MEDIUM: BARON LANTEIGNE

BARON LANTEIGN

Written by: Zebrina Garcia

If anyone is pushing the elements of visual art, it's Canadian resident, Baron Lanteigne. His digital practice holds your attention to different elements of perspective by using tools of video, sound, programming, and electronics. Diving into a virtual realm of his imagination, each project consists of ambitious human and digital conversions. Lanteigne progressively reforms the way art can be applied, digested, and displayed. For our next MEDIUM feature, read about Baron Lanteigne's journey in his artistic development and process.




How long have you been creating art?

idk

What is your typical process for creating a virtually immersive piece?

A typical animation requires the artist to frame the action and only create what is within the frame. This type of framing allows for very strong storytelling because every frame introduces a meaningful element or event and each frame is isolated from the other by a cut.

In my case, the process is closer to video game design because I end up creating the whole environment. Not just the content of each individual frame. Then I document this world with a traveling camera acting as a guide.

I don’t split this process into two distinct steps: I tend to adapt the environment to the camera path and the other way around so they become interconnected. Because there is no cut, everything has to be organized around the camera path which ends up depicting the timeline of the piece in a spatialized way.

For this type of work, the creation process begins as an interaction between me controlling the camera within the world, which I then adapt to my camera. Surprisingly, the final result becomes very linear. Observing the environment could let you predict the path you’re going to take as a viewer. This is why the end result is closer to animation than a virtual world. It is an outcome of my interaction with the virtual environment.

Where do you get the inspiration from when working on the Oxygen (Anthologie) Project?

I have been inspired by the post-internet render culture for a while and I’ve been appropriating it for myself even though I work differently with it. Anthologie is a selection or collection of objects and scenes inspired by this culture. In this case, my contribution is more about the world holding everything together and how we explore this world than the totemic objects filling this world. The later is simply my sloppy interpretation of this culture. I guess I could call it a collaboration with the post-internet render culture.

Obviously, Bobby Tank’s music was a strong inspiration for this project. His soundtrack became my timeline. My interpretation of this music is what shaped the structure of the piece, forcing events and transitions to match a very logical progression.

What are some challenges you face when creating?

As described above in my process, there is a moment at which my creation transitions from the interactive virtual world to the resulting animation. I enjoy the parametric process that interactive engines procure so knowing when to stop and cross this point of no return can be challenging to me. This along with the pace at which I have or like to output new works makes it hard to take a step back from my creations to better understand them. My process often switches from long sessions of perfecting my tools and workflow to very spontaneous creation periods that end up in the final piece. I’m not sure if I am comfortable with this workflow so I’m always improving or tweaking it.

What message do you want viewers to receive when experiencing one of your virtual realms for the first time?

No specific message. I’m just trying to translate my perspective and inspirations into something of my own. At the moment I’m interested in the impact the LCD surrounding us has on our lives and how they function as portals linking together different virtual worlds with the real world.

What motivates you to continue creating?

A mix of being passionate and being naive.

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COVER CREDITS:
Art: Baron Lanteigne
Cover Design: DEVON
Photo: Video Documentation at Usine C