchestras of Visic keyboards are conceivable. The screen could be large or small, direct or laser-projected.

3. See Jose C. Sanchez Mayendia and Carmen Alzola Domingo, "Perceptual Analysis of a Two-Di- mensional Image Generated within a Square," Leonardo 25, No. 2, 205-210 (1992). See also Peter Kivy, The Fine Art of Repetition: Essays in the Philoso- phy of Music (Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1993) for a discussion of the abstract possi- bilities of moving form.

CONCRETE AMNESIA: AN INDIGENOUS STAR MAP RESURFACES THE DOWNTOWN GRID Scott Parsons, 1570 S. Fenton St., Lake- wood, CO 80232, U.S.A. E-mail: <sparsons@earthlink.net>.

Received 13July 1998. Accepted for publica- tion by Roger E Malina.

Brief glimpses into the deep past are rare, but are possible on occasion through the cracks and in-between places of the modern-day world. Among the shadows cast onto Califor- nia Street by Denver's downtown sky- line, Ha-no-oo: Star Calendar (Color Plate B No. 3) portrays the celestial vault in 21 Native American languages of the Colorado region. Named after the Arapaho word for galaxy, Ha-no-oo is a record of the familiar starscape in a massive, site-specific public artwork em-

of the Colorado region. Named after the Arapaho word for galaxy, Ha-no-oo is a record of the familiar starscape in a massive, site-specific public artwork em-

PEOPLE

Wala-Towa

Dine

Heevdoha -tone

Noochyuh

Lokota

Notame-oAhmeseheestse

Hinamna ane

Po-woh-ge-Oweenge

Hopituh

Namunu

Kai gwu

Tuei

Kow-ike Kow-isho

Paiyuhts

Shi Kee

Nu-wu

PEOPLE

Wala-Towa

Dine

Heevdoha -tone

Noochyuh

Lokota

Notame-oAhmeseheestse

Hinamna ane

Po-woh-ge-Oweenge

Hopituh

Namunu

Kai gwu

Tuei

Kow-ike Kow-isho

Paiyuhts

Shi Kee

Nu-wu

STARS STARS

Towa

Navajo

Southern Cheyenne

Ute

Lokota

Northern Cheyenne

Northern Arapaho

Tewa

Hopi

Comanche

Kiowo

Towa

Navajo

Southern Cheyenne

Ute

Lokota

Northern Cheyenne

Northern Arapaho

Tewa

Hopi

Comanche

Kiowo

Keres

Paiute

licorilla Apache

Shoshone

Bannock

Keres

Paiute

licorilla Apache

Shoshone

Bannock Banytee

Apsoalooke

No 'isha

C de

Choticks-si-chaticks

Banytee

Apsoalooke

No 'isha

C de

Choticks-si-chaticks

Kiowa Apache

Mescalero Apache

Skidi Pawnee

Kiowa Apache

Mescalero Apache

Skidi Pawnee

Bear

Twin Grandmothers

Red Wolf Heliacal rise on summer solstice maiyun and Massaum ceremonial origins (spirit) ca. 500-300 HC

Morning Star

They are dancing Spring ceremony for the thunders that are theirs

I Stars in one bunch

H*e

Fall-Winter evening sky

Bear

Twin Grandmothers

Red Wolf Heliacal rise on summer solstice maiyun and Massaum ceremonial origins (spirit) ca. 500-300 HC

Morning Star

They are dancing Spring ceremony for the thunders that are theirs

I Stars in one bunch

H*e

Fall-Winter evening sky

Snow Birds

-I-

Milky Way

Milky Way

Animal with long neck

Dust of the Red Horse

Milky Way

Cassiopeia

Snow Birds

-I-

Milky Way

Milky Way

Animal with long neck

Dust of the Red Horse

Milky Way

Cassiopeia

Northwind Direction Star

Star that stays in one place

Northwind Direction Star

Star that stays in one place

Stars seen all year Stars seen all year

Little Dipper

Little Dipper

Bear Above

Zenith Spring Equinox 4:33 AM

Thrown-together stars

Little Dipper

Little Dipper

Bear Above

Zenith Spring Equinox 4:33 AM

Thrown-together stars

Spring-Summer evening sky Spring-Summer evening sky

Snake-not real Snake-not real

71.3 ft- 71.3 ft-

People or place of origin l- * I - * I I English Interpretation

Fig. 4. Scott Parsons, Ha-no-oo: Star Calendar, site-specific star map of 1,500 waterjet-cut gran- ite stones at light rail station, Denver, Colorado, 71.3 ft long, 1997. Schematic of mosaic.

