IMMERSIVE
Mary John has created immersive theater experiences and virtual reality film projects. She is also exploring how augmented reality, motion capture & AI technology can contribute to and/or effectively partner with artists working in dance and film. She implements new technology into her work when it can deepen a story and concept or enhance creative elements like set design.
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Catherine Kirk by photographer Caitlin Ochs.
RESET
During a Research Artist In Residency at Barnard’s Movement Lab, Mary John created a multi-media work about how AI is helping with the climate crisis. Live motion capture was used as a metaphor for how AI and computers track the natural world. The project concluded with a group dance, inviting audiences to imagine a future they want to live in. It was also supported by NYU’s Tandon School of Engineering (Integrated, Design and Media) with contributions via The Field.
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Chihiro Shimizu at Pioneer Works by Walter Wlodarczyk.
FROM SEA TO RISING SEA
This 360/VR film & mobile app celebrates the beauty of the natural world and is a tool for engaging in productive discussions about climate change and the oceans. It follows a flock of synchronized swimmers and a marine biologist as they guide a concerned citizen on an underwater adventure. During the experience, viewers learn about the importance of talking about climate change, voting, regenerative ocean farming, and blue carbon. The project was made in partnership with Oceanic Global, Zero Hour, NEW INC, and more.
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Dancers Ingrid Kaptain & David Parker by Mary John Frank.
Augmented Reality
Mary John creates demos and tests apps, interfaces, and wearables for brands and technical collaborators. On the left is a demo of an AR app for a live dance performance, created in collaboration with Genna Baroni, Ingrid Kaptain, David Parker, and Occurrent Arts. With a heightened sense of spatial and body awareness, dancers have much to contribute to immersive media and the field of tech. Experiments like this create space for movement artists to discuss how emerging media can best serve their processes and opportunities to weigh in on technologies that are impacting our world.
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Featuring Catherine Cobb Ryan (left), Rachel Guest & Elizabeth Dunn (right) by Victoria Will.
Immersive performance
Debutaunt is a live performance that examines cultural rights of passage, tradition, and gender stereotypes. The work weaves dance, film projection, and interactive vignettes together and audiences are invited into the bizarre ritual of a southern debutante ball. In the end, the debutantes rebel against a domineering Master of Ceremonies, choosing not to conform to the submissive roles assigned to them. The experience was shared in the Brooklyn Navy Yard (2014), a warehouse space in Redhook, and Lightbox NYC (2015).