Mégalotopie
Megalotopie is an artistic installation in which the spectator plays the main role. By entering this work, you become part of an augmented picture and you become the object of attention of all the characters of the short film which praises you in a caricatured way for over seven minutes.
This system is made up of three spaces:
First, the tangible space which presents the scenography of the work and welcomes the public. This is the place in which the spectator is filmed, the lighting is carrefuly set there, a large backdrop with floral motifs is stretched in the background, the golden frame also visible in the film frames the TV screen embedded in a wall in portrait position.
As soon as we enter this space, we enter the fictional space of the project, the staging and more generally the atmosphere already allow us to enter the author’s imaginary universe.
Then, there is the space of the short film in which we find in video the same golden frame. This short film was made from a rewriting of caricatured scenes based on criticism of art works (generally paintings) from 26 films or series. Significant lines were noted, reworked with the actors, then assembled to form more or less absurd dialogues. All the lines have been neutralized in order to address both a man and a woman.
Become the main actor in the work
The writing is organized according to three themes, firstly the critiques linked to allusions, references or metaphors appealing to the feeling of belonging and to family such as “”It’s not just a portrait, it’s the portrait of a dear person, loved by his parents!”. Then the mystical or religious speeches “It’s like being inside a dream, or something where there is truth, but no logic.” And finally the lines linked to the sexual metaphor such as “When I see a painting like this I get emotionally erect.
Finally, the whole thing was shot and then edited to create a sort of crescendo, a short film which moves towards a form of ecstasy or trance in front of the painting. However, this painting is, in the final art piece, the live feedback of the spectator. Thirdly, we find the real space-time of the viewer filmed and integrated into the short film (in the green screen area). This is a direct return captured with a Canon camera equipped with a 60 mm lens, which allows for a visually crafted image, including depth of field. After initial testing, the live video was mirrored, as it proved more intuitive for users to adapt their movements and interact with the short film.
The artist
Karleen GROUPIERRE
Karleen Groupierre is an artist-author and senior lecturer at Montpellier 3 Paul Valéry University.
Her works, exhibited in France and abroad, explore the existence of trans-art, a polyform mode of creation renewing the author’s creative processes as well as the spectator’s relationship to the work. As a specialist in digital technologies, the artist mobilizes them to offer to the public a dreamlike imaginary universe. Also doctor in Aesthetics, Arts Sciences and Technology, her thesis directed by Marie-Hélène Tramus is entitled “Issues of transmedia fiction in terms of creation and reception”.