People or place of origin l- * I - * I I English Interpretation

Fig. 4. Scott Parsons, Ha-no-oo: Star Calendar, site-specific star map of 1,500 waterjet-cut gran- ite stones at light rail station, Denver, Colorado, 71.3 ft long, 1997. Schematic of mosaic.

Artists' Statements 179 Artists' Statements 179

I I

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Fig. 5. Scott Parsons, Ha-no-oo: Star Calendar, site-specific star map of 1,500 watejet-cut granite stones at light rail station, Denver, Colo- rado, 71.3 ft long, 1997. Drawing of cast-iron plaque embedded in the mosaic listing individuals and Native American tribes who helped with the project.

bedded in the sidewalk at a busy light rail stop in downtown Denver. Sky, land and language combine in ageless geom- etry to transform a city sidewalk into a ten-thousand-year journey across the night skies of Colorado.

Stars The installation stretches to a length of 71.3 feet and comprises a mosaic of 1,500 pieces of stone. The central axis of the design follows the 4- and 16-hour right-ascension lines across the sky in a

north polar projection; all the stars shown in the mosaic can be viewed at some point during the year in the sky overhead (Fig. 4). One of my main aims in this work was to include terms from a large number of Native Ameri- can languages, so over 4 years I re- searched the native names of the stars with the help of tribal elders through- out the western United States. I then had each name inlaid within the star field in stone as a testament to the vari- ety of languages and cultures of this re-

gion. The stone letter forms I used for the star names are a design I based upon Ssiquoya syllabary, Arapaho sym- bols and several contemporary Roman typeface designs, includingJonathan Barnbrook's "Mason Sans" from Emigre digital type foundry. I completed the floor plan on a Power Macintosh in Adobe Illustrator and then sent it to Creative Edge Corporation in Fairfield, Iowa, for water-jet stone cutting directly from the Encapsulated Postscript (EPS) disk file.

180 Artists' Statements

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Dalaakogg, the Na'isha or Kiowa Apache word for zenith, is indicated on the star calendar to show the exact latitude of the rail station. The zenith position is timed to the heliacal rise of the Pleiades and the Lakota spring cer- emony Yate iwakicipi-Welcoming Back the Thunders [ 1 ]. Yate iwakicipi occurs when the Seven Sisters first appear in the pre-dawn spring sky; during this time, some Lakota still travel to the highest point of the Black Hills, as has been done for many generations, to pray for rain, help and strength.

Depicted in the mosaic, circling high overhead in the winter sky, the Winter Hawk, Ge-gee-nu-hu-ha, and the snow birds, Ha-na-ee-ah, recall the res- cue of the Arapaho people who once long ago were lost in a terrible winter storm. In the ceremonial symbolism of the Tsistsistas, the Cheyenne, the bright red star Aldebaran represents Maheone Honehe, the Red Wolf maiyun (spirit). The heliacal rise of Aldebaran on the summer solstice marked the be- ginning of the ceremonial period for the early Cheyenne people (500-300 B.C.) [2]. The stars in the Milky Way appear from the dust kicked up by Gudal Tsen, the red horse of the Kai gwu (Kiowa).

Each end of the star field contains a constellation of a bear. One is Bdak- kaalaxpitchee, an Apsaalooke (Crow) constellation that resides in Hercules and the Corona Borealis: its name in the sidewalk stretches 15 feet in length. The other bear, Phulah, is located in Taurus and is written in Towa, a lan- guage spoken only at the Jemez pueblo Walatowa, where the stars are children and protectors of Mother Sun and Fa- ther Moon. In the Phulah region of the sky are the twin grandmothers, So Ahotsi'i, who gave birth to the Dine, the Navajo nation.

People Starting with the Native American com- munity in Denver, my research took me to Lukakuchai, Nowah'wusthe and other indigenous centers to learn the names of the stars. Many people gra- ciously shared part of their world de- scription (through a public art project) to increase understanding among all peoples of this state and region for gen- erations to come. Without their assis- tance, this project would not have been

Dalaakogg, the Na'isha or Kiowa Apache word for zenith, is indicated on the star calendar to show the exact latitude of the rail station. The zenith position is timed to the heliacal rise of the Pleiades and the Lakota spring cer- emony Yate iwakicipi-Welcoming Back the Thunders [ 1 ]. Yate iwakicipi occurs when the Seven Sisters first appear in the pre-dawn spring sky; during this time, some Lakota still travel to the highest point of the Black Hills, as has been done for many generations, to pray for rain, help and strength.

