Art in the Age of Digital Projection

Many of you know Rouen cathedral inadvertently through the series of paintings Claude Monet* did of it at different times of day. Roy Lichtenstein did a series after the Monet using different halftone screen patterns as a contemporary equivalent to the time changes in Monet's paintings. At 11 pm each evening of the Summer, images of the Monet and Lichtenstein paintings are digitally aligned and projected on to the facade of the cathedral.


As corny as this sounds the experience of it is incredible. Rouen cathedral is high gothic and therefore intricately sculptured. The carving is immensely detailed and has the look of stone lace. The relief reaches depths of 5 feet to the foundation of the wall. The effect of the projection completely flattens the cathedral out as if it were the flat house fronts used in early Hollywood productions. Illusionistic painting returns in the digital age.
* I had a friend that named his cat Declawed Monet


The video pictured here is of the Lichtenstein version