How does one reimagine a landscape that is one of the most-photographed locations in the world?

In the spring of 2016, Matt Shaw and Will Trossell, of the 3D scanning studio ScanLAB Projects, set out to the Yosemite Valley with terrestrial laser scanners to find out. The duo was supported by a grant from our Art + Technology Lab, which also arranged for the park rangers to escort the artists to areas that are closed off to the public. Shaw and Trossel captured over 150 scans of the iconic landscape, many taken from the same vantage points used by their photographer-predecessors Ansel Adams and Eadweard Muybridge. The expedition was not without its challenges, including the park’s vast scale and numerous waterfalls, which both pushed the scanning technology to its limit.

Hyundai, the Lab’s presenting sponsor, provided the expedition with a Santa Fe SE SUV. In a nod to the traveling studios of Ansel Adams and Eadweard Muybridge—who frequently worked on-site and out of their vehicles—ScanLAB adapted theirs into a base of operations, where they could review and process their data. Soon to be displayed on LACMA’s Zev Yaroslavsky Plaza, the vehicle has again been converted, this time into a digital diorama presenting a ghostly 3D landscape of one our most popular national parks. 

The artists made a short documentary film about the experience. 

Post-lenticular Landscapes will be on view in LACMA’s Zev Yaroslavsky Plaza from April 6 through April 18, 2017. To learn more about this project and other Lab events, join our mailing list by sending a message to lab@lacma.org. 

The Art + Technology Lab is presented by: 

The Art + Technology Lab is made possible by Accenture, with additional support from Google and SpaceX.

The Lab is part of The Hyundai Project: Art + Technology at LACMA, a joint initiative exploring the convergence of art and technology.