150 Media Stream: We The People

Thirst
2017

Profile film. Music by John Pobojewski.
A 3D pen writes the words US, WE, HAVE, HOLD, HOPE.
A peaceful assembly of dancers take the stage in every shape and color.
Circles — each with a different first name — bubble together in gentle waves, forming a virtual melting pot.
A wandering journey through virtual darkness reveals “certain unalienable Rights” hidden behind the sculpture’s blades.

Thirst’s installation WE THE PEOPLE is a premiere commission for 150 Media Stream, the largest multimedia art installation in Chicago. Located at 150 North Riverside, this unique video sculpture features 89 individual LED blades at 150 feet long and over 20 feet high. Thirst joins several announced artists to premiere work for the video sculpture: Jason Salavon, Kurt Kaminski, Megan Pryce/Zhang Zige, Geoffrey Alan Rhodes, and Leviathan.

WE THE PEOPLE is a suite of five scenes, expressing oneness, diversity, and community. Words from the U.S. Constitution are used throughout the piece, as well as 150 first names of those born in America within the last decade.  

In 1787 the U.S. Constitution was signed by a fractured group of misfits and outcasts — delegates — each an immigrant in a new land. These individuals set the course towards a unified nation dedicated to the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness. Their work inspired Thirst’s suite of ambient scenes, each animated expressions of the diverse melting pot that is America. Together, we shall overcome. Divided, we will fall.
Designer
John Pobojewski
Designer
Rick Valicenti
Designer
Kyle Green
Designer
Zach Minnich
Designer
Taek Hyun Kim