Manhatten, NY
Kinetic Sculptural, Information and Media Blended Experienc
Conceived by Laura Kurgan and Mark Hansen of the Center for Spatial Research, the piece combines art, science, data, storytelling and information design, and invites visitors to consider the brain from new perspectives and to explore the current research of leading neuroscientists working upstairs in the Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute. The innovative team of DE-ZYN studios (working as Technomedia) along with partners AV&C and Tait created the world-class team that bright this project to life after three years of development. The floor-to-ceiling white LED canvas flies the viewer through different large-scale visualization models of the brain while kinetic, door-sized high-resolution LCD's track, highlight and visually detail the parts of the brain that relate to the research being introduced. At key moments in the choreography, the tracking screens descend to the lobby visitors to engage with them through interactive research stories exploring cognition, sensory perception, decision making, learning and memory, addiction and reward, neural networks, and DNA sequencing. “The Brain Index is meant to teach and capture the public’s imagination,” said Hansen. “That was our only design constraint. The human-sized moving screens navigate the research taking place in the building and, like opening doors, invite the public to step up and explore.”