Sprawl
“Sprawl” (2012)
Sprawl (2012)
A weather balloon carrying a low power television transmitter is launched above the Barelas neighborhood of Albuquerque, NM. Â The intent is for the transmitter to be carried high enough into the sky that it’s signal will eventually not be received by a television on the ground tuned to channel 11. Â This piece prefigures my interest in ideas of mapping relative to drone flight.
Sprawl functions as a sculpture that uses the electromagnetic spectrum as it’s medium.  The form of that sculpture is made via the possibility that the signal being broadcast from the balloon is being received for limited periods of time by televisions on the ground, fading in as it rises for more distant receivers , and out as it rises for others directly underneath.  Sprawl also functions as a video that meditates on static, distance, and obsolete technologies.  It can be presented as a single channel punctuated by a William Gibson quote or a two channel video that reveals a bit of the process of making the video.
Sprawl from Lee Montgomery on Vimeo.
the Making of “Sprawl” from Lee Montgomery on Vimeo .
Stills from Sprawl:
