| contact name | Elisabeth Sylvan |
| artists' names | Elisabeth Sylvan |
| artists' locations | Somerville, MA USA |
| art name | Bodies of Light |
| art media | Light and motors |
| art dimensions | 59"w x 63"h |
| art date | 2005 |
| art description | How can life be drawn from a machine? In "Bodies of Light"
servo-controlled white lights push against white fabric. They writhe
and contort, creating kaleidoscopic patterns. |
| art proposal | Bodies of light surprise the viewer with unexpected use of light and by the unpredictable nature of its movement. The piece consists of moving lights behind a white sheet all mounted on a stretcher with a piece of plywood on the back. The front has a thin, elastic cloth stretched tightly over it. 100 LEDs are mounted to the plywood and many of them are moved by servos. The light pushed against the sheet yields surprising and remarkably successful visual results. The lights shining through the sheets are pale shades of purple and blue with shadows in areas near where the tips of the lights press against the sheet. The sheet breaks up the light into subtly kaleidoscopic patterns. Because the lights are pushed against the sheets and are loosely attached to the servos, they move like they are organic, living and not mechanical things. They writhe and contort behind the sheet and as they do, the kaleidoscopic patterns and shadows change and move. |
| art placard | How can life be drawn from a machine? In "Bodies of Light"
servo-controlled white lights push against white fabric. They writhe
and contort, creating kaleidoscopic patterns. |
| art url | http:://www.media.mit.edu/~sylvan/nipple.html |