People:
- Neil M. Denari (archive creator)
- Neil M. Denari (architect)
- Seiichi Kozu (collaborator)
- Masaaki Oka (collaborator)
- Duks Koschitz (animator)
- Michiharu Shimoda (graphic designer)
Title:
Neil Denari Interrupted Projections project records
Form:
archives
Level of archival description:
Fonds
Extent and medium:
- 4003 digital files (1 GB)
89 photographic materials
27 drawings and/or reprographic copies
19 layouts (printed material)
9 ephemera
2 video cassettes
Scope and content:
The Neil Denari Interrupted Projections project records, 1994-2004, document the development and installation of Denari’s show “Interrupted Projections” at Gallery MA in Tokyo, Japan.
The majority of the records date from 1994 to 1996.
Project records include 4003 digital files (1 GB), 69 slides, 27 drawings and reprographic copies, 20 transparencies, 19 printouts, 7 posters and/or pamphlets, two VHS video cassettes, one exhibition catalogue and one promotional T-shirt.
For Interrupted Projections, Denari used a combination of digital and material design thinking to create an architectural installation whose conceptual premise extended beyond the physical gallery space.
The design for the project was derived from the notion of a mapping system, with the curved, green surface of the structure representing a flattened, 2D global environment, bending and looping to form 3D space. This “world map” was meant to be a physical representation of a virtual world sold to consumers by corporations. Logos of fictional companies were printed onto the surface of the space alongside barcodes that could be scanned using the NaviCam, an augmented reality prototype developed by Sony and installed in the gallery. Scanning the barcodes would display images and hypertext on the screen of the camera, allowing the user to access information hidden behind the walls of the exhibit.
The impetus for involving the NaviCam was largely that of Masaaki Oka, project collaborator and former student of Denari’s, who was working for Sony at the time. Oka was also responsible for the creation of the show’s website, which used VRML software to allow users to interact with a 3D model of the design.
In addition to the installation, a more traditional exhibition of Denari’s work was displayed on Gallery MA’s fourth floor. Physical models and drawings, digital renderings, and 3D animations of the Interrupted Projections model were included in the display, as well as materials from Denari’s other projects intended to showcase his entire body work . Material related to other projects is not included in the archive.
The archive includes two Softimage databases containing full and partial (section) 3D digital models of the installation; digital renderings of the 3D model; digital images of the built work; slides and transparencies of digital renderings and the built work; seven drawings, including floor plans, sections and elevations; two videos, one containing animations of the 3D digital model created as part of the exhibition, and one containing raw footage of the built installation; a copy of the show catalogue; and a small amount of promotional material, including posters, flyers, pamphlets, and a t-shirt.
The archive additionally includes materials donated by Seiichi Kozu of Studio Koz, who managed the physical construction of the exhibition. This material includes 20 drawings and/or reprographic copies, including floor plans and construction drawings; 18 printouts of digital renderings of the model accompanied by a pantone sheet; 16 slides of digital renderings and images of the built work; three posters and one promotional pamphlet.
Physical characteristics and technical requirements:
The 3D models of the Interrupted Projections installation were created in Softimage ’95 on Windows NT. These files will not open in contemporary versions of Autodesk Softimage. A converted database comprising all models will open in Softimage 2014 (installed on the dedicated CAD workstation available to researchers in the Study Room), created from the original by members of Autodesk’s Montreal office, is available on request.
Arrangement:
Material in this archive arrived at CCA from two different donors: Neil Denari and Mr. Koz.
Material received from Denari was arranged by material type, while material received from Mr. Koz showed no discernable order.
The material in this archive is arranged into two series based on provenance:
Series 1: Project records from Neil Denari
Series 2: Project records from Mr. Koz
Each series has been further arranged based on material type, following the arrangement done by Denari in anticipation of being donated to CCA.
For the digital component of the archive, material has not been rearranged.
Biographical notes:
Neil M. Denari (Fort Worth, Texas, 1957) is an architect, interior designer, educator, author, and thinker.
Denari received a Bachelor's degree in Architecture in 1980 from the University of Houston and a Master's degree from Harvard University in 1982. He opened Neil M. Denari Architects in L.A. in 1988, the same year that he began teaching at SCI-Arc. From 1997 to 2002, he served as the school’s director.
Denari's drawings and models are part of seven other permanent collections: Cooper-Hewitt Museum, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), Fonds Regional d'Art Contemporain (FRAC) in Orleans, France, Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York, Denver Art Museum, Heinz Architectural Center of Carnegie Museum of Art, and Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney. In 2002, Denari’s work was chosen to be a part of the National Academy of Design’s annual exhibition in New York, where he also received both the Samuel Morse Medal and the Richard Recchia Prize for his work.
Conditions governing access:
- Access by appointment only.
Conditions governing reproduction:
- For copyright information or permission to reproduce material from the fonds, please contact the CCA (reproductions@cca.qc.ca).
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer:
- Gifts of Neil Denari, 14 August 2013, and Mr. Koz, 6 July 2015.
Custodial history:
- The majority of records in this archive were kept at Neil Denari’s office in Los Angeles prior to being transferred to CCA. Digital files were sent via network transfer.
The records received from Mr. Koz were kept at his studio in Japan in the years between the deinstallation of Interrupted Projections and their transfer to CCA.
The records were acquired by CCA as part of the Archaeology of the Digital project. Selected items were displayed in the show Archaeology of the Digital: Complexity and Convention, May to October, 2016.
Archivist's note:
- A single-level record for this archive was created by Digital Archivist Tessa Walsh in July 2016. Material was fully processed by Alexandra Jokinen, Digital Processing Archivist, in April 2018.
Credit line:
When citing the collection as a whole, use the citation:
Neil Denari Interrupted Projections project records,
Collection Centre Canadien d'Architecture/
Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montréal.
When citing specific collection material, please refer to the object’s specific credit line.
Related units of description:
- The two Softimage databases will not open in current versions of the software. A converted version comprising both models created by Autodesk’s Montreal office is available to consult by requesting AP168.S1.011.FM. Please contact reference at ref@cca.qc.ca for inquiries.
The Interrupted Projections website is no longer accessible via the live web and can only be found using the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine at: https://web.archive.org/web/19970725180016/japan.park.org/Japan/Sony/3DWorld/Neil_Denari/index.htm
