The Virtual Reconstruction Project of the centeral temple at Sambor Prei Kuk, in Cambodia, is an attempt to apply 21st century technology to 7th century cultural heritage.
Sambor Prei Kuk (SPK) provides the earliest record of Khmer temples, predating better known (and better preserved) Angkor Wat by several centuries. Hence, the study of SPK is crucial for understanding the Khmer, pre-Angkorian tradition; and the subsequent development of temple cities such as Angkor Wat in Cambodia.
As befitting an important cultural heritage site, SPK has been studied by archeologists and other scholars for many years. Their work has provided much knowledge of the culture and the period, especially about the eastern expansion of Hinduism along the trade routes from its Indic origins into Southeast Asia—one of the great cultural assimilations in human history. From the fifth century until the sixteenth century, this diasporic interaction created a unique blend of canonical, local, and borrowed cultural and artistic traditions, which can be seen today in the remains of the many temple complexes along the Pacific Rim.
Much of that important work has, so far, remained the exclusive province of researchers, hidden from the general public who might justifiably find it interesting. The advent of immersive, interactive, Web-enabled, Multi User Virtual Environments (MUVEs) has provided us with the opportunity to tell the story of SPK in a way that can help visitors experience this remarkable cultural heritage as it was in the 7th century AD.
MUVEs are a new media vehicle that has the ability to communicate cultural heritage experience in a way that is a cross between filmmaking, video games, and architectural design. Unlike a film, it allows the observer to be an active participant in the experience. Unlike video games, its objective is to teach, rather than entertain. And unlike architectural design, it models—in addition to the built environment—also the people who inhabited the site, and their rituals.
But this technology is relatively new, with a short history, devoid of a comprehensive theory, and short on useful precedents to guide the development of virtual cultural heritage experiences. It certainly is a technology of illusion, creating an intangible reality. It freely borrows architectural principles, but can only be experienced through the proxy of avatars. Most importantly (and perhaps disturbingly), it requires filling in of missing details—architectural, social, ritualistic, and others—to create a ‘complete’ experience. Many of these details are based on conjecture and interpretation, informed by thorough research, as explained elsewhere in this web site. Therefore, we do not claim absolute historical accuracy: instead, we have tried to provide an experience that will convey, as best we can, the sense of ‘being’ at Sambor Prei Kuk in the 7th century AD.
New media reconstructions of historically significant sites, artifacts, and activities bring new opportunities to the practice of preservation and the communication of cultural heritage. Visual verisimilitude, coupled with non-linear storytelling, immersion, and interactivity, affect each aspect of the practice. But their critical implications are not limited to the technical aspects of representation. Rather, new media have the power to transform the practice of cultural heritage preservation and communication wholesale, possibly affecting the meaning of the heritage itself.
The relationship between a representational technologies and the cultural heritage they communicate is as ancient as civilization itself. It can be traced back to cave drawings from the upper Paleolithic age, some 40,000 years ago, which supposedly were used to help bring hunts to successful conclusion. The oral epics of Homer and others were used as a social instrument to communicate cultural heritage from one generation to another, only to be replaced by written versions in the form of scrolls, and later by codices, each of which exerted its own influence through the process of remediation: while oral renditions allowed for variations due to the skills of the bard, written forms codified the story, creating an ‘official’ version. The invention of photography early in the 19th century had a particularly strong impact on the representation of cultural heritage. The impact was even more profound with the invention of cinema—a medium able to capture the passage of time itself. The advent of digital game technology—the new medium of remediation—has the potential to affect cultural heritage in even more profound ways than before.
Like the Native American Ghost Dance of the 1890s, which was purported to invoke the return of dead warriors and restore a peaceful past before the advent of white settlers of the American Western plains, new media is a technology that has the power to create world-altering experiences of places and times that are no longer accessible. In many ways they can halt, even reverse the inexorable march of history. But rather than a spiritual belief, new media creates a tangible, shareable, participatory experience. It is an imagined, intangible experience, but a real one nonetheless. The image of history it communicates is mediated both through technology itself, and through the authors and technicians who render it. The image is comprised of a collection of methods, habits, organizations, knowledge, and a culture of preservation. The authors and technicians who wield the storytelling power may know how something is done, but are only now discovering the values implicit in their particular way of rendering the narrative.