Depicted in the mosaic, circling high overhead in the winter sky, the Winter Hawk, Ge-gee-nu-hu-ha, and the snow birds, Ha-na-ee-ah, recall the res- cue of the Arapaho people who once long ago were lost in a terrible winter storm. In the ceremonial symbolism of the Tsistsistas, the Cheyenne, the bright red star Aldebaran represents Maheone Honehe, the Red Wolf maiyun (spirit). The heliacal rise of Aldebaran on the summer solstice marked the be- ginning of the ceremonial period for the early Cheyenne people (500-300 B.C.) [2]. The stars in the Milky Way appear from the dust kicked up by Gudal Tsen, the red horse of the Kai gwu (Kiowa).

Each end of the star field contains a constellation of a bear. One is Bdak- kaalaxpitchee, an Apsaalooke (Crow) constellation that resides in Hercules and the Corona Borealis: its name in the sidewalk stretches 15 feet in length. The other bear, Phulah, is located in Taurus and is written in Towa, a lan- guage spoken only at the Jemez pueblo Walatowa, where the stars are children and protectors of Mother Sun and Fa- ther Moon. In the Phulah region of the sky are the twin grandmothers, So Ahotsi'i, who gave birth to the Dine, the Navajo nation.

People Starting with the Native American com- munity in Denver, my research took me to Lukakuchai, Nowah'wusthe and other indigenous centers to learn the names of the stars. Many people gra- ciously shared part of their world de- scription (through a public art project) to increase understanding among all peoples of this state and region for gen- erations to come. Without their assis- tance, this project would not have been possible. Each individual and his or her nation who helped with the project are named in a cast-iron plaque in the floor (Fig. 5).

possible. Each individual and his or her nation who helped with the project are named in a cast-iron plaque in the floor (Fig. 5).

Viewers must interpret the work to some degree. When the unfamiliar names are slowly sounded out by passers-by on the busy downtown street, the rift between the deep past and the present is momentarily echoed in the space between earth and sky.

"When language touches the earth," writes N. Scott Momaday, "there is the holy, there is the sacred" [3]. My hope is that those who look across the star calendar floor are moved by the chronicle of ancient names returned to the land. The entire station platform constitutes a passageway, a stopping-off point on a cosmic locator map. For the downtown viewer, Ha-no-oo is intended to offer a contemporary alternative to the nearby commercialized spaces framed in concrete-a poetic, sacred, metaphoric experience of the land- scape. Within the stone patterning, a child can readily discover a celestial hopscotch. As the outbound rail de- parts the station platform, we are left to fill in the blanks of our own crossing, locating our passage where story and journey intersect-in the memory of this place.

Acknowledgments

Ha-no-oo: Star Calendar was commissioned for the Denver Regional Transportation District by Art at the Stations, Inc., Denver, Colorado. Partial fund- ing for this project came from the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District Tier III Fund and a COVisions Individual Artist project grant from the Colorado Council on the Arts.

References

1. Karl Schlesier, The Wolves of Heaven: Cheyenne Shamanism, Ceremonies, and Prehistoric Origins (Norman, OK: Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 1987).

2. Ronald Goodman, Lakuota Star Knowledge: Stud- ies in Lakuota Stellar Theology (Rosebud: Sinte Gleska Univ., 1992).

3. N. Scott Momaday, The Man Made of Words: Essays, Stories, Passages (New York: St. Martins Press, 1997).

GARDEN OF CHANCES

Guillaume Hutzler, Bernard Gortais and Alexis Drogoul, LAFORIA/IBP, Centre National de la Recherche

Scientifique, Universite Paris VI, 4, PlaceJussieu, case 169, 75252 Paris Cedex 05, France.

Manuscript received 13 March 1998. Ac- cepted for publication by Roger E Malina.

Viewers must interpret the work to some degree. When the unfamiliar names are slowly sounded out by passers-by on the busy downtown street, the rift between the deep past and the present is momentarily echoed in the space between earth and sky.

"When language touches the earth," writes N. Scott Momaday, "there is the holy, there is the sacred" [3]. My hope is that those who look across the star calendar floor are moved by the chronicle of ancient names returned to the land. The entire station platform constitutes a passageway, a stopping-off point on a cosmic locator map. For the downtown viewer, Ha-no-oo is intended to offer a contemporary alternative to the nearby commercialized spaces framed in concrete-a poetic, sacred, metaphoric experience of the land- scape. Within the stone patterning, a child can readily discover a celestial hopscotch. As the outbound rail de- parts the station platform, we are left to fill in the blanks of our own crossing, locating our passage where story and journey intersect-in the memory of this place.

Acknowledgments

Ha-no-oo: Star Calendar was commissioned for the Denver Regional Transportation District by Art at the Stations, Inc., Denver, Colorado. Partial fund- ing for this project came from the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District Tier III Fund and a COVisions Individual Artist project grant from the Colorado Council on the Arts.

