Portal to Atlantis 2016
The Portal to Atlantis is a multimedia art project conceived and constructed by Ryan Montgomery (Geary and Hyde Design) and Thomas Moore (Cyclo,). Both Ryan and Thomas are multi-genre artists based in the San Francisco Bay Area. With a wide range of small and large scale projects and art installations this will be the first collaboration between the two.
Portal to Atlantis is composed of a circular wooden truss 22 feet in diameter with an 18-foot video screen in the center. The truss is a new construction based on a system designed for the 2016 stage for DUSTFISH. As the current lead designer for DUSTFISH (one of Burning Man’s longest running live performance camps), Ryan has engineered a unique system of wooden truss featuring intricate carving and a lightweight modular construction technique. This truss will be converted into a massive chandelier with over 70 feet of arduino controlled LEDs. Above the truss will be a projector to illuminate the screen with custom 3-D motion graphics created by Thomas.
The overall concept is meant to create a feeling of being inside the world of Atlantis created by Ghost Ship and when the event participant looks up they will see what is happening in the world above. Imagine it is as if the cap was removed from the jar that Atlantis is in and people can see another world through the portal above. Ideally we’d love to place this piece above the main dance floor. The chandelier should be right at eye level of people on the upper decks and is lit around the sides to create stunning visual effects from all angles.
Technical considerations
Rigging
The truss is composed of 12 sections. They are connected by pods and bolted together. At 8 points cables are attached and the piece is suspended from the steel girders of the building. The 8 cables will be grouped into pairs and attached.
We’ll need to coordinate with house riggers to hang the truss. 4 shackles will need to be temporarily attached to the girders.
The projector is hung in the center of the unit from the ceiling above. A custom designed cradle will be built to house the projector in a vertical orientation.
Power
We will need 2 120v power cords for the installation. One to the center for the projector and one to one of the pick points to power the LEDs within the chandelier itself.
Fireproofing
We will bring the unit to Pier 70 to have it sprayed and certified by your fire safety team
Budget
Cash
Including materials and labor the portal will cost $5,000 to construct, install and remove.
Tickets
Our construction and installation crew consists of 15 people. We’d like to request tickets to both evenings for those 15 folks.
Insurance
If this installation doesn’t fall under the umbrella of the Ghost Ship event insurance we would request an additional allowance to purchase our own insurance for this event only. Cost TBD
Additional Items
DUSTFISH TRUSS (Rental)
As discussed, we also will have our entire stage setup from Burning Man 2016. It ties directly into the Portal design. If we’d like to use that throughout the space in a variety of configurations it is available to rent from DUSTFISH. The pieces are totally modular and can be assembled in an almost infinite variety of ways. Part of the design also includes three 6’ x 6’ video screens. (Seen at the back of the stage in the rendering above)
Cost
The construction was paid for through camp dues and a 100% volunteer labor force. I’ve discussed it with our camp and they’d be willing to rent it to Ghost Ship for $1000.
We would use members from the portal crew and perhaps a couple of Ghost Ship volunteers to build this. No further tickets would be required on our end.
CRYSTALS
As discussed Thoma has 3 eight feet tall geometric wooden crystals that are being built for Burning Man 2016. These crystal will have sacred geometry patterns and hang drawn illustrations with custom LED lighting that we are willing to bring to the event to display. No additional tickets would be needed for us to bring them. The video below shows something similiar Thomas did on a smaller scale as a test.
Thanks you so much for this amazing opportunity! We are beyond thrilled to be part of this event.
PREVIOUS PROJECTS / SAMPLE IMAGES
