GUBEC THEATRE is a powerful multimedia narrative dedicated to the Great Peasant Revolt that took place in 16th-century Croatia. The project was made in 2013 in order to mark its 440th anniversary. A thematic performance and 3D projection was made for the Museum’s surroundings, to be displayed on the forty-meter long Monument of Matija Gubec and the Peasant’s Revolt made by Croatian sculptor Antun Augustincic. The mapping also involves various interactions with art performers.
The multimedia combines animation of the monument’s parts, film inserts, music and light effects in order to stir the emotions of people, while at the same time telling the true story of the Peasant’s Revolt in an accurate and chronological way.
Such an overwhelming narration required the creative and artistic skills of many collaborators who were working on the project. They used new multimedia solutions in making the monument narrative come alive, which created great impact on the audience. Besides enhancing the emotional involvement of viewers, a special accomplishment was the “enlivenment” of certain characters, projected on the monument in one swirl of colours and movements, augmenting the impression of the experience over and over again.
The project entwines high quality technologies and virtual solutions, animated characters exchange with living artists, and public memory is enriched with historic records and music. This abundant national multimedia story carries strong messages of struggle for human dignity and equality. The human drama of the Gubec Theatre is a powerful tool in presenting to the broad audiences a part of Croatian history. Its 15-minute performance is extremely rich in content, combining historical data with works of art, poetry and music, living performers and multimedia effects; and thus the monument site and its environment and present audience are brought into a universal celebration of freedom.