You walk up to a dark room and peer in. It’s alive. Random points of light float throughout, shifting slowly in the dark like golden fireflies across a meadow, crimson embers rising from the floor, or infinitesimal pixies glowing blue in the ether. You can’t imagine crossing the room with such a dense amount of infrastructure, but curiosity draws you closer. As you approach the deluge of lighting objects and reach forward to push them aside, the objects float up above your head without a touch. Stepping further in, the objects continue to rise above and fall behind as you further explore the room. Pixies flock to you, embers flurry in your wake, and the fireflies are uncatchable.
Our objective is to create a surreal environment where technology is very much alive in the room. Using RGB LEDs, servo motors, and Arduino controllers, we are crafting a room in which LED light sources are the reactive component, and we didn’t just stop at controlling their intensity, we are controlling their position too. Each of the 300 LEDs will be hung from cable connected to motors that serve to raise and lower the LEDs. Each unit in your direct vicinity will rise above and then drop back down behind you, allowing you to navigate easily through the installation.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Joe Cantalupo is a New York-based lighting sculptor and designer, specializing in long-term conceptual development and technical implementation. His clients span the private, theatrical, and commercial event sectors, either as a lead lighting designer or as a collaborator in interactive partnerships. He has worked extensively in large-scale event venues such as the Lexington Armory, the Hudson Theatre,and Cedar Lake, lighting runway shows, concerts, product launches, and upfronts.
Dave Tennent creates interactive video installations, custom theatrical software and projections designs for theater. Dave has taught projections workshops at Syracuse University, New York University and Harvard University. He is a founding member of Imaginary Media and MediaLounge.
