This past weekend, at Bring to Light, we had the chance to collaborate with artist Chakaia Booker on an installation called Shadows, located in the center of the festival grounds in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The folks at Nuit Blanche New York hooked us up with Chakaia who was interested in creating a sculptural environment that investigated strong shadows being cast onto interesting textures. Fabric was an obvious choice for a material and that’s where we came in. We performed some tests in controlled environments to determine that we would use white stretched fabric which would be able to transmit the shadows from one side of the fabric to the other. We also determined that we would use existing poles in the playground to stretch out the screens.
The installation began with projection surfaces integrating into the existing playground poles, creating a corridor. As the installation came along, we worked with Chikaia and created the textures on site using several different methods to otherwise ordinary fabric. Once the sun set and our lights were in place it was showtime. The installation was a huge hit for those who came out to Bring to Light Festival in Green Point, and it was great seeing all of the different ways that people would interact making this a true sculptural performance environment. Groups gathered on the side of the fabric opposite the light source watching live projection theater provided by eager participants. Many people even came around multiple times finding different props to add intrigue to their moment in the spotlight. View some pictures from both the installation and the festival below as well as a video of the Shadows installation . . .
Tags: art, fabric sculptures, Fabric Structures, Lighting Design, NYC, Performance Art, Projection, public art, spectacles, Stage Set Design, visuals, Women
