Art from Ephemeral Scientific Moments – CACR Science/Art Exhibited at SIGGRAPH2004

An art piece that will appear at this years Siggraph’s Art Gallery was inspired from visualization of CACR science.

Horizonte , an original piece by CACR research scientist Santiago Lombeyda , was created from the volume rendering of a time-step of a simulation of a shockwave propagating across a solid wedge (data courtesy of Caltech’s ASCI/ASAP Center ). The data is stored as a 12bit volume in a grid size of 2000×400x400 voxels. The angle of infraction creates internal pressure waves, which concentrate around the objects surface folds. Intuitively this image confronts the user with a receding surface with clear turbulence to it. This surface seems to break or fold with a second surface on a brighter white path, as if it was a horizon line. This in fact is the main shockwave moving across the object. The image thus offers two stark contrasts : o ne is the changing visual depth of the image, while the second one is the conflicting duality between a perception as a peaceful panorama versus the less obvious pictorial of a violent shock. These contrasts have the ability of moving a viewer back and forth from serene to unbalanced or weary.

At SIGGRAPH2004 , t he 31st International Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques , the year’s most advanced achievements in computer graphics and interactive techniques will be exhibited . SIGGRAPH2004 brings computer graphics and interactive professionals from around the world together for a 5-day conference and 3-day exhibition in Los Angeles, California.

The Synaesthesia Art Gallery at SIGGRAPH2004 will feature visionary work in every field of digital art: 2D, 3D, interactive techniques, installations, virtual reality, multimedia, telecommunications, web art, and animation.

For further information about the piece, please read Santiago Lombeyda’s page at http://www.cacr.caltech.edu/~slombey/art/