Sensing WATER

Posted on December 13, 2015 by dan

I-87/San Fernando Street, San Jose CA

paint, custom LEDs, Live weather data feed, interactive cell phone control

Sensing WATER is a weather-responding and interactive artwork utilizing light and paint to define a major downtown gateway in San Jose CA. The project is composed of 2 elements, the massive painted sloped wall that abstractly references flowing water, and the overhead evening lighting that illuminates with rippling patterns of light the underpass of I-87. The project uses real-time NOAA weather data to compose different patterns of light on the ceiling. (e.g.: 0-5mph winds vs thunderstorms). The projected light maintains a similar palate to the painted sloped wall, yet becomes dynamic depending on the weather.

In addition to the live weather feed transforming the space, this project is also highly interactive for those players of the Ingress multi-player game. By interacting physically on site with your cell phone, players can transform the space, revealing aspects of the game for a brief amount of time.

The site for the work sits over the Guadalupe River. The inspiration for this piece began with the ever-present awareness of water issues in California. San Jose once was know as the Valley of Hearts Delight- before becoming the Heart of Silicon Valley. Known for its orchards and fragrance of ripening fruit, San Jose was supported by rich soil and abundant access to water. I was curious to link both the awareness of water issues to the new focus of the high tech industry through the use of dynamic illumination.

Special thanks to those folks who made this project happen: The City of San Jose, San Jose Downtown Association, Kiboworks, Affordable Painting Services, HC Reynolds, Swenson Say Faget, Niantic

The Guadalupe River at this point is a culvertized river that is most often a “trickle” but fills with water during storm events.

Special thanks to those folks who made this project happen: The City of San Jose, San Jose Downtown Association, Kiboworks, Affordable Painting Services, HC Reynolds, Swenson Say Faget, Niantic

Not only do the lighting patterns change based on weather conditions, but they are dynamic- constantly pulsing and chasing, depending on severity of the weather.

Sensing YOU

Posted on December 13, 2015 by dan

I-87/Santa Clara Street, San Jose CA

Paint, acrylic, LEDs, steel, sensors, control, cell phone interface

Sensing YOU is an interactive artwork utilizing light and paint to define a major downtown gateway in San Jose CA. The installation is defined by over 1000 painted circles and 81 individually controlled illuminated rings that play a variety of patterns and low-resolution mapped video over the ceiling surface of the I-87 highway underpass. The patterns are activated by pedestrians and bicyclists moving through the space- setting off pre-programmed sequences.

In addition, we have partnered with Niantic Labs to allow users of the virtual real-world mobile game Ingress to temporarily take control of the space and making manifest in the artwork aspects of the game from their cell phones. Inspired by raindrops on water and the echoing patterns emitting from our cell phones, this artwork seeks to link technology and nature in this urban landscape sitting over the Guadalupe River- at the heart of Silicon Valley.

Special thanks to all the folks who made this possible: City of San Jose CA Office of Cultural Affairs, San Jose Downtown Association, Kiboworks, Affordable Painting Services, CH Reynolds, Tripp Plastics, Swenson Say Faget, Niantic Labs

Nebulous

Posted on October 2, 2015 by dan

“Brazil” building, Amazon Campus, Seattle WA

Glass, transparent conducting film, aluminum, photovoltaics, LEDs and electronics

Seattle is known for its inclement weather and computer innovation. The climate is changing, both environmentally and technologically. We are currently shifting from our analog hard copy world and local computer storage to “cloud-based” systems. The intricacy of these systems eludes most software users and yet clouds of radio waves constantly transport masses of information all around us. The two large pixelated cloud forms above us, inspired by this evolution in technology, float over the Amazon courtyard with two solar lighting shadows imbedded in the pavement below. Neither fully transparent nor fully opaque, these “low res” clouds have select glass discs that shift between levels of opacity in a digital dance resembling old school calculating computers or perhaps pulsing lightning within clouds on a stormy night.

A variety of glass and switch-glass panels designed by parametric modeling form the skin of the cloud-inspired sculptures

Special thanks to all of our great project partners:

Vulcan Real Estate Commissioning Agency, property owners
Metalistics Fabrication/installation
NBBJ Architects, parametric modeling (Andrew D. Heumann)
Turner Construction General Contractor
Craig Nelson Electrical Engineer
D&K Electric Electrical Installer
American Switchglass Switchglass fabrication
Peter David Studio glass supplier
Jeff Thon circuit board design/fabrication
Paul Strong programming
Solaright PV LED supplier

Compound Sight

Posted on June 24, 2015 by dan

Discovery Hall, University of Washington Bothell Campus, Bothell WA

10’h x 20’w x 3″ d. Glass, plano-convex lenses, hemispheric lenses, fresnel lenses, custom steel pivot hardware

The project title Compound Sight, refers to insect eyes where a variety of lenses make up single a “compound eye”. There are many ways to see, and we all see in unique ways and focus on things from our own perspective. It also refers to the nature of the co-laboratory wherein the artwork is housed. In the co-laboratory, students are encouraged to collaborate and “mix”, deeply observe and explore. Hopefully encouragement from multiple lenses will stimulate thought, interaction and foster an alternate and creative perspective to reveal itself. Perhaps like the nature of a compound eye, many images combine into a singular vision.

This pattern represented is that of the Fibonacci Sequence (a series of numbers where a number is found by adding up the two numbers before it). This pattern is represented in the architecture of the building, but also is found in many natural patterns including spiral galaxies, hurricanes, sunflower seed growth patterns, the chambered nautilus and many other forms of nature. The pattern is also utilized in an adjacent project Fibonacci Echoes

The project is designed to draw your eye away from the white frosted glass and direct it to the many lenses in the project. As the outside conditions change and movement happens, this image will be inverted and visible from the inside. Different distances and perspectives on the piece will provide different views and experiences. Due to the optics of the lenses, this becomes a passive kinetic piece without any moving parts.

Special thanks to Peter David Studio (glass fabrication), Swenson Say Faget (engineering), Metalistics (steel fabrication and installation), Cascade Glass (glass installation), Washington State Arts Commission (Commissioning agency and PM), THA Architecture Inc. (architecture), and of course to University of Washington Bothell.

FIBONACCI ECHOES

Fibonacci Echoes:
The radiating concentric rings of LED solar lighting are defined in numbers by the Fibonacci sequence and conjure patterns of radiating light, echoes and raindrops. The Fibonacci sequence (a pattern of numbers where a number is found by adding up the two numbers before it) is represented in the architecture of Discovery Hall, but is also found in many natural patterns including spiral galaxies, sunflower seed growth patterns, the chambered nautilus and many other forms of nature.

242 solar LED lights make up the radiating concentric rings that are defined in numbers by the Fibonacci sequence and conjure for me the patterns of radiating light, echoes and raindrops. This sequence and the use of light conceptually and physically unify the 2 projects.

Decay

Posted on April 3, 2015 by dan

Christian Petersen Art Museum, Ames, IA

phosporescent doped wall, laser system, control, programming and safety systems.

As if by magic, patterns are created then slowly fade before your eyes. A simple dark blue laser dot or line moves across the canvas creating a pattern revealed only as a fleeting after image- slowly fading as soon as it is created. It is the persistence of photonic decay that allows us to see that laser projections are merely dots of light moving so fast our eyes can not see them as individual dots, but rather blur them into complete shapes. Slowing down the laser allows us to see what and how we see.

Special thanks to Christopher Edrington, Roberta McHatton, Nancy Gebhhart, Lynette Pohlman and our project volunteers.

Coherence

Posted on April 2, 2015 by dan

Christian Petersen Art Museum, Ames, IA

Coherence, utilizes the special inherent quality of spatial coherence to create the illusion of infinite spaces and provides the magic that will illuminate one filament and not the one next to it. Exploiting this special and unique nature of lasers elevates this environment to more than just a science experiment by creating the appearance of internal illumination where there is none, motion where there is none and with the addition of a mirrored floor, produces a subtle perceptive disorientation while defining and marking space in infinite and mesmerizing ways.

This exhibit utilizes 2 synchronized RGB lasers to project onto hundreds of suspended filaments creating an oceanic undulating immersive environment of light.

I would like to recognize and give special thanks to the folks who helped contribute to this exhibition:

The Iowa State University Museums
Christopher Edrington
Christian Wehr
Mat Wymore
Dorothee Nygren,
Sydney Marshall
Natasha Porizkova,
Lynette and John Pohlman
Emily Morgan
Martin Blank
Trond Forre
and of course Nancy Gebhart

Shifting Topographies

Posted on March 22, 2015 by dan

19th Street BART Station, Oakland, CA

High density foam, polyuria “hard coat”, chameleon paint, Glass, specialty dynamic projections.

Inspiration for Shifting Topographies began with the shifting patterns and colors of the rolling Oakland hills (green to gold) and at the macro scale the ripples of the adjacent San Francisco Bay (gray-blue-green). Other inspirations came from the flashy paint jobs in the car culture of this community and the signature Blue BART station for which the art marked the entrance.

Note the color shifting paint that radically changes depending on angle of the sun, position of viewer and time of day

The sculpture is fabricated from a high-density foam covered with a polyuria “hard coat” most often applied as “truck bed liners”. This super robust material is then painted with multiple layers of color shifting paint that dramatically changes color depending on sun angle and time of day.

At one end of the station, laminated safety glass with blue and mirrored ribbons of topography disguise the emergency ventilation shafts- providing a sense of movement and visual expansion in a compressed space. The mirrored topography also provides a site context and juxtaposition of the urban Cartesian grid playing against the natural land forms.

At night the sculpture conjures the drama of the adjacent theaters, nightclubs and galleries- providing movement, color, pattern and excitement to this previously under-used alley entrance. The patterning of the projections includes interference patterns created by dueling topographic lines, atmospheric nebulae-like patterning and swirling water-influenced movement.

Check out the video below to see the night moving projections:

Special thanks to all of our great project partners:

City of Oakland, Cultural Arts & Marketing Commissioning Agency
BART: Bay Area Rapid Transit (entrance to the 19th Street Oakland Station)
Martin Kaufman
Sasaki Associates landscape architects and design team partners
Heavy Industries fabricator
Atthowe Fine Art Services installation
Swenson Say Faget engineering
Visual Terrain lighting consultant
Jason Gedrose/ MVStaging programming
Greg Linhares additional photography

Nepenthes Paisleyi

Posted on July 14, 2014 by dan

Edmonton, Alberta Canada

17'h x 4' x5.6'w. Fiberglass, steel, LED's Sensors, GFRC

17’h x 4′ x5.6’w. painted fiberglass, steel, LED’s, sensors, GFRC

The name of the pieces are “Nepenthes.” The name is derived from a Greek magical potion that would cause the drinker to be relieved from or induce forgetfulness of pain, grief, or sorrow. I hope these sculptures might provide a brief respite from a hectic daily life, transporting us briefly somewhere else. Paisleyi is the botanic latin version of Paisley, named after the founder of the Edmonton Fringe Festival- and name of the community wherein the sculptures are located.

Nepenthes is also the name of a family of carnivorous plants. Beautiful, quirky, unusual, weird. The fascinating tropical pitcher plants, or “monkey cups,” collect water in their leaf vases. The plant water has an enzyme in it that helps dissolve insects (and sometimes small animals) that find their way into the cups, providing fertilizer for the plants that normally live in infertile locations. The shapes of the sculptures are inspired by the shape of a variety of Nepenthes and celebrates the wonderful diversity of Paisley’s colourful neighborhood.

Monochromatic by daytime, this family of sculptures take on a completely different character at night with the addition of dynamic LED programming.

There are a number of randomly occurring lighting programs that provide very slow changes throughout the evening. It is designed so that people driving by will not see the changes in patterns, yet if they drive by 10 minutes later they will see a different aspect to the project. When people enter the sculpture, integrated sensors pick up the motion and trigger a series of much more animated sequences.

The molds for these sculptures were originally developed for the Nepenthes Davis Street Project for TRIMET/City of Portland, Oregon. The Regional Arts and Culture Council has kindly provided permission for a re-envisioning of the original project for the Brookfield Residential neighborhood of Paisley in Edmonton. You can see the original project here: Nepenthes

Special thanks to all of our great project partners:
Brookfield Residential, Edmonton (funder and site work)
Heavy Industries (fabrication)
PMCS (LED engineering, and programming)

video of some of the dynamic LED sequences

Azul Healing Garden

Posted on November 14, 2013 by dan

MLK Hospital, Los Angeles CA

The Azul Healing Garden at the MLK Hospital in Los Angeles was conceived as a calming central courtyard in a stressful and arid urban environment. The space is anchored by 33 tons of blue glass mulch, plants with blue colored leaves, and twinkling solar blue lights in the walkway and planting beds.
Rather than just using plants that have historically been used to heal, I was interested in creating a space that could help induce calmness and creativity by utilizing the basic tenants chromotherapy and infusing the courtyard with azul.

