Cosmological Cinema: Metaphor, Symbolism, and Immersion

Science WorldTelus World of Science

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

1986

Model of the UniverseJohannes Kepler

1619

Cultures from around the world have long turned to the dome of the heavens to better

understand the cosmos.

Basilica di San PietroMichelangelo

As this perceived curvature has manifested architecturally throughout the world, domes have been used to enclose the most sacred

environments of many cultures.

From Buddhist stupas to Islamic mosques to Christian cathedrals, these structures have

been used as places of ritual, indoctrination, and transcendence.

In the 20th century, it became possible for the first time to

radially extend mental images onto the dome screen using

projections of light.

Everyone stands under his own dome of heaven

Anselm Kiefer1970

Hagia SophiaIstanbul, Turkey

Assumption of the VirginAntonio Allegri da Correggio

Cathedral of Parma, Italy1530

Angkor WatAngkor, Cambodia

12th century

San Lorenzo DomeGuarino Guarini

Turin, Italy1687

StonehengeAmesbury, Englandca. 2500-2000 BCE

Nebra StardiskNebra, Germany

ca. 1600 BCE

Total Environment Learning LabRoger Ferragallo

Oakland, California, USA1967

Dome of the RockEast Jerusalem, Israel

691

Boudhanath StupaKathmandu, Nepal

5th century

Basilica di San Pietro in VaticanoVatican City

1426

Abakh Hoja TombCashi, China

ca. 1640

FlammarionAn anonymous woodcut depicting

a pilgrim looking beyond the firmament to see the inner workings

of the universe.Date Unknown

YggdrasilThe ‘World Tree’ of

Norse Cosmology

Rosicrucian PlanetariumSan Jose, California, USA

1936

Zeiss PlanetariumJena, Germany

1923

Dream TempleMariko Mori1999

Movie-DromeStan Vanderbeek

Stony Point, New York, USA1965

Pepsi PavilionExperiments in Art and Tech-nology

Osaka, Japan1970The Vortex Experiments

Henry Jacobs & Jordan Belson

San Francisco, California, USA1957-59

Rose Center for Earth and Space

New York, New York, USA2000

La GéodeParis, France

1985

Bok GlobuleCarter Emmart & Leo VillarealBlack Rock City, Nevada, USA2004

Three-Story Universe

Common to numerous

cosmologies worldwide

UniviewNetworked real-time data

visualizations based on NASA’s Digital Universe Atlas

Sonic VisionRose Center for Earth and SpaceAnimation based

on paintings by Alex Grey

2004

Innovations in architecture, large-format cinema, and computer graphics have

enabled the development of elaborate dome installations

for art, education, and entertainment.

The Apotheosis of WashingtonConstantino

BrumidiUnited States

Capitol Building1865

As they are integrated with networked and interactive media, how can portable and permanent

immersive visualization domes be most effectively utilized to

communicate and expandmental maps in the 21st century?

In the latter half of the 20th century, numerous artists, engineers, and

educators experimented with domed environments to explore the

possibilities of mediated sensory immersion.

La Piedra del SolAztec Calendar Stoneca. 15th century

Sanchi StupaSanchi, India

3rd Century BCE

Newgrange Passage Tomb

Newgrange, Ireland ca. 3200 BCE

Mycenaean Tholos TombMycenae, Greece

ca. 1250 BCE

Camera degli SposiAndrea Mantegna

Mantua, Italy1474

Sultan Faraj ibn Barquq MausoleumCairo, Egypt1411

The Cosmological CinemaMetaphor, Symbolism, and Immersion

Adler PlanetariumChicago, Illinois, USA

1930

Hayden PlanetariumNew York, New York, USA

1935

Griffith PlanetariumLos Angeles, California, USA

1935

NVIDIA Visualization DomeLos Angeles, California, USA

SIGGRAPH2005

Celestial MechanicsD. Scott Hessels & Gabriel Dunne

UCLA Design | Media Arts2005

Frame of Peyote Sweat LodgeCheyenne Nation

The rounded enclosures have often been used as canvases upon which to

represent psycho-cosmological constructs, with both internal and external surfaces often steeped in visually symbolic and

geometric meaning.

The shape of the celestial screen has influenced the evolution of mental maps

around the world, revealed by numerous artistic,

religious, and scientific artifacts and beliefs.

David McConvilleid@elumenati.com

Planetary Collegium CAiiA-Hub