We had the world debut of a "large-scale, high-voltage art spectacle light transmission" by artist D.A. Therrien last weekend. It was quite avant garde and over 2,000 people turned out to see it. For two nights only, the "BEAUTIFUL LIGHT" illuminated Scottsdale's downtown canal waterfront at Southbridge. It was a 500 kilowatt, 80 foot wide, "4 Letter word machine," which was the first installation in the BEAUTIFUL LIGHT series. As you can see from the photos, there were four men dressed in white who controlled the panels 80 feet above them. The bottom photo shows the crane and the reflection in the water of the lights from above.
The series explores the purity of white light, the mystery of language, the precision of digital codes, and the magic of 4 letters - A, C, G, T - representing the DNA code, and consequently, all known life. For a link to a website that includes a youtube demonstration of the installation, operation and performance of the BEAUTIFUL LIGHT artwork, click here.
"Such a complex and large-scale artwork is unprecedented in the State of Arizona," said Margaret Bruning, Associate Director of Scottsdale Public Art.
2 comments:
Wow, that is amazing and I didn't know anything about it. That must have been interesting to see.
This installation was difficult to photograph because of the space, and of course it was mostly dark, with areas of intense light. The lights were 80 feet (25 meters) up in the air, and 80 feet across. The link to the video is worth checking out, as it shows the sound and motion of the installation.
This reminds me of a performance art, large-scale, outdoor evolution of the art of Dan Flavin. We saw an exhibition of his flourescent tube art at the Museum of Moder Art near the Water Tower in Chicago a few years ago.
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