Come and bring the strange images of dreams into (virtual) reality! REM Walks bring the collected dream journals of the Pittsburgh community to life in virtual reality space. Draw and discover the dreams of strangers in this collaborative VR program.
Gowri Sunder is pursuing an interdisciplinary degree at Carnegie Mellon University, focusing in the intersections of affective psychology, anthropology, and art. Her work deals with social practice and oral history, focusing on stories easily missed or ignored by dominant narratives. Thali, her most recent work, deals with cultural translation and acculturation in second generation Indian girlhood. She is currently working to build on her research in stress and trauma psychology in an interview-based photography and painting series on PTSD and gender based violence, honoring the strength and struggles of survivors as she helps tell their stories. Her experience with storytelling and community building in these projects has informed the artistic direction and conceptual development of REM Walks.
Nick Castellana is currently pursuing an interdisciplinary degree at Carnegie Mellon University, focusing on the interaction of computer science and music. He has studied with leaders in these fields including Roger Dannenberg (creator of Audacity), Jesse Stiles (electronic composer and software designer), and Peter Sullivan (principal trombone of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra). His work often focuses on new ways of interacting with audio, often incorporating techniques such as machine learning, 3D rendering techniques, and probability theory into the listening experience. Past examples of his work include turning the iconic Randy Pausch bridge into an audio visualizer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTkUCkB-GJE) as well as developing shaders on the website ShaderToy.
Theodore Teichman is an interdisciplinary artist focusing on the intersection of sound, environments, and the brain. His works, Vanishing Point and suburban petrichor were premiered by the Lviv Philharmonic in Fall 2016 in Lviv, Ukraine. His work Haiku was selected for inclusion in the Moon Arts Project to be sent to the moon in Fall 2018. Other projects focus on physical, virtual, and sound based installations that use designed listening environments to create unique and evocative perceptions as a means of storytelling, contouring space, time, emotion, and memory for the goal of new understandings.
Valerie Senavsky, the REM Walks Experience Curator, will complete her studies at Carnegie Mellon University in Chemistry and Music Performance in May 2018. She has collaborated in multimedia pieces that stretch classical music performance practices, such as "All Cut Up," an electroacoustic ensemble that performed in Rembacher Music Competition in April 2016. Valerie is particularly interested in crafting meaningful audience experiences, and is excited to help bring out the collaborative and interactive aspects of VR in this project.