VANCOUVER - Beams of light pointed towards the stars will illuminate English Bay and the night sky in downtown Vancouver next February as part of a Cultural Olympiad and City of Vancouver special event for the 2010 Winter Games.
The cool part? The robotic searchlights will follow designs created by people around the world and delivered via the Internet. Called Vectorial Elevation, it is the first time the internationally celebrated work of art will be displayed in Canada and over a body of water.
The light show, which organizers say will create a "quiet canopy of light in the night sky above and on the sparkling surface of English Bay below" will launch at dusk on Feb. 4.This large-scale temporary public art installation is co-commissioned by the City of Vancouver's Olympic and Paralympic Public Art Program and Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad, presented by Bell, with support from the Province of Quebec. The installation - considered one of the world's largest interactive artworks - is by Canadian artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer and is part of CODE, the Cultural Olympiad's Digital Edition.
"Vectorial Elevation is a unique, magical work that local residents, visitors and people from around the world can enjoy," Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson said in a release. "The installation will not only brighten our night skies, but also bring the Games to the world in an unexpected, interactive way."
More than two million people are expected to view the installation in person in Metro Vancouver, as well as internationally via www.vectorialvancouver.net or www.vancouver2010.com/code. The event runs regardless of the weather until Feb. 28.
Visitors to www.vectorialvancouver.net can design how the lights will move, their angles and how they are clustered in timed sequences to create their own patterns for the world to see. A personalized webpage will be automatically created for each participant to document their design. Organizers estimate 130,000 different patterns will be created in the 24 days the project operates from dusk to dawn.
Definitely sounds interesting. Here's a closer look from martiniboys.com:
ReplyDeleteBill, I found it hard to believe that anyone could actually control the movement of the lights from their PC (albeit for 12 seconds). But I just did it!
ReplyDelete