Friday, April 29, 2011
FAST LIGHT - MIT Light Show/Exhibition on the Charles - May 7-8, 2011
FAST Light
What happens when some of MIT's boldest, most creative thinkers put their heads together to stage a light show?
May 7 & 8, 2011
7 pm - 10 pm
At MIT along the Charles River | Free and open to the public
Memorial Drive will be closed to vehicular traffic from 6 to 11pm on May 7 & