The Story
The Purpose
The Location
The Credits
The Library
The Creator
The Problems
The Design
The Possibilities
Journeys is the brainchild of Ada Chien and inspired from the poetry of Christina
Rossetti and of the theatrical work held annually at the University of Texas known
as the "Madrigal Dinner". Originally begun as a theatrical installment with heavy
influence from Madrigal. The idea of a maze was introduced halfway into the semester
as a means to pull people into the performance by physically taking them away from
the "real" world and it was to act as a doorway into another realm.
Far to grandiose and complicated for one person to complete, the idea of the maze was
scrapped for the downscaled labyrinth, whose religious and spiritual connotations as well
as its symbolism and simplicity made it the ideal entryway for the installment.
As the maze shrank in scale, so did the size of the theatrical performance. Originally
intended to be a cast production dinner, the performance became a singular performance
with the elaborate dinner becoming symbolic foods that people were to eat and take away
with them. Constructive criticism from Prof. Samantha Krukowski and Prof. Yacov Sharir
further faded the idea of a theatrical event resulting in its current design of a square
room centered in the middle of the labyrinth with installed consumer mini-labyrinths.
Within the room itself, a series of created works will be placed for the audience to interact
with via sensors. The sensors will feed information into systems which will then play audio
sounds, visual and/or lighting effects, and possibly engage in movement. The collection of
works will feature items of interest such as the apple featured on this website entitled
"The Knowledge of Good and of Evil." Journeys will hopefully engage the mind of the audience
and challenge the creativity and imagination of its creator.
