Dan Collins
projects
Virtual Foray was an "augmented reality" experience created for the annual Telluride Mushroom Festival in Telluride, Colorado. The work paired monumentally scaled virtual mushrooms located in key locations around Telluride with original poetry celebrating mushrooms by regional poets. On-going Spring 2023 - 2024.
How to Build a Salt Battery was an installation focused on the potential of salt to generate electricity. The work was presented at a large group show entitled Metrodimensional from May 10 - 13, 2023 at the Park Central exhibition space in Phoenix, AZ.
Paradox Resolved is an interdisciplinary project focused on the twin challenges of desalination and clean power generation in the Paradox Valley in SW Colorado. An exhibition was held from March 27 - 31, 2023 at Arizona State University.
Testing the Waters was a research project conducted in collaboration with high schools across Arizona in 2019. An exhibition featuring student stories about water in the West was on display at ASU from Oct. 28 - Nov. 1, 2019.
Hole in Space is a collaborative VR video produced by my seminar focused on James Turrell's Roden Crater. The work was projected inside an inflatable dome in the ISTB4 building at Arizona State University on April 28, 2019.
Solstice Burn 2017 was held at the Deep Creek Mine in Telluride, Colorado on December 21, 2017. The event was created by artist Anton Viditz-Ward and the artist collective, Deep Creek Experimental. I shot the video using a DJI Mavic Pro (4K) drone flying GPS waypoints set with Litchi software. Audio is an original mix by Josh Payne (Dionysius).
SCAPE (2016 - present) is an environmental education project that combines online learning and field observations linked to living classrooms across the Colorado and Columbia River Basins. Students and community members learn about human health threats that arise from pollution to water in the InterMountain West, STEM-aligned methods for measuring in-stream flow, and techniques for sampling water quality parameters and gathering indicator species to investigate potential sources of pollution. In addition, students explore the cultural practices and "stories of place" of their reach of the river to provide context and meaning to the evidence they gather in the field.
Relational Sculptures (2012 - present) is a body of work that makes an oblique reference to "relational aesthetics" (Bourriaud) which is defined as "a set of artistic practices that take as their theoretical and practical point of departure the whole of human relations and their social context…” The work employs full scale body scanning (IR, photogrammetry, laser) and 3D printers.
Twister. This 3D digital self-portrait was begun in 1995 using a whole body laser scanner at Cyberware in Monterey, CA. The image has undergone a series of transformations and been translated into a variety of materials using both traditional and digital fabrication methods. Video interview about process.
The Digital Sculpture Archive is a collection of sculptural objects created from 1992 to the present using an array of 3D data capture, modeling, and digital fabrication tools such as rapid prototyping, CNC milling, and laser cutting.
Atlas of the Rio Salado. Video overview of the installation at the opening night of the Green Revolution art show at the Tempe Center for the Arts on January 18, 2013. The website at the heart of the project allows users to input information into an online database using an "incident mapping software" that keeps track of environmental sites ranging from habitats to eco hazards.
Interactive Atlas of the San Miguel is a network of mediated sculptural displays that allow users to interact with informational layers (pictures, texts, maps, stream data, etc.) focused on the San Miguel River Watershed in Southwestern Colorado.
The Interactive Watershed includes a series of physical and computer-based works flowing from a "participatory mapping project" conducted by the artist in the San Miguel River basin in Southwestern Colorado. A suite of interactive mapping tools (GIS based), graphic elements, and sculptural objects invite local participation related to "placemaking" and watershed education.
Exploring Grand Canyon, a collaboration with artist and visualization specialist Gene Cooper, is an interactive exhibit that combines a tangible interface with screen-based experiences. It is permanently installed at the Arizona Science Center.
Mirage, an interactive video installation, was one of eight projects for the inaugural exhibition of the Tempe Art Center entitled But It's a Dry Heat. The project encourages visitors to the Tempe Art Center to reflect on their relationship to water in the desert. An 9 x 12 foot computer generated image of water is projected onto the floor of the gallery. When a viewer steps into this virtual pool of water, their presence is registered by a computer-controlled sensing system. The show, curated by Michelle Dock, ran from Sept. 9, 2007 - Jan. 11, 2008.
Flooding Phoenix, a digital video sculpture, was featured at the ASU Art Museum from Sept. 9, 2006 - Jan. 27, 2007. For more information about the overall exhibition, see the New American City website.
I Cannot Tell a Lie. This anamorphic video sculpture was part of the Democracy in America exhibit at the ASU Art Museum, August 31 - November 19, 2004.
Return to the Garden, a 20 year retrospective, ran from December 12, 2003 - February 29, 2004 at the Tucson Museum of Art. The exhibition included a new project involving " networked surveillance ," several anamorphic installations, graphic works, and a range of digital sculptures. A review of the exhibition appeared in the October 2004 issue of Art in America.
TeleSculpture (1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007) were exhibitions and colloquia linking tele-communication with computerized rapid prototyping. 3D models transmitted in digital form via the Internet were translated into physical,"real-world" sculptures.
Forgetting Ourselves and other sculptures were shown at the Boston Cyberarts Festival, Boston Computer Museum in May 1999.
Re-Call of the Wild (1998) was an installation that combined found objects and closed circuit video to probe our conflicted relationship to Nature.
