Elisif’s Story” by artist Peter Bruun is a new installation at Stevenson University in Maryland that features lighting control and audio playback from Alcorn McBride.
“Elisif’s Story” documents the tragic loss of Bruun’s daughter who died of a heroin overdose last year. Bruun, who was an art professor at Stevenson, creates an immersive experience using sight, sound, and lighting to tell Elisif’s plea for more humane attitudes toward those with addiction and mental health issues. It runs through December 15 at the Art Gallery on the University’s Greenspring Campus.
“The installation consists of 25 art pieces accompanied by a 30-minute narrative audio track,” explained Matthew Laumann, Stevenson’s Manager of Cultural Programs, “and as each audio clip is heard one of the pieces is illuminated. When the 25th piece is illuminated at the end, it’s accompanied by a piano composition by a family friend. The show is different from anything we’ve exhibited before.”
“It’s the first time we’ve used media that was this fully integrated into the exhibit as a whole,” said Christopher Crostic, Technical Director for the University’s Theater and Media Performance Department, whose technical expertise was invaluable to the full execution of the installation.
Crostic relied on Alcorn McBride equipment for other projects and considered it when he realized he needed DMX control and the ability to reliably play the audio track for the duration of the installation. To meet his needs Crostic chose Alcorn McBride’s DMX Machine and AM4 player running in sync to control the lighting and playback the audio.
“The DMX Machine sends signals to the AM4 so it’s actually controlling the event, illuminating each art piece and synchronizing the narrative clips and the piano composition to the 25 elements,” says Crostic. The show has a beginning and ending but runs as a loop; visitors can enter at any point at any time.”
Crostic found Alcorn McBride staff “explained the products really well. They were very helpful and great about giving me suggestions and answers in a timely fashion.” He reports that the equipment has been “running without a hitch; the system is working fantastic.”
“They were very helpful and great about giving me suggestions and answers in a timely fashion.”
