Lantern Field: Exploring Participatory Design of a Communal, Spatially Responsive Installation

Abstract

Lantern Field is a communal, site-specific installation that takes shape as a spatially responsive audio-visual field. The public participates in the creation of the installation, resulting in shared ownership of the work between both the artists and participants. Furthermore, the installation takes new shape in each realization, both to incorporate the constraints and affordances of each specific site, as well as to address the lessons learned from the previous iteration. This paper describes the development and execution of Lantern Field over its most recent version, with an eye toward the next iteration at the Smithsonian's Freer Gallery during the 2013 National Cherry Blossom Festival inWashington, D.C.