References

1. Karl Schlesier, The Wolves of Heaven: Cheyenne Shamanism, Ceremonies, and Prehistoric Origins (Norman, OK: Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 1987).

2. Ronald Goodman, Lakuota Star Knowledge: Stud- ies in Lakuota Stellar Theology (Rosebud: Sinte Gleska Univ., 1992).

3. N. Scott Momaday, The Man Made of Words: Essays, Stories, Passages (New York: St. Martins Press, 1997).

GARDEN OF CHANCES

Guillaume Hutzler, Bernard Gortais and Alexis Drogoul, LAFORIA/IBP, Centre National de la Recherche

Scientifique, Universite Paris VI, 4, PlaceJussieu, case 169, 75252 Paris Cedex 05, France.

Manuscript received 13 March 1998. Ac- cepted for publication by Roger E Malina.

Artistic Concepts The philosophy underlying our artistic work involves the automatic genera- tion of images as directed by real-time

Artistic Concepts The philosophy underlying our artistic work involves the automatic genera- tion of images as directed by real-time

input of real-world data. This practice has led to our development of a com- puter artwork entitled Quel tempsfait-il au Caplan? ( What's the Weather Like in Caplan?) In this project, we used hourly updated weather data from MeteoFrance stations in order to suggest the climatic atmosphere of a given spot (actually a small town in Britain) by means of color variations inside an almost-fixed abstract image. When functioning continuously all year long, the animation renders the computer screen a kind of artificial window, that provides access to a very strange world, both real and poetic.

With The Garden of Chances, in addi- tion to modulations of color, we use the weather data to give life to a set of two-dimensional shapes, so as to create a metaphorical representation of a real garden. Thus, we enable each graphically represented creature to grow like a plant, benefiting from the presence of light and rain, competing against similar or other hostile shapes, and reproducing and dying like any living creature. By so doing, our goal is definitely not to produce either accu- rate simulations of natural ecosystems or realistic pictures of vegetation, but, rather, to enable the artist to experi- ment with lots of different abstract worlds until he or she obtains some imaginary ecosystem that fits his or her aesthetic sensitivity.

Research Problems The Garden of Chances project is based on a metaphorical link between real and artificial worlds. This basis relates it very close to the Artificial Life para- digm, with the notable difference that it does not aim at reproducing or simu- lating a given reality, but only at provid- ing a poetic yet meaningful representation of that reality. The basic idea is to immerse the user in a familiar ambience, both graphical and sono- rous, in which he or she could effort- lessly perceive complex data.

This is only possible, we believe, if the user can interact with the (eco) system by gardening daily, making the system evolve by artificial selection. Conversely, we must expect that the user's perception of the data may evolve along with the representation that the system provides for him or her. We hope that this interaction between

input of real-world data. This practice has led to our development of a com- puter artwork entitled Quel tempsfait-il au Caplan? ( What's the Weather Like in Caplan?) In this project, we used hourly updated weather data from MeteoFrance stations in order to suggest the climatic atmosphere of a given spot (actually a small town in Britain) by means of color variations inside an almost-fixed abstract image. When functioning continuously all year long, the animation renders the computer screen a kind of artificial window, that provides access to a very strange world, both real and poetic.

With The Garden of Chances, in addi- tion to modulations of color, we use the weather data to give life to a set of two-dimensional shapes, so as to create a metaphorical representation of a real garden. Thus, we enable each graphically represented creature to grow like a plant, benefiting from the presence of light and rain, competing against similar or other hostile shapes, and reproducing and dying like any living creature. By so doing, our goal is definitely not to produce either accu- rate simulations of natural ecosystems or realistic pictures of vegetation, but, rather, to enable the artist to experi- ment with lots of different abstract worlds until he or she obtains some imaginary ecosystem that fits his or her aesthetic sensitivity.

Research Problems The Garden of Chances project is based on a metaphorical link between real and artificial worlds. This basis relates it very close to the Artificial Life para- digm, with the notable difference that it does not aim at reproducing or simu- lating a given reality, but only at provid- ing a poetic yet meaningful representation of that reality. The basic idea is to immerse the user in a familiar ambience, both graphical and sono- rous, in which he or she could effort- lessly perceive complex data.

This is only possible, we believe, if the user can interact with the (eco) system by gardening daily, making the system evolve by artificial selection. Conversely, we must expect that the user's perception of the data may evolve along with the representation that the system provides for him or her. We hope that this interaction between system and user will lead to a coevolu- tion of meanings-the one produced by the system and the one interpreted by the user.

system and user will lead to a coevolu- tion of meanings-the one produced by the system and the one interpreted by the user.

Artists' Statements 181 Artists' Statements 181

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