The color blue is a calming color that has been shown to reduce blood pressure as well as calm breathing and heart-rate. It stimulates the parasympathetic system and has anti-inflammatory and muscle relaxing effects. It can be used to assist in relaxation and fights physical and mental tension. A blue environment has been demonstrated to make us more responsive to new ideas and increase creativity. When people relax, they become more open to new ideas and can develop creative solutions to problems.

The tall plant on the right is the Dragon Blood Tree. When the bark or leaves are cut they secrete a reddish resin called “Dragon’s Blood” that is used to stain the wood of the Stradivarius violins. It also has a number of traditional medical uses and was used by the alchemists.

All of the plant material in the garden has “blue” or blue-gray colored leaves.

Historic uses of Chromotherapy
Colour Therapy dates back thousands of years and to the ancient cultures of Egypt, China and India. Each color has a distinguishing wavelength and energy. The energy of each of the seven spectrum colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet) corresponds with the seven energy centers or chakras of the body. Color therapy can provide balance among all of the energies in our bodies. Color can help humans on a physical, psychological and spiritual level.
Historically, the ancient Egyptians built solarium rooms with various colors of glass and other cultures used silks of different colors to bath their bodies in various shades of light. The ancient Egyptian temple of Heliopolis had a quartz crystal in the dome that split sunlight into the seven colors of the spectrum each of which filled a healing chamber. Each chamber was a place for people to receive color healing and contained herbs and colored materials. In his text “The Canon of Medicine,” Acivenna wrote about the relation of color to physical conditions of the body and viewed blue as a blood cooler. In the states, in 1876 Augustus Pleasconton wrote, “The Influence of the Blue Ray of the Sunlight and of the Blue Color of the Sky,” in which he discusses the positive influence blue can have in crop growth, livestock and human health. A few years later, in 1878, chromotherapy, the use of stained class and colored lights for healing, is suggested for the healing of burns, nervous excitability and cold in the extremities by Dr. Edwin D. Babbitt. Today, color is still used for healing. Natural therapists are using chromotherapy and successes have been reported in the recovery of stroke victims and other patients with chronic depression.

The color BLUE is a calming color that has been shown to reduce blood pressure as well as calm both breathing and heart-rate. It stimulates the parasympathetic system and has anti-inflammatory and muscle relaxing effects. It is linked to the throat and thyroid gland. It can be used to assist in relaxation and fights both physical and mental tension. Blue can also make us more responsive to new ideas and increase creativity. A study at the University of British Columbia, in which participants conducted various tasks on a computer screen with red or blue backgrounds, concluded that blue encourages motivation, “people relax, becoming more open to new ideas and creative solutions to problems.” Blue can also increase confidence and make people feel happier. General exposure to color is beneficial as well. In a study at the Mind Lab, “subjects exposed to colours completed mental tests up to 25 per cent quicker. Reaction times were up to 12 per cent faster, while hand-eye co-ordination and the ability to recall a list of words were also found to be improved.” Color affects the body, brain activity and biorhythms and as a result is being used in the treatment of diseases. In Ayurvedic medicine, blue is identified with the fifth chakra, it is located in the throat and associated with the throat, ears, mouth and hands. Its alleged function is physical and spiritual communication.

Positive Effects of the Color Blue-
-Blue is used in offices because people are more productive and focused in blue rooms
-Blue can lower the pulse rate and body temperature
-Blue calls to mind feelings of calmness and serenity, it is peaceful, tranquil, secure and orderly
-Historically blue was believed to soothe illnesses and treat pain
-It has a cooling and soothing effect
-Blue has positive physiological effects including lower blood pressure, and reducing tension
-Deep blue has proven to help the skeletal structure by keeping bone marrow healthy and it stimulates the pituitary gland that regulates sleep patterns.

