Arkansas Text Stream

Text Stream 9

Arkansas Text Stream consists of brief texts sourced from Northwest Arkansas community members presented in a slow stream of letters that transform into phrases as the presence of people is detected.

Flowing from just beyond view, a rush of letters projects onto a 70-yard-length pathway, slowly travelling downstream. Moving according to fluid dynamics in a non-repeating pattern, the letters’ journey is programmed to be as unpredictable as the motion of water. As you walk, your body creates ripples and jetties among the texts. If you slow or stop, phrases will pool around your feet, revealing wisdom from the past, reflections on the present, and hopes for the future—all sourced from regional community members.

The Text Stream series is influenced by the work of French Symbolist poet Stéphane Mallarmé and "Antropofagia," a conceptual current associated with the Brazilian Tropicália artistic movement of the 1960s.

Commissioned by Crystal Bridges Museum of Art, Bentonville.

General info

Year of creation:
2022
Technique:
12 video projectors with short throw lenses, outdoor enclosures, 12 camera and IR lights, 1 media server, 1 tracking computer, signal/network distribution, Touch Designer software, 18 loudspeakers
Dimensions:
Variable

Exhibitions


Credits

  • Developer: Hugo Daoust
  • Production Assistance: Emily Green, Steven Hoffart, Benoit Soucy, William Sutton