The 28-page booklet shown in the gallery on this page is a proposal to transform the chosen site into a water theater. This first proposal outlines a live multi-disciplinary installation inspired by the rich historical context of Rome. The elements of the installation are immaterial, a fusion of art and technology composed of three parts, each embodying elements of the river: acoustic (Sonic Waves), cinematic (She-Shadows) and fluid dynamics (Lumin-Essence). Together, these elements will create an event that can be experienced from within the defined volume of space (the walkways along the riverbanks) or from its perimeters (the sidewalks and bridges above).
Bringing together current research and advanced technology, the collective work is intended to awaken the present tense in the heart of historic Rome.
SONIC WAVES (acoustic element)
Rome is a city where time is tangible, the layers of history are visible everywhere. The Tiber River is a procession of time, the single living entity that has witnessed the entire temporal history of this city. The mythology of Rome can be imagined as recorded in its unending current. It is the Tiber that is Eternal.
The cadence of the river’s current is surprisingly in harmony with the pace of the “passeggiata,” the evening stroll accompanied by conversation. The acoustic element of Tevereterno will be experienced as waves of sound by those walking along the river site. A stereophonic corridor on either side of the river will transport sound compositions downstream in synchrony with the river’s current. These compositions could include music written especially for the Tiber, interwoven with spoken narratives.
SHE-SHADOWS (cinematic element)
She appears only at night, projected live on the high travertine embankments that contain the river. She is a mutable shadow; a metamorphosis of wolf and woman, the question of wild and tame. In suspended fluid motion, at night she slowly paces the banks of the Tiber, guarding the territory. She sniffs the air, pauses, sits, paws the ground, waits; she listens, is patient, fearless, alone…her shadow figure stretches…transforms, abstracting, then appears again, circling. Graceful and yet deliberate, she is a creature of the night. She moves more slowly than real time, she moves as if out of time.
She-Shadows, the cinematic component of Tevereterno, will appear after dark, a parade of projected shadows visible from anywhere within the river piazza. Artists from varied disciplines will re-interpret the dynamic of woman and nature: of beast and beauty, of wild and civil. Using the most advanced technology available, artists working with film, video and animation will explore the relationship between the natural and civilized worlds, inspired by the mythological she-wolf that symbolizes the beginning of Roman civilization.
LUMIN-ESSENCE (fluid dynamic element)
An organic form swims upstream, animated by the current. It is enigmatic, appearing simultaneously like a school of fish and a serpentine constellation. Energized by the powerful river current, the biomorphic figure is like a stream of fluctuating plankton that undulates from bridge to bridge. The fluid image is a cluster of minute points of light, like the Milky Way – the river in the sky.
Lumin-Essence is the most dramatic element of the three; it intends to make the river manifest. The serpentine form exaggerates the strict and imposed geometry of the rectilinear section. It mimics the sinuous path of the Tiber River as it winds its way through the heart of Rome; it is the spine of the city. Visible day and night, both from above and within the rigid embankment walls, the flowing luminous network illuminates and reveals the invisible energy of the river. Recalling the ancient Greek god of healing, Aesclepius, symbolized by a serpent whose venom could restore the dead to life, Lumin-Essence is a call to revive the Tiber.
