MPC digital abstracts google earth views for the color project

MPC digital abstracts google earth views for the color project
all images courtesy of MPC digital

narrating a story through chroma, line and form, ‘the color project’ by MPC digital abstracts geographic satellite imagery into their most elemental geometry. created in collaboration with artist thompson harrell for the opening of the made in new york media center by IFP, the artwork spotlights the locations from many of the movies that have been championed by the independent filmmakers. in sync, each view represented on the grid plunges from space, coming to a stop on a single color in the landscape, creating a site-specific kaleidoscope of the remixed google earth views.

motifs of film locales are captured from above and distinctly zoomed in — bogotá, colombia from ‘maria full of grace’, florida from ‘stranger than paradise’ and virginia ‘the most dangerous man in america: daniel ellsberg and the pentagon papers’ among others. revealing the character of each neighborhood and its surrounding urban landscape — by simplifying it to the overall hue that best represents it — the generative artwork also draws attention to the contrast between the disparate places. the piece utilizes google views, white custom software programmatically records the geographical features of each location, all of which are presented on a wall of 27 HD screens.

the google views, zoomed in to a specific color

27 HD screens make up the art installation

google street views abstracted to its purest geometry and color

viewers watch the generative artwork in motion