Light Shadow MLK
2/1/2016 • 8 years ago
The information on this page may be outdated as it was published 8 years ago.
When Cambridge students of the Martin Luther King, Jr. and Putnam Avenue Upper Schools enter their new school building on Putnam Avenue, they will be greeted by Light Shadow: MLK, a 7-foot x 32-foot “urban musical instrument” created by artist and composer Christopher Janney. Commissioned by the Cambridge Arts Council as part of the City’s public art program, Light Shadow: MLK will invite students, teachers, staff, and visitors to the School to engage in playful exploration of light and sound, either alone or with others. Lillian Hsu, Director of Public Art and Exhibitions remarked, “We are thrilled that the City of Cambridge will have a project created by Christopher Janney. Light Shadow: MLK is a work of art that responds to whole-body engagement, whether from one person or from many, prompting a sense of wonder and delight for all ages.”
Janney’s “interactive light wall” is composed of a grid of more than 200 sensors and colored LED lights and audio speakers. The motion of people walking by triggers a series of colorful lights and a sound-score composed of ever-changing patterns of melodic instruments mixed with environmental sounds indigenous to Massachusetts. Light Shadow: MLK also contains a riddle waiting to be solved. The person who solves the riddle and triggers the elements in the right order will be rewarded with a display of light and sound as the wall “dances” in celebration. To keep the challenge alive, the riddle will be reprogrammed if it is solved a number of times successfully.
The artwork will also serve as a laboratory for STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) learning. Students will have access to a computer model of the piece, allowing them to reprogram the wall with their own light and soundscapes.
About Christopher Janney
Christopher Janney was trained as an architect (Princeton University, B.A. Architecture, 1972, magna cum laude; MIT, M.S. Environmental Art, 1978) and a jazz musician (private studies, 1963-1976, Dalcroze School, 1974-75). He has created numerous permanent interactive sound/light installations, attempting, on the one hand, to make architecture more "spontaneous" (Harmonic Runway, Miami Airport; Rainbow Cove, Logan Airport; REACH:NY, 34th St. subway, New York) and, on the other hand, to make music more physical (HeartBeat:mb with S. Rudner, M. Baryshnikov).
Projects include the interactive sculptural scoreboard for the Miami Arena, in Miami, FL; Touch My Building, Charlotte, N.C., A House is a Musical Instrument: Kona, an 8000 square foot private residence in Kona, HI based on Hawaiian cosmological principles, Harmonic Convergence, an interactive sound/light environment in the Miami International Airport; Harmonic Fugue for Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas; SoundStair locally at both the Children’s Hospital and the Museum of Science; and five US/UK tours of Sonic Forest to major music festivals including “Bonnaroo,” “Coachella,” “Wireless,” “Electric Daisy Carnival” and “Glastonbury.”
About Cambridge’s Percent-for-Art Program
Implemented via City Ordinance, Percent-for-Art requires that one percent of the construction costs on municipal capital investment be designated for use in developing site-responsive public artwork. With a core focus on increasing the quantity, quality and overall awareness of art in the City’s public space, Cambridge Arts has overseen the creation and development of more than 200 artworks. These artworks can be found in a variety of locations including youth and senior centers, schools, libraries, parks, plazas and sidewalks. Artworks sited through this program engage directly with their surroundings to create, enrich, or reveal a sense of place. Each artwork is created in active response to the character and history of its location and reflects the dynamic and creative exchange between professional artists and the broader community.
Press
Slice of MIT, Urban Musical Instrument Goes to School, Nancy Duvergne Smith, January 28, 2016
https://slice.mit.edu/2016/01/28/video-urban-musical-instrument-goes-to-school/
The Editorial, Janney on Urban Alienation, Heidi Legg, January 4, 2016
www.theeditorial.com/essay/2016/1/4/christopher-janney
Posted by Molly Akin
February 1, 2016