We invite the viewers’ comments and suggestions on how successful this approach has been, and their opinion on how it might be used in the service of cultural heritage preservation and communication.
This project has been made possible through the sponsorship of the University of California Pacific Rim Research Program, by the contributions of colleagues at UC Berkeley, Claremont McKenna College, Waseda and Tokyo Universities in Japan, and Deakin University in Australia. We thank them all, as well as Garage Games who allowed us to use their Torque Game Engine to implement the project.
Yehuda E. Kalay, PhD Professor of Architecture University of California, Berkeley
To his fans, Michael Jacksonwas the King of Pop. To his children, he was daddy.But to investigators looking into how Jackson died and who contributed to his death, the pop icon was an
That word was used in the search warrants for the eight-hour raid on Dr. Conrad Murray's Las Vegas home and office.
Language found in the documents, obtained by ABC News, indicates authorities intend to pursue multiple criminal charges, including prescribing excessive narcotics to an addict and unprofessional conduct. Both are misdemeanors that carry potential prison sentences and fines.
"It will cause Dr. Murray a lot of problems," defense attorney Bryan Altman said of the possible charges Murray could face. "At a minimum, I cannot see how he would escape issues before the licensing authorities of his state just for this alone."
Search warrants for a raid last week on Murray's Houston office indicates authorities are also looking for evidence to back up a possible manslaughter charge. In addition, Murray has come under fire after his lawyer made comments that the doctor waited 30 minutes to call 911 after he found Jackson unresponsive and that he performed CPR while Jackson was on a bed, against standard protocol.
ABC News has confirmed that the coroner's report may be delayed longer than previously thought as his investigation into what killed Jackson expands even further. Coroner Ed Winter told ABC News that he served Dr. Lawrence Koplin, a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, with a subpoena Thursday, but would not say what other doctors he may be looking at.
Jackson was reportedly addicted to painkillers, including Oxycontin and Demerol. But it was his use of propofol, a powerful anesthetic typically found in hospital operating rooms, that's gotten the most attention from authorities. It was listed as a contributing factor in Jackson's death in a preliminary autopsy report.
Propofol, also known by the trade name Diprivan, is not meant for use outside the hospital. Patients who are given the drug in a hospital setting typically receive oxygen and their vital signs are monitored to prevent respiratory arrest.
Investigators have removed evidence from Jackson's rented Los Angeles home that would indicate he had been using propofol to sleep at night, including vials of the drug, IVs and oxygen tanks. Investigaors want to know if Murray administered the drug to Jackson in the hours before he died.
Search warrants for the raid on Dr. Conrad Murray's Las Vegas home and office identify Michael Jackson as a drug addict.
(AP Photo)
Aliases Used By Jackson Include Names of Son, Employees
TMZ reported overnight that Jackson may not have spent his final hours in his own bedroom as previously thought, but in Murray's bed, where they say the doctor gave Jackson the propofol.
"They're going to need evidence of the actual administration of the drug which they probably have from the actual autopsy and test results," Altman said. "They've obtained hard drives, they're obtained receipts for medications. There's a lot of material they'll be looking at."
The Los Angeles Police Department and federal Drug Enforcement Administration -- who are working cooperatively, but separately from Winter -- are also looking for prescriptions in the names of 19 alleged Jackson aliases.
The names Jackson used to obtain multiple prescriptions, according to the search warrant, include those of his 12-year-old son Prince Michael I and numerous employees, including Kai Chase, Jackson's personal chef who was in the house the day her boss died.
Chase appeared on CNN's Larry King Live Thursday night and said she had no idea her name was listed as a Jackson alias.
"I think that is appalling," she said. "I have no clue what that is about."
In an interview with the Associated Press earlier this week, Chase said Murray seemed off the day Jackson died. Murray, she said, did not come down to get Jackson's typical breakfast of granola and almond milk, instead rushing down the stairs after noon screaming for Prince.
ABC News has learned that Murray was arrested on domestic violence charges in 1994 after an incident with his then-girlfriend. The doctor was tried and acquitted.
