LIGHTFORMS
Based on the LightForms '98 exhibition 
at the New York Hall of Science, 
April-May 1998

Introduction by Cynthia Pannucci.
__________________________________

LightForms: Interactive Light Installations LightForms '98 was an international competition and exhibition of three monumental, site-specific, interactive lightworks installed in the Great Hall of the New York Hall of Science, 17 April--31 May 1998. The Great Hall, considered by many to be one of New York City's architectural and engineering jewels, provides one of the few settings in the world capable of showcasing, defining and promoting light as an important artistic medium for the twenty-first century.

Wallace Harrison, the architect who designed the building for the 1964--1965 World's Fair, envisioned an environment that would evoke the stratosphere. This vision perfectly suits the medium of light, which expands within space. It is curious that Harrison's inspiration for the solution to this personal design challenge came from the simple elegance of a standing, curved piece of paper. The clarity and integrity of this vision gave birth to an indoor site perfect for the purposes of the LightForms '98 exhibition.

It is the dichotomy of simplicity defined by complexity that was also striking about the winning proposals selected by the exhibition judges: James Carpenter, artist; Don Holder, lighting designer; and Billie Tsien, architect.

In Dark Matter, by Paul Friedlander, a child's jump rope inspired the creation of an otherworldly form that appeared to float in space. Its deceptive simplicity was supported by the power and technology of a 4,000-watt SuperQasar arc light coupled with a precisely engineered mechanical system in order to make the piece a reality.

In Dirk Rutten's and Jeroen Kascha's piece, Satori, the relatively minute scale of the piece's cocoons, and the chirping sounds emanating from within, brought installation visitors back to earth. Utilizing the site's inherent feeling of a natural environment, the artists magically suspended three lightworks from the backdrop of their installation's stunning faux night sky, with bits of cobalt blue glass embedded in soaring, curvilinear walls. The artists' simple motive, to capture the natural transformation of a pupa to a butterfly, was achieved through a direct and seemless synthesis of sculptural form, fiber optic technology and sound.

On the contrary, another piece, Lost Referential, could initially be perceived as totally without form or intent. The artists, Louis-Philippe Demers and Bill Vorn, experts in interactive programming of lighting environments, used their site-specific installation as an "experiment" in human nature. The sole purpose of this perceptively complex installation was total interactivity. In a back-and-forth dance whose rhythm and pace were driven by a pulsing heartbeat (via an electrocardiograph device), the installation anticipated and relied on the natural, unquestioning and uninhibited participation of the visitors, resulting in a type of spontaneous performance piece.

For many, LightForms '98 might have appeared too rigorous in its forward-looking stance regarding the use of new technology in the organization of the competition: we required the works proposed to be interactive; we almost exclusively used E-mail for development and coordination; we limited accessibility of competition guidelines to a posting on the Art & Science Collaborations, Inc., (ASCI) Web site [1], rather than mailing paper prospectuses; and we stated a preference for receiving proposals as digital files via the Internet. In the end, this stance was a natural filter that facilitated the proposal selection process and coordination of this international project. It is hoped that LightForms '98 will inspire artists and lighting designers to continue pushing the aesthetic and technological envelope of interactive lightworks.

LightForms '98 was a unique collaboration of ASCI, the New York Hall of Science and many architectural and theatrical lighting companies whose cooperation and generosity ensured the exhibition's success. The competition guidelines, site photos, selected proposals and installation photos are documented on-line at .

Acknowledgments

LightForms '98 sponsors included Leonardo/ISAST; Ushio America, Inc.; Discover Magazine; Leprecon, Inc.; Architectural Record; TCI/Theater Crafts International; International Lighting Review; LD + A; Lighting Dimensions; Photonics Spectra Magazine; American Consolidated Wire; Big Apple Lights; Edison Price Lighting; Four Star Lighting; Illuminating Engineering Society/New York Chapter; Live Wire Enterprises; Macro Leviton; Pass & Seymour Legrand; Prescolite/USI Lighting; Production Arts; TPR Enterprises, Ltd.; Zumtobel Staff Lighting; Lighting Projects of Philips; Peter Wynne Wilson; Richard Monkhouse; Optikinetics, Ltd.; EMS Soundbeam; Vari-Lite UK; Hampstead Schook; Pink Floyd; Utrecht School of the Arts; The Netherlands-American Foundation; Strand Lighting; The David Bermant Foundation for Color, Light, Motion, and High End Systems.

Cynthia Pannucci
Curator, Founder/Director of ASCI
P.O. Box 358
Staten Island, NY 10301, U.S.A.
Web site: http://www.asci.org E-mail: asci@asci.org