FURTHER READING-“Color has a powerful effect on behavior, reseachers assert” Lindsey Gruson, The New York Times Science Section, Oct. 19, 1982. http://www.nytimes.com/1982/10/19/science/color-has-a-powerful-effect-on-behavior-researchers-assert.html?&pagewanted=all
This article looks at a study on behaviors of people, particularly children in different colored spaces and looks at how color can influence behavior and work methods. Blue and gray spaces have a tendency to increase focus and productivity.“A Critical Analysis of Chromotherapy and Its Scientific Evolution” Samina T. Yousuf Azeemi and S. Mohsin Raza Department of Physics, University of Balochisan, Quetta, Pakistan, Sept 2005. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1297510/
This paper analyzes the historic practices and scientific principles of chromotherapy and looks at the relationship between the human body and colors.
“A mammalian clock protein responds directly to light” Josh Hill, July 2, 2008. “Think Gene” Blog. http://www.thinkgene.com/a-mammalian-clock-protein-responds-directly-to-light/
This paper by Nathalie Hoang et al. examines cryptochromes in flies, humans and mice. In plants, cryptochromes absorb and process blue light and aid in growth and seed development. The exposure to blue light also reduces flavin pigments and this reduction promotes growth by activating the cryptochromes. In humans the crypotchromes are present and regulate the circadian clock, Hoang found that flavins decrease in humans in response to blue light too.
“Blue Light makes you happy” Jon Swaine, January, 6, 2009. The Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/4139796/Blue-light-makes-you-happy.html
A study conducted by The Mind Lab finds that exposure to light is generally beneficial and certain colors, including blue improve mood and confidence levels in men and women.
Naess, Inger. Colour Energy. 2004.http://www.natures-energies.com/color1.htm
Hamilton, Jon. “NPR Stories.” 6 February 2009. NPR. 9 December 2011 .
Swaine, Jon. “Blue light ‘makes you happy’.” The Telegraph 6 January 2009: 20.

Special thanks to the project team
LA County Arts Commission
MLK Renovation team, County of Los Angeles
RBB Architects Inc
AHBE Landscape Architects
Hensel Phelps, (GC) and associated subcontractors

Gilbreths

Posted on April 10, 2012 by dan

Valise Gallery,Vashon Island WA

Homage to Lillian & Frank Gilbreth
Fluorescent materials, steel, motors, autotransformers, theatrical filters. Variable dimensions. Valise Gallery, Vashon Island WA 2012,

These kinetic sculptures engage the air and our persistence of vision with tracings of light generated by multi-color fluorescent materials. Depending on speed and material length, the sculptures can create various “resonance patterns” producing different “standing wave” shapes. Working in 1914, Lillian & Frank Gilbreth, were pioneers of light painting in the interest of studying “work simplification” for efficiency of parts assembly. Their early capturing of the form of moving light for their research inspired these sculptures that seek to give luminosity and sculptural form to air.

Homage to Heliopolis:
In ancient Egypt the city of Heliopolis (in Greek, or “iwnw” in Egyptian) was a famed center of healing. They created the first solariums that filtered light into the rooms through glass and colored silks, infusing the rooms with colored light. This early “chromotherapy” was used to treat a variety of ailments and spiritual conditions. This updated project utilizing theatrical filters on the windows infuses the gallery with saturated indigo and creates a backdrop of color for the other projects while referencing this ancient temple and the healing practices that took place there. These theatrical filters change the frequency of daylight in order to mimic UV “blacklight” thereby activating the florescent materials in the gallery. Notice after being in the gallery for a while that upon leaving, the brain tricks the eye in an effect called “retinal fatigue” changing the color balance in your brain. As you exit, it will briefly give the outdoor light a decidedly golden color (the opposite of the blue).

Special Thanks to: Artist Trust, Paul Strong, Steve Monsey, Julia Reeve and the members of Valise Gallery

Burle

Posted on April 10, 2012 by dan

Valise Gallery,Vashon Island WA

Homage to Burle Marx
Valise Gallery, Vashon Island WA, 2012 Electroluminescent tape, theatrical filters, variable size

This installation utilizes electroluminescent banding to create a series of dimensional bas-relief drawings inspired by the work of internationally renowned Brazilian modernist Landscape Architect and Artist Burle Marx. Corson has been a great fan of Marx’s work ever since exploring his work in Brazilia, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro Brazil. Marx’s love of bold patterning inspired from botanic and natural references inspires these wall-sized glowing installations.

photo: Andy Moniz

Special Thanks to: Artist Trust, David Verkade, Paul Strong, Steve Monsey, Julia Reeve and the members of Valise Gallery

Dan Corson

installations / sculptures/ Public Artwork

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