An International Competition and Exhibition of LightArt
was held in the Great Hall at the New York Hall of Science, NYC
(text below from the exhibitions’ documentation web-pages)
The vast 8,000 sq.ft. darkened space of The Great Hall at the New York Hall of Science offers a majestic showcase for “lightart”, which will most likely be one of the most important forms of art in the next century. In this inaugural year, the competition Guidelines required that proposals meet three design criteria: be monumental in scale, site-specific, and interactive with the public. We believe that the anticipated audience of 40,000 will delight in their experience of these uniquely different lightart installations.
In Satori, by Rutten/ Kascha (Netherlands), fiber optics, sculpture, and sound are seamlessly synthesized to capture a transformation found in nature that is subtle and then stunning. Their lightwork mimics nature while revealing man’s innate curiosity to study and observe it.
Dark Matter, by Paul Friedlander (London), takes a child’s jump-rope to new heights when he combines it with “chromastrobic” light in his 40′ tall, spinning, volumetric light sculpture. This work changes shape and color in mid-air over 64 possible visual permutations through the public’s interaction with both sound and light beams.
And then there is, Lost Referential by Demers/Vorn (Montreal), a daring experiment in the principles of AL (Artificial Life) as applied to an interactive, kinetic light architecture. Here, an individual’s heartbeat will trigger the pulse of “flocking” light beams as the flow of the audience itself becomes an integral part of the lightwork’s functionality.