(a work in progress)
Abstract:
This installation is a Virtual Reality interactive journey into the Leonardo da
Vinci's masterpiece: "L'Ultima
Cena".
The visitor can navigate inside and around the church of Santa Maria delle
Grazie, enter into the
Refettorio, which was the dining room of the
priests and friars of the church.
You can visit in all its details the Ultima Cena; while navigating towards
the painted perspective's centerpoint it appears a transparent overlay of
the graphical
representation of Leon Battista Alberti's theorem (Costruzione Legittima).
Beyond the theorem display there is Leonardo's masterpiece. The visitor can
enter inside the painted "virtual room" where the Ultima Cena is taking
place. It is a 3D ambience environment. The visitor can "walk" inside the room,
where Christ and the Apostels were having dinner, he can visit the
"inside" of the painting, can go around the room, interact, look at the
Refettorio from the point of view of Jesus Christ, have a real feeling of
how the Refettorio could appear from "inside" the painting, and look at the
opposite Crucifixion fresco.
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Contact: Yesi Maharaj Singh F.A.B.R.I.CATORS Via Fratelli Bronzetti, 6 Authors & Affiliations:
Daniele Marini
Lorenzo Forges Davanzati Collaborators: With the contribution of: The Multi Mega Book in the CAVE (tm) hosts a part of "L'Ultima Cena Interattiva".
In collaboration with: (Electronic Visualisation Lab), University of Illinois at Chicago, USA Laboratorio di Eidomatica, directed by: Daniele Marini Alfredo Miti (3D Sound and Holophonic effects), Italy. Music: Courtesy: Paolo Cotta Ramusino Collection.
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Interactive Experience: Far on the horizon I recognize a famous renaissance church and monastery: Santa Maria delle Grazie, built in the 1500's in Milan and partly attributed to Brunnelleschi. Inside the monastery, in the refettorio, Leonardo Da Vinci painted the "Ultima Cena". I go towards it..look around the building, enjoy the facade and the aerial view. Then I pass through the wall: the inner architectural structure of the church raises gradually in red wire-frame lines, and after few seconds, the space is filled by the complete structure rendered in a red line drawing. I navigate within the the columns, arcades, vaults and I get a real feeling of the volume and space of this church. A music surrounds me and fills the space.
In the distance I recognize the painting of "Ultima Cena". I navigate towards it. I point the wand to the painting, and I am transported inside the refettorio, where, on one side, I again see the painting high on the wall. As I am approaching it, the painting becomes transparent, and in overlay I see a graphical rappresentation of Leon Battista Alberti's theorem (Costruzione Legittima). Beyond the theorem display it appears the Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece: the Ultima Cena. Now I touch the wall, which is transformed into a 3D space!. The Ultima Cena becomes real, I am inside, close to the Apostles sitting around the table. I can walk around and look out of the painting, at the refettorio from the viewpoint of Jesus Christ. But the surprise is not finished, Judas is getting up, he walks through the table and disappears into the emptyness. I walk out of the painting and... The overlay of the theorem in the original viewpoint demonstrates the
exact overposition of the perspective composition. The computer programs
construct the homogeneous coordinate representation of the painted space,
perform the linear transformation in the perspective space, and produce
the final projection on the visualization plane, in Cartesian coordinates,
of the three dimensional scene imagined by Leonardo. This navigation is
a powerful tool to understand the relationship between the real architecture
of the refettorio and the painted architecture by Leonardo. In the real ambience, the visitor can see the painting from 6 mts distance; on the contrary, with this installation the visitor can observe it from a very close viewpoint, enjoying the details and navigating through it. About the platform: Availability for exhibit About the background: |
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What is the Multi Mega Book in the CAVE
The Multi Mega Book is an "up-to-date" electronic book sculputure..
a magical and stimulating journey through some of the most intense moments
of human experience in media, technology, science, architecture, culture.
This project is available in different versions: Architectonic-multimedia
installation, Virtual Applications and an Internet-version.
The content of the Multi Mega Book in the CAVE is based on Maxi-Page 17:
"The shift from the printed+book to the electronic text+digital skin"
The user can explore, experiment, interact in the first person and in a
creative way with two revolutionary moments of human history and experience
the shift between the printed communication (XV century) to the electronic
communication ( XX century). This application joins 2 revolutions which
have transformed the history of communication and in consequence human
history.
The visitor can freely explore, interactively, the different dimensions
of the two key centuries through the use of VR, stereoscopic, 3D Sound
and Holophonic effects. As the user navigates through the immersive, interactive
spaces, s/he has the sensation of being in two different dimensions: the
renaissance world and the cyber space, integrated into a unique environment.
What is the
Cave (tm)?
The CAVE (Cave Automatic Virtual Environment) is a projection-based
VR system that surrounds the viewer with 4 screens. The screens are arranged
in a cube made up of three rear-projection screen for walls and down-projection
screen for the floor: that is, a projector overhead points to a mirror,
which reflects the images onto the floor. A viewer wears stereo shutter
glasses and six-degrees-of-freedom head-tracking device. As the viewer moves
inside the CAVE, the correct stereocopic perspective projection are calculated
for each wall. A second sensor and buttons in a wand held by the viewer
provide interaction with the virtual environment.The illusion of immersion
is created by projecting 3D computer graphics into a 10 x10 x 9 feet room
composed of display screens that completely surround the viewer. CAVE is
coupled with head and hand tracking systems to produce the correct stereo
perspective and to isolate the position and orientation of a 3D input device.
A sound system provides audio feedback. The viewer explores the virtual
worls by moving around inside the cube and grabbing objects with a three-button
wand-like device. Unlike users of the video of the video-arcade type of
the VR system, CAVE dwellers do not wear helmet to experience VR. Instead,
they put on lightweight stereo glasses and walk around inside the CAVE
as they interact with Virtual objects.
The projected images
are controlled by a SGI Onyx/RE2 with three graphics pipelines.
What is the
ImmersaDesk (tm)?
The immersal desk is a semi-immersive projection-based
system featuring a 4'x5' rear-projected, 45' angled screen. This allows
you to look down and forward, experiencing both "bird-eye" and
elevation views. The projected imaginery is created by a Silicon Graphics
workstation. This drafting-table format device is ideal for visualization
and analysis of models and environments. This makes the ImmersaDesk and
excellent stand-alone system. it is also the ideal development environment
for CAVE applications.
