DIGEST
Overview
“Keith LaMar is a writer, poet and activist who has spent almost 30 years in solitary confinement on death row in Ohio for a crime he says he did not commit. This story is one about how jazz, writing, and contemplation have guided him through to find self-liberation within the most difficult of circumstances. The resulting work, DIGEST, is an interactive, mixed media installation created by artist Mia Pearlman, jazz pianist and composer Albert Marquès, and LaMar.
The exhibition grows out of LaMar’s experiences and his metaphor for the prison industrial complex as a digestive system designed to consume people and break them down. In the center of the gallery hangs an enormous abstract sculpture that evokes a brick building, both crushing its contents and being crushed by invisible forces. Faceted with materials found in the carceral system like metal wire mesh, zip tie handcuffs, prison blankets, and prison uniforms, DIGEST’s sculptural skin reveals small video screens and audio speakers.
DIGEST is both a sculpture and a musical instrument, played by the motion of viewers’ bodies: As visitors enter the space and move around the work, they trigger videos of LaMar telling his story and audio of a piano composition in 5 separate tracks. As more people fill the gallery, these audio tracks come together to form a haunting, rhythmic groove. As viewers leave, the sculpture goes silent, leaving LaMar alone once again.
On November 16, 2023, the State of Ohio plans to execute Keith LaMar despite no physical evidence linking him to a crime. He continues to fight for a new trial to defend his innocence in court. Whatever happens to LaMar, DIGEST will continue to create awareness of his case and the plight of so many trapped in his situation” (MSU Broad Art Museum).
Duration
Feb 2023 – April 2023
My Role
Photogrammetry Researcher
Process
I began this project by familiarizing myself with various photogrammetry tools. Since the timeline for this was relatively fast, the leader of the project suggested we use an app called Polycam. The interface is relatively intuitive and it was quick to learn. We gathered our tools and walked over to the Broad museum to see the exhibit first hand.
When we first saw the model, we were taken aback by how large it was. The physical model is approximately 22 ft x 14 ft which made scanning it all at once a bit daunting. There were a lot of shadows and areas on the sculpture where lighting was very low, making it more difficult to get an accurate scan. After approximately three hours of scanning, we were able to get an excellent scan of the the entire model using Polycam which we then cleaned up in Agisoft Metashape.
Once we had the model, I imported it into Reality Composer to build in the overlapping sounds.
Final Product
We were able to create an accurate AR experience featuring overlapping sounds. The video to the right is a walkthrough of the experience.
To view the AR experience on your personal device, click on the image to the right. If you are working on a Mac, the file download and you can view it in Quicklook.
The AR experience can only be viewed on mobile devices. If you are working on a Mac, the file download and you can view it in Quicklook. The mobile experience is tailored for iPhone. The Polycam model is compatible with laptops and non-iOS devices.