(Re)Inventing the Wheel (1997) was an installation that explored the history of technology through a number of different technological systems: rapid prototyping, video surveillance, and the Internet.
Early Work (1975 - 1991).
How to Build a Salt Battery was an installation focused on the potential of salt to generate electricity. The work was presented at a large group show entitled Metrodimensional from May 10 - 13, 2023 at the Park Central exhibition space in Phoenix, AZ.
Paradox Resolved is an interdisciplinary project focused on the twin challenges of desalination and clean power generation in the Paradox Valley in SW Colorado. An exhibition was held from March 27 - 31, 2023 at Arizona State University.
Testing the Waters was a research project conducted in collaboration with high schools across Arizona in 2019. An exhibition featuring student stories about water in the West was on display at ASU from Oct. 28 - Nov. 1, 2019.
Hole in Space is a collaborative VR video produced by my seminar focused on James Turrell's Roden Crater. The work was projected inside an inflatable dome in the ISTB4 building at Arizona State University on April 28, 2019.
Solstice Burn 2017 was held at the Deep Creek Mine in Telluride, Colorado on December 21, 2017. The event was created by artist Anton Viditz-Ward and the artist collective, Deep Creek Experimental. I shot the video using a DJI Mavic Pro (4K) drone flying GPS waypoints set with Litchi software. Audio is an original mix by Josh Payne (Dionysius).
SCAPE (2016 - present) is an environmental education project that combines online learning and field observations linked to living classrooms across the Colorado and Columbia River Basins. Students and community members learn about human health threats that arise from pollution to water in the InterMountain West, STEM-aligned methods for measuring in-stream flow, and techniques for sampling water quality parameters and gathering indicator species to investigate potential sources of pollution. In addition, students explore the cultural practices and "stories of place" of their reach of the river to provide context and meaning to the evidence they gather in the field.
Relational Sculptures (2012 - present) is a body of work that makes an oblique reference to "relational aesthetics" (Bourriaud) which is defined as "a set of artistic practices that take as their theoretical and practical point of departure the whole of human relations and their social context…” The work employs full scale body scanning (IR, photogrammetry, laser) and 3D printers.
Twister. This 3D digital self-portrait was begun in 1995 using a whole body laser scanner at Cyberware in Monterey, CA. The image has undergone a series of transformations and been translated into a variety of materials using both traditional and digital fabrication methods. Video interview about process.
The Digital Sculpture Archive is a collection of sculptural objects created from 1992 to the present using an array of 3D data capture, modeling, and digital fabrication tools such as rapid prototyping, CNC milling, and laser cutting.
Atlas of the Rio Salado. Video overview of the installation at the opening night of the Green Revolution art show at the Tempe Center for the Arts on January 18, 2013. The website at the heart of the project allows users to input information into an online database using an "incident mapping software" that keeps track of environmental sites ranging from habitats to eco hazards.
Interactive Atlas of the San Miguel is a network of mediated sculptural displays that allow users to interact with informational layers (pictures, texts, maps, stream data, etc.) focused on the San Miguel River Watershed in Southwestern Colorado.
The Interactive Watershed includes a series of physical and computer-based works flowing from a "participatory mapping project" conducted by the artist in the San Miguel River basin in Southwestern Colorado. A suite of interactive mapping tools (GIS based), graphic elements, and sculptural objects invite local participation related to "placemaking" and watershed education.
Exploring Grand Canyon, a collaboration with artist and visualization specialist Gene Cooper, is an interactive exhibit that combines a tangible interface with screen-based experiences. It is permanently installed at the Arizona Science Center.
Mirage, an interactive video installation, was one of eight projects for the inaugural exhibition of the Tempe Art Center entitled But It's a Dry Heat. The project encourages visitors to the Tempe Art Center to reflect on their relationship to water in the desert. An 9 x 12 foot computer generated image of water is projected onto the floor of the gallery. When a viewer steps into this virtual pool of water, their presence is registered by a computer-controlled sensing system. The show, curated by Michelle Dock, ran from Sept. 9, 2007 - Jan. 11, 2008.
Flooding Phoenix, a digital video sculpture, was featured at the ASU Art Museum from Sept. 9, 2006 - Jan. 27, 2007. For more information about the overall exhibition, see the New American City website.
I Cannot Tell a Lie. This anamorphic video sculpture was part of the Democracy in America exhibit at the ASU Art Museum, August 31 - November 19, 2004.
Return to the Garden, a 20 year retrospective, ran from December 12, 2003 - February 29, 2004 at the Tucson Museum of Art. The exhibition included a new project involving " networked surveillance ," several anamorphic installations, graphic works, and a range of digital sculptures. A review of the exhibition appeared in the October 2004 issue of Art in America.
TeleSculpture (1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007) were exhibitions and colloquia linking tele-communication with computerized rapid prototyping. 3D models transmitted in digital form via the Internet were translated into physical,"real-world" sculptures.
Forgetting Ourselves and other sculptures were shown at the Boston Cyberarts Festival, Boston Computer Museum in May 1999.
Re-Call of the Wild (1998) was an installation that combined found objects and closed circuit video to probe our conflicted relationship to Nature.
(Re)Inventing the Wheel (1997) was an installation that explored the history of technology through a number of different technological systems: rapid prototyping, video surveillance, and the Internet.
Early Work (1975 - 1991).