Kickstarter

My name is Brandon Barr and I am a local artist residing in Kansas City, MO. I graduated from the Interdisciplinary department at the Kansas City Art Institute in 2009. I am asking for the amount of $500 to help fund a project for the show “Dual Singularity,” which will be taking place in early January of 2011 at the Urban Culture Project’s Project Space Gallery in Kansas City, MO. I have begun the project, conducted tests and have developed a measured layout, but currently cannot go any further until I acquire the funds for the other materials.
I am developing a new body of work for the show “Dual Singularity”, but am trying to focus on one piece that will truly highlight my concepts being explored. The piece, titled “Equilibrium,” will consist of a 7’x9’ rear-projection screen that will hang from the ceiling about 6.5’ from the floor. The screen will hang facing down and parallel with the floor. There will be a custom-made clear vinyl waterbed that will lie underneath the projection screen inside a plexiglass box, which will be lit underneath by LED lights. The viewer will then be allowed to lie on their backs on the waterbed and view a video being rear-projected onto the screen. The video will consist of a waterproof camera on a thin floating device in a clear three-gallon drum. As the video records upwards towards the sky, the drum will be rolled from midtown Kansas City, to downtown, then to the Missouri River and back. As the drum rolls at a steady pace the water will remain level and keep the floating camera steady and recording upwards. The end result will be an upward angled view of trees, buildings, houses, people, and the sky as the device moves from a concrete city to the natural landscape.
This piece is about finding a balance, capturing a sense of singularity and interrelationship. Water is an essential element that is a provider for life. In liquid form, it remains level with the earth; this will be captured from a first-person perspective by a waterproof camera. Once the camera is placed on the surface of the water, the ebb and flow will be documented along with its level state. At the same time, the viewer is lying on a body of water and its movement is also in sync with theirs, making them level with gravity.
The funds will go towards the development of the waterbed, which has to be custom-made by a waterbed manufacturer in Midway City, California, called The Waterbed Doctor and the projection screen, which has to be ordered from a company called Focused Technology in Sarasota, Florida. There is a five-week wait period for the waterbed after the order is placed because of the manufacturing process and shipping and about two weeks for the projection screen. Once I receive the materials I will have to begin construction and testing the layout of the installation, which will be very important due to structural safety and integrity. Upon speaking with the manufacturer, I was reassured the waterbed could endure the show as long as proper precautions were made.
I have already invested towards the camera, plexiglass box for the waterbed, three-gallon acrylic drum and other hardware, but in doing so have exhausted my resources. If I could possibly continue on my own expense, I would. On top of this project, there are still three other pieces that need to be completed; two being video installations and the other being a series of large format photographs. One installation titled “How to Form a Rainbow” will utilize sensors that detect the surrounding humidity, which will then affect the video playing by blending the frames together causing various colors to immerge. The other will be a projected video in a built room of an inverted seascape and when viewed through a magnified water droplet system, it will turn right side up. I have the budget for these projects secured, but I simply do not have the time to find another source of income to fund “Equilibrium”.
I have created a very detailed proposal with budget and personal income listed. It also contains further conceptual/aesthetic details and a full CV. If you would like to obtain this in a PDF format you can contact me at bhbarr@hotmail.com. Please feel free to visit my website and view previous work at www.brandonhbarr.com

Thank you,

Brandon