For the 2015 Dallas Aurora I collaborated with Steven Visneau, we created “In Harmony”.
‘In Harmony’ is a live video art montage that is a synthesis of Steven Visneau’s photographic eye for portraiture and Don Relyea’s generative digital portraiture, an explosion of pixels, color and glitch. ‘In Harmony’ is participatory and inclusive as attendees of the Aurora Festival will be photographed in black and white by Visneau and the digital glitch portraits will be immediately drawn by Relyea’s software live and projected onto a large nearby surface in view full of the participants. ‘In Harmony’ will bring all kinds of people together in one live generated video that showcases the individuality and rich diversity of our great city.
Steven and I had a blast with our installation this year. We were in Aja Martin’s section in Klyde Warren Park. This years Dallas Aurora was pretty packed, almost too packed. We were slammed with attendees waiting for 20-30 min to be a part of our installation all the way to the end. I am hearing we had at least 50,000 people attend this year. It speaks volumes to the demand for this kind of thing here in Dallas. I hope they consider doing multiple days next time.
I just found this article today, Don. I am blown away. I have so many questions for you like who installs these things. I’m so scared of heights I would have to never look down when I was up there at the top plugging in your amazing installations – lol! You never, ever cease to amaze me with your creativity and your interest in making BIG splashes either in sounds or in art. I was thinking about all of your wire sculptures you used to make. I was also thinking about the time you almost blew up the science lab with your “bomb.” What a gift you have for being playful and profound simultaneously! I hope I get to see you this weekend when I come to Dallas for the TCA Alumni Art Show. You have always been one of the most special people in my life. Thank you for making me so proud to see all your success.