Bear Necessities Interactive Photo Gallery
Nick Ulivieri | 3.5.12
For the past few months I’ve been doing some volunteer photo-work for the Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation. I’ve been photographing their “Bear Hug” program so that the participating families would have lasting memories of the customized experiences Bear Necessities provides for them. A few months ago, they asked me if I’d be willing to work on another project for their upcoming Bear Tie Ball on Saturday, March 10. When I found out what they were looking for, I jumped at the chance!
I learned I’d be working with Chicago artist, Eric Nye, on an custom, Chicago-themed, interactive photo gallery (sample gallery at left, click to enlarge). Eric has been making these for quite some time, and they can best described as interactive 3D photo-sculptures. The particular piece we worked on consists of 12 photo-blocks. Each three-sided block has a different image (printed on canvas) on each side, and can freely spin within the wooden frame. With 36 total facets, this means you can arranged the the various photos suspended in the cabinet in over 500,000 ways!
So while Eric was busy building the skeleton of the piece, I was prepping the photos that would adorn the blocks. In the end, I selected 11 photos from my collection of Chicago images to be a part of the gallery. I opted for a variety of sizes and aspect ratios to create a variety of interesting, and differing layouts. Below are the proof-sheets illustrating the special-edition black-and-white photos I’ve created for the final piece. What do you think? UPDATE: Images of the completed gallery have been added!
To make this a truly one-of-a-kind piece, I hid Barrett (as he appears in the Bear Necessities) logo in five of the image blocks. Can you spot him?
If you’re attending the Bear Tie Ball, I hope that you’ll purchase a raffle ticket. Not only will you have a chance to take home this amazing piece of art (I wish I had one!) but your money will go towards a great cause. If you can’t make it to the Ball, but still want to support this great organization, you can donate to Bear Necessities by purchasing raffle tickets online! NOTE: The Interactive Photo Gallery can only be won by purchasing tickets at the event. The online raffle features different prizes.
Hope you enjoy – And good luck in the raffle!
-Nick