Whether he'll remain free of charges related to the June 25 death of Michael Jackson remains to be seen. Court papers have shown that the raid Tuesday on Murray's Las Vegas home and office and last week's raid at his Houston office collected evidence to be used in an investigation of possible manslaughter charges, according to the police search warrants.
Tuesday's raid netted envelopes, yellow cases, cell phones and a computer hard drive.
On Wednesday Murray's lawyer Ed Chernoff confirmed that authorities were looking for documents and drug information with the names of Jackson's many aliases, they believed he used to when getting prescriptions.
"The warrant authorized detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration to seize prescriptions, files, billing information, tests results, electronic records and other material kept under pseudonyms, including Omar Arnold, Paul Farance, Bryan Singleton, Jimmy Nicholas, Blanca Nicholas, Roselyn Muhammad, Faheem Muhammad, Frank Tyson, Fernand Diaz, Peter Madonie, Josephine Baker and Kai Chase. Also listed was the name of Jackson's son Prince," Chernoff said in a statement.
Several of aliases were known assocaites of Jackson including Frank Tyson, a friend and personal assistant, and Kai Chase, the singer's personal chef who was at Jackson's home the day he died.
The foucsed attention on Murray, experts said, does not bode well for the cardiologist.
"This seems like death by a thousand cuts," ABC News legal analyst Dana Cole told "Good Morning America." "They're just not going to let up on this guy. We'll have to see what it ultimately reveals."
The LAPD confirmed that toxicology reports from Jackson's autopsy will be delayed another week, but preliminary results show the powerful anesthetic propofol was a contributing factor in the pop icon's death. And it was Murray who reportedly administered the drug to Jackson the day he died.
Jackson's personal chef has also spoken out recently, Telling the Associated Press that Murray seemed off his normal routine the day Jackson died. While he usually came to get Jackson's breakfast in the morning, which included granola, the chef reported that Murray only came downstairs a little after noon, yelling for the singer's eldest son, Prince Michael I, 12.
Dr. Conrad Murray, who is under investigation as part of a probe into the death of Michael Jackson, has had a brush with the law before when he was tried and acquitted of domestic violence charges in the '90s.
(AP Photos/Getty Images)
Jackson Doc Reportedly Facing Foreclosure
Murray has also been flamed in the media and by other doctors not only for waiting 30 minutes to call 911 after he found Jackson unresponsive but for performing CPR on a bed, when standard protocol calls for the lifesaving measure to be performed on the floor or another hard surface.
Murray, through his lawyers, has repeatedly proclaimed his innocence, saying he never gave Jackson anything that should have caused his death.
"At the end of the day, it was really just Dr. Murray and his patient Michael Jackson in the room, and his patient was found dead," Cole said.
Jackson had many doctors, and ABC News has learned that as many as five may be under investigation. But so far, it seems Murray is the of the Los Angeles Police Department and federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents who are leading the probe.
And the investigation may not be his only problem.
ABC News has learned that the Murray is facing foreclosure. Documents obtained by ABC News' Primetime show that the doctor owes more than $15,000 in back payments from January for his Las Vegas home.
Jackson's Mother Wants Contract Access
While investigators continue to build their case, Jackson's mother appears to be gearing up for a fight of her own.
Katherine Jackson Tuesday served the administrators of her son's estate with subpoenas seeking access to Jackson's contracts, including the "This Is It" tour agreement with AEG.
Administrators John Branca and John McLain said that it was Jackson himself who requested they control his estate, and that while they offered to share the contracts with his mother if she agreed to a confidentiality agreement, she has refused to those terms.
A hearing on control of Jackson's estate will be held next week.
The Day Michael Jackson Died
Jackson's parents and siblings question Murray's role in Jackson's final hours, according to the Rev. Jesse Jackson, a longtime friend of the family. Rev. Jackson previously told ABC News that the family is suspicious.
The fact that the doctor had left the scene, was not available to sign the death certificate or answer the family's questions about their son's final moments did not sit right at all with the Jacksons, according to Rev. Jackson.
"When did the doctor come? What did he do? Did he inject him? If so, with what?" said Rev. Jackson. "Was he on the scene twice? Before and then reaction to? Did he use the Demerol? It's a very powerful drug. Was he injected once? Was he injected twice?"
Murray's lawyer Ed Chernoff, defending his client, has said that once Murray realized that CPR was not bringing Jackson back, Murray, he said, tried to dial 911 on his cell phone but did not have the exact address of Jackson's home. And with none of the phones in the home working "for privacy reasons," Murray ran around the house till he found Jackson's chef, who alerted security.
It was the security person, Chernoff said, who eventually dialed 911. CPR, he said, was done for 25 to 30 minutes before emergency officials arrived.After Jackson's death, police officers towed a silver BMW from outside Jackson's Los Angeles home, which police confirmed belonged to Jackson's "personal physician" and which they believed contains evidence crucial to the investigation.
Law enforcement sources, however, confirmed to ABC News, that the car towed from Jackson's home is registered to one Susan Mary Rush. Rush is the sister of Dr. Conrad Robert Murray.
"The car was impounded," said Amanda Betat, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Police Department. "One reason it was impounded was because it may contain medication or evidence that could assist the coroner in determining the cause of death."
FOLLOW NICHOPOULOUZO @mrjyn http://www.twitter.com/mrjyn FOR MORE 'Exquisite Bodies' NEWS AND VIDEO *Please note that the exhibition contains material that some visitors may find disturbing!
Anatomical Venus 'Anatomical Venuses' are extremely realistic models of idealised women. These figures consist of removable parts that can be 'dissected' - a breast plate is lifted to reveal the internal organs, often with a fetus in the womb.
In the 19th century, the anatomical Venus formed the centrepiece of museums and travelling shows of all kinds, and possessed great power to draw crowds. 'Know thyself' was a common phrase associated with the exhibition of such models, suggesting their educational value.
30 July-18 October
In the 19th century, despite the best efforts of body snatchers, the demand from medical schools for fresh cadavers far outstripped the supply. One solution to this gruesome problem came in the form of lifelike wax models. These models often took the form of alluring female figures that could be stripped and split into different sections. Other models were more macabre, showing the body ravaged by 'social diseases' such as venereal disease, tuberculosis and alcohol and drug addiction. With their capacity to titillate as well as educate, anatomical models became sought-after curiosities; displayed not only in dissecting rooms but also in sideshows and the curiosity cabinets of wealthy Victorian gentlemen. For a small admission fee, visitors seeking an unusual afternoon's entertainment could visit displays of these strange dolls in London, Paris, Brussels and Barcelona. This exhibition explores the forgotten history of the anatomical model, which with its unique combination of serious science and fairground horror provides a rare insight into 19th-century beliefs about the body.
Kate Forde, the exhibition's curator, looks at a few of the key exhibits from 'Exquisite Bodies' and discusses one of the exhibition's aims: to show how 2D techniques of representing the body's layers move into 3D form, particularly with the flourishing of waxwork modeling.
The star of Mulholland Drive on Lynch and that lesbian scene
We
talk to Laura Harring about the director’s genius, how nervous she was
before kissing Naomi Watts and why she turned down the new Twin Peaks
Naomi Watts and Laura Harring in Mulholland Drive
We
talk to Laura Harring about the director’s genius, how nervous she was
before kissing Naomi Watts and why she turned down the new Twin Peaks
In 1999, ABC shot a two-hour TV pilot called Mulholland Drive. It was to be David Lynch’s
weird, wonderful comeback to the small screen. Laura Harring and Naomi
Watts were the stars. A car crash survivor stumbles into Hollywood with a
blue key, a bag of money, and a blank memory. Among the mysteries are a
clumsy assassin, Billy Ray as a pool cleaner, and some kind of garbage
monster. Who wouldn’t watch 20 more episodes at least?
Not the executives at ABC who cancelled the project, blaming the
unusual tempo, the incomprehensible storylines and everything else they
should have expected from Lynch. Much of that discarded footage remains
in the Mulholland Drive we know today; a studio stepped in and, thankfully, it was expanded into a standalone feature. The BBC named
it the best film of the 21st century so far, and it’s returning to
cinemas in a 4K resolution restoration overseen by Lynch himself. That’s
quite a ride for a rejected TV show. Mulholland Drive, for the uninitiated, is a bit of a
mindfuck, and that doesn’t alter after multiple viewings. On a purely
aesthetic level it’s unbeatable, and the deeper meanings one unravels is
a bonus. In one elusive package, it collates Lynch’s pet themes (dreams
within dreams, shifting personalities) and recurring images (burning
fires, miming with a microphone). It’s a fairytale and nightmare
colliding amidst a puff of smoke.
“Stop thinking,” Laura
Harring instructs me. “Slow down your breathing.” The actor is teaching
me how to play Rita, the film’s co-lead and unfortunate amnesiac. “For
the next ten seconds, just focus on the sounds of the room. All your
attention goes to listening. Three, two, one… go!” When I do it,
bystanders wonder why someone in this café has such a dopey expression.
Rita is introduced as a question mark. She’s rescued, physically and
emotionally, by wannabe actress Betty, as played by Naomi Watts, and the
pair form a detective duo. Along with the Vertigo riff, a
subplot features Justin Theroux as a tortured filmmaker. In what’s more a
threat than a recommendation, he’s handed a photograph and repeatedly
told: “This is the girl…”
In a way, that’s how Harring was cast for Mulholland Drive,
except Lynch called all the shots. He saw an image and knew straight
away. “I did a black-and-white photoshoot,” Harring recalls. “I was in
jeans. Very casual. But I think there was a look in my eyes that was
very mysterious, maybe a touch melancholic.” The casting director,
Johanna Ray, passed the pictures to Lynch. “He put a finger on it and
said, ‘I want to see her right now.’”
“I did a black-and-white photoshoot. I was in jeans. Very casual. But
I think there was a look in my eyes that was very mysterious, maybe a
touch melancholic” – Laura Harring
It was January 1999 when
Harring received a phone call: “David Lynch wants to meet you, and he
wants to meet you now. Can you go by his office?” Stunned by the short
notice, Harring drove to the audition with a distracted mind and, like
Rita, was involved in a car accident. “I thought that was the strangest
thing,” she says of the parallel. “It’s a great induction to the David
Lynch world. Everything’s synchronistic, the way it’s supposed to be in a
magical world of peace, love and art.”
The audition wasn’t really an audition. “He just kept looking at me
and saying to himself, ‘Good. Good. Good. Good.’” It was like he was
imagining me in the movie.” They bonded over Transcendental Meditation,
and that was that. “He never saw another person. He never opened that
role up.”
Nevertheless, Harring didn’t hear back for a while, and in the meantime she fell in love with the script. “I imagined everything.
I got goosebumps. I had teary eyes. It was so beautiful.” Eventually,
the truth came out: Lynch assumed her silence signaled a lack of
interest. “It was so cute he thought I’d call,” she laughs. “I wanted to
jump up and down.”
Now, here’s what I’m dying to know: if the Mulholland Drive pilot was picked up, what would be the series arc? “The reason Twin Peaks became
a phenomenon,” she explains, “is because of the question of who killed
Laura Palmer. So throughout the season or two, everyone would be
wondering: who is this character who has amnesia? That’s why there’s the
red phone, the mail, ‘Find her’ and all these people looking for her.
So it’s a whole mystery about my character’s past. But that’s about as
far as I know.”
“Even though I was nervous, he does everything with class. He knows
how to get people to react – and without any special effects. That’s
true artistry” – Laura Harring
When ABC turned down Mulholland Drive, Harring received a
phone call from Lynch. The pilot was, as he put it, “dead in the water”.
Months later, Lynch announced it would be an international feature
film. Harring remembers the moment. “He quickly said, ‘And there’s gonna
be nudity.’ He took out his hand to shake, and I shook his hand. I was
like, ‘Oh no!’” It wasn’t an issue, she’s quick to add. “You trust a
master filmmaker like David. Even though I was nervous, he does
everything with class. He knows how to get people to react – and without
any special effects. That’s true artistry.”
The new material included a
sex sequence between Harring and Watts. Lynch likely knew it would never
make it past TV censors, but for cinema release, anything goes. “The
love scene wasn’t easy,” Harring admits. “Naomi was wonderful and we
were comfortable with each other. But it was the vulnerability of being
undressed. I wasn’t coming out of my dressing room. I was so worried.”
To calm her nerves, Lynch promised Harring the bedroom would be dark.
“He showed me how it would be lit, and I really relaxed. And then on
the last take, he said, ‘Pump it up, Pete!’ referring to the light.
Still, David kept his word. When I enter and disrobe, it’s still in
silhouette, which is what he promised.”
As you’d imagine, Lynch’s on-set guidelines are poetic. His command
to Harring following the car accident: “Walk like a broken doll, Laura.”
When she’s in a daze: “You don’t remember anything, but there’s always a
dark cloud hovering around, and it’s very eerie.” When she’s Camilla:
“Walk like a kitty cat, Laura.”
“Naomi was wonderful and we were comfortable with each other. But it
was the vulnerability of being undressed. I wasn’t coming out of my
dressing room. I was so worried” – Laura Harring
The Club Silencio scene formed part of the reshoots. Betty and Rita visit a theatre reminiscent of the Red Room from Twin Peaks.
A Spanish singer mimes to Roy Orbison. The crowd are mesmerised. But
look closer. Sat to the pair’s left is Laura Palmer, or an intended
doppelganger. So, Laura’s still trapped in the Black Lodge? Harring is
unsure if it’s even her. “People have started to ask me that. They never
did before. I have to check it out. It’s a whole new conspiracy
theory.” OK, even if it’s not Laura Palmer, other clues connect Mulholland Drive to the world of Twin Peaks. In fact, Sherilyn Fenn confirmed on Twitter that in 1990, between seasons one and two, Lynch pitched her Mulholland Drive as an Audrey Horne spinoff.
While fellow cast members Naomi Watts, Patrick Fischler, Robert
Forster, Brent Briscoe and Bonnie Aarons (the terrifying hobo) are in
the upcoming season of Twin Peaks, Harring’s name is noticeably
absent. “My agent didn’t want me to be one of the 200 cameos,” she
explains. Instead, her agent held out for a more substantial role that
didn’t materialise. She’ll still be watching, though. “Whether there’s
300, 400, 500 cameos, anything David touches is cinematic. The original Twin Peaks ending, with the old man, was hysterical.”
So, why has Mulholland Drive
endured over these years? It’s the multiple meanings, Harring believes.
After all, dummies like me after still speculating over an extra with a
vague resemblance to Laura Palmer. “I saw it five or six times when we
were travelling to festivals,” she says. “I kept having different
interpretations. It could be Rita’s dream or it could be Betty’s dream.
And it’s about the disillusionment of Hollywood. It touches the core of
what it is to be human, and the truth about love. And maybe we’re not
sure what reality is. Maybe we’re dreaming, and that’s reality.” Ultimately, the images, the music, the ideas, it all buries its way
into your brain, into your subconscious, and leaves you wondering: “What
the hell just happened? And why can’t I shake it off?” A monstrous
hobo’s mouldy face can’t be forgotten, and neither can Harring’s
transformation into Rita, then Camilla. The film was plunged into
development hell, even before it was a film, and it somehow survived,
perhaps due to the collective positivity of a set hypnotised by Lynch’s
aura. Could that faith in a director be the secret ingredient? “There was a lot of camaraderie,” Harring concludes. “It was a
creative community. Just a lot of love flowing, from all the actors and
crew. A platonic, beautiful, pure love. No hanky panky. No one got
frisky. It was just pure love. And that’s what made the movie so
magical.”
Behind the scenes of commercial for fragance Gucci by Gucci, features models Raquel Zimmerman, Natasha Poly and Freja Beha Erichsen, Soundtrack: 'Heart of Glass' by by Blondie, Directed by David Lynch.
Commercial for fragance Gucci by Gucci, features models Raquel Zimmerman, Natasha Poly and Freja Beha Erichsen, Soundtrack: 'Heart of Glass' by by Blondie, Directed by David Lynch.
The Virtual Reconstruction Project of the centeral temple at Sambor Prei Kuk, in Cambodia, is an attempt to apply 21st century technology to 7th century cultural heritage.
