Border Memorial

Border Memorial Field Test and Documentation

johncraigfreeman — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 22:15:19 +0000

On Tuesday, January 16th, after three days of driving from New England, I arrived in Benson Arizona, which put me on the shore of the Border Memorial database. I spent the next two days driving throughout southern Arizona documenting as many of the individual data points as possible. The work was sobering and intense, but the projects performed perfectly.

There was a dusting of snow in the mountains the night before, but it is already 50 degrees. So the conditions can be pretty extreme, more on video.

On the road to Ajo along Arizona Highway 86.

Border fence near the Lukeville crossing in the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.

Border Memorial Successfully Deployed

johncraigfreeman — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 16:35:50 +0000

After over a year of preparations and development, the “Border Memorial: Frontera de los Muertos” was successfully deployed across Arizona’s southern desert this morning.

Layar test showing a dozen POIs near Nogales, January 2nd, 2012.

Border Memorial Documentation Planing

johncraigfreeman — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 15:32:54 +0000

The planned rout for documentation of the Border Memorial starts in Benson Arizona and ends in Yuma. With diversions to Nogales, Sasabe, and through Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument just north of the border from Sonoyta Mexico. With a total of 516 miles, the estimated driving time is 9 hours 39 minutes, not counting stops.

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Salvador Olguin Joins Advisory Board

johncraigfreeman — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 15:02:20 +0000

Salvador Olguin is a writer and researcher and the founder of Borderline Projects. He holds a MA in Humanities and Social Thought by New York University. He has studied representations of Death extensively, and has worked with Mexican cultural artifacts from the late nineteen and twentieth century. He was born in Monterrey, Mexico, and currently lives in Brooklyn.

Christina Marin Joins Advisory Board

johncraigfreeman — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 15:00:13 +0000

Christina Marin is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Performing Arts at Emerson College, where she taught courses in Applied Theatre and Theatre of the Oppressed. Her primary research interests examine the intersection of theater as pedagogy and human rights education, as well as the use of Theatre of the Oppressed techniques as arts-based qualitative research methodologies.

The Border Memorial at Manifest.AR @ ICA

johncraigfreeman — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 18:44:59 +0000

In April 2011, version of the Border Memorial was included in the Manifest.AR @ ICA during the 2011 Boston Cyberarts Festival at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston.

Screenshot by John Craig Freeman, from the deck of the ICA.

Calaca 3D Model Test

johncraigfreeman — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 16:09:21 +0000

Here is a screenshot of the test of the Calaca 3d model in the Central Burying Ground at the Boston Common for the Border Memorial project.

Screen capture by Hana Carpenter.

Border Memorial GPS Data Points in Google Maps

johncraigfreeman — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 12:45:39 +0000

With the help of my Graduate Assistant Jeff Soyk, we have been able to read the migrant deaths data in Google Maps and Google Earth.

We will not be making these maps public for obvious reasons, but this technical hurdle gets us one step closer to implementing the augmented reality phase of the project. Here is a short movie of the data in Google Earth.

The Border Memorial at the Buskwick AR Intervention

johncraigfreeman — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 16:15:14 +0000

Buskwick AR Intervention, The Border Memorial: Frontera de los Muertos in Bushwick, Mark Skwarek and John Craig Freeman.

In November 2010, a version of the Border Memorial was included in the Bushwick Augmented Reality Intervention 2010, which was part of the 2010 Beta Spaces Exhibition.

Here is some documentation.

"The Border Memorial: Frontera de los Muertos" installation at McKibben Park where it overlayed the park allowing viewers to walk through the project.

The Border Memorial AR Bushwick with McKibben St. industrial sand supply behind by Mark Skawarek, documentation by Will Pappenheimer.

This video by Will Pappenheimer with Mark Skwarek documents the Border Memorial project during the Bushwick AR Intervention.

Will and Mark worked tirelessly on this project, and as I understand it, the work will remain up indefinitely.

Cher Krause Knight Joins Advisory Board

johncraigfreeman — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 23:02:03 +0000

Dr. Cher Krause Knight is an art historian who specializes in public art, including memorials and the earthworks of the Southwest. She is the author of Public Art: Theory, Practice and Populism (Blackwell, 2008), co-chair of Public Art Dialogue (a professional organization), and co-editor of the first peer-reviewed journal on public art, also titled Public Art Dialogue (published by Routledge).