Michael Naimark is a pioneering figure in place representation, with a background in cybernetic systems and a focus on interactive media. He has contributed to the establishment of notable research labs and has worked on projects that have become part of major cultural institutions. Naimark's work has influenced developments in immersive projection, virtual environments, and new media art.

1. Michael Naimark

2. BiographyUndergraduate degree in cybernetic systemsHas explored place representation for 25 years, working with cinematography, interactive systems, and immersive projection.A member of the Society for Visual AnthropologyHelped found prominent research labs like:MIT Media Lab (1980)Atari Reseach Lab (1992)Apple Multimedia Lab (1987)Lucasfilm Interactive (1989)Interval Research Corporation (1992) Some of his work is permanently featured in the American Museum of the Moving Image, the Exploratorium in San Francisco, and the ZKM | Center for the Arts and Media in Karlsruhe, Germany.Currently holds a Research Associate Professor position in the Interactive Media Division at the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts.Coined the terms Google Jockey, and Google Feeling Lucky List. Resides in NYC with his wife, French media artist Marie Sester.

3. Aspen Moviemap | 1978 – 80Interactive videodisc system |Architecture Machine Group, MIT Seminal Hypermedia Project – virtual tour of Aspen, ColoradoFirst interactive moviemap produced at MIT gyroscopic stabilizer with 16 mm stop-frame cameras was mounted on top of a camera car every 10 feet.Filming would occur daily from 10 AM to 2 PM (to minimize lighting difference)The camera car drove down the center of the street, creating a travel footage from registered match-cuts, and collecting sound, and other data.The playback required laserdisc players, a computer, and a touch screen display.Wide-angle lenses employed.Prototype of Google Street Viewhttp://www.naimark.net/projects/aspen/aspen_v1.html

4. Eyepiece | 1979-83Film Installation |Center for Advanced Visual Studies, MIT16 mm film installationImage of human eye projected on a rear-screen dome to become 3DUses an abstract version (using Ed Tannenbaum’srealtime image processor) of a raw footage of human eyeballs Abstract version is called Computer EyepieceBoth the raw Eyepiece and the processed Computer Eyepiece have been exhibited as a site-specific componenthttp://www.naimark.net/projects/eye/eye_v1.html

5. Displacements | 1980-84 | 2005 Film projected on living room painted white |San Francisco Museum of Modern ArtImmersive film installationArchetypal Americana living room in which two performers were filmed with a 16mm motion picture camera on a turntableThe footage was then projected onto the walls of the room after it had been painted whitehttp://www.naimark.net/projects/displacements/displ_v2005.html

6. Illustration Library Workstation 1984 | Video | Atari ResearchEarly attempt to visualize the potentials of the personal multimedia workstationExample for the National Geographic SocietyMonths of negotiations between NGS and Atari to produce a larger project ended with the closing of Atari

7. Paris VideoPlan | 1986Moviemap from the Air | Exploratorium, San FranciscoCommissioned by RATP (Paris Metro) to map the Madeleine district of Paris from a pedestrian point of view (sidewalk)Stop frame 35 mm camera mounted on electric cart1 frame every 2 metersEncoder on one of cart’s axlesMine employed at intersections to point directionIdea was to substitute match-cuts with cinematic continuityPlayback at kiosk at Madeleine Metro StationPrototype of future Google Pedestrian View?http://www.naimark.net/projects/paris/paris_v1.html

8. Eat| 1989Virtual dining | San Francisco Art InstituteInstallation about consumptionShort single-user experience where one sits formally at a dining table, orders the food from a live waiter, and ‘virtually eats’ by pressing a red button labeled eatProduced by studentshttp://www.naimark.net/projects/eat/eat_v2.html

9. Virtuality, Inc.| 1990Video | San Francisco Art InstituteAnother project produced by students taking Naimark’s “Immersive Virtual Environments” class3rd video: prototype idea of Nintendo Wiihttp://www.naimark.net/projects/virtuality/virtuality_v1.htmlhttp://www.naimark.net/projects/virtuality/virtuality_v2.htmlhttp://www.naimark.net/projects/virtuality/virtuality_v3.html

10. Field Recording Studies| 1992-93Dimensionalized movies | Banff Centre for the Arts, CanadaStudy 1:Landscape recorded on video by panning camera manuallyStill frames selected to compose panorama or moviemapWireframe producedPictures chosen texture mappedPrototype of Google Earth 360 layer and Street ViewStudy 2:Camera-based images mapped onto hand-shaped surfaces in computer 3-spaceVirtual Relief projectionshttp://www.naimark.net/projects/field/field_v1.html

11. Be Now Here| 1995-973D panorama installation| Interval Research and UNESCO World Heritage Center, ParisInstallation about landscape and public places3d glasses provide immersive virtual environmentImages from UNESCO’s endangered places list like Jerusalem, Dubrovnik, Timbuktu, and AngkorAmbient, live style35 mm motion-picture camera (one for each eye) mounted on rotating trypodInput pedestal allows choosing location and timeStereoscopic projection screenFour-channel audio16-foot rotating floorExtension of other media trajectories such as Lumiere brothers projections and 3-screen triptychs of Abel Gance’s Napoleon in 1927http://www.naimark.net/writing/trips/bnhtrip.html#Jerusalem

12. Dimensionalization Studies| 1994-98Dimensionalized movies| Interval ResearchInformal collaboration between computer vision researchers and those building the stereoscopic camera rig for the See Banff Kinetoscope projectDepth information from stereoscopic pairs of imagesTurning 2d into 3d points in spaceNon-semantic: the computer has no information of the scene’s contentshttp://www.naimark.net/projects/dim/dim_v2.html

13. Ars Electronica t+25 Timeline| 2004Predictions website| Ars Electronica Festival, Linz, AustriaWork produced to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Ars Electronica themed “Timeshift: The World in 25 Years.”Two timelines produced: one looking back 25 years, and another forwardT-25 was chronological and included history of Ars Electronica and events related to art, technology and societyT+25 was a web based experiment in collective predictions. 2005-2029 – anyone can enter any prediction

14. Cheap Fast Gigapixel Images| 2005Student workshop project | Art Center College of Design, PasadenaWall-sided mural entirely from a standard videoCamera in the same location, and shots at different times during the dayStandard miniDV video camcorder2 attempts30,000 by 7,000 pixel image made from 480 x 640 pixel stills (1.1 GigaBytes total)

15. 80 +1 A Journey Around the World| 200981 day event | Linz Main Square, AustriaUses network technologies to bring to Linz immersive 3D experiences, real-time forums, student-to-student collaborations, and “LiveBits”Will tap the power of the internet, particularly the Blogosphere20 topics (from Aging to Water) and 20 locations around the world, including the ‘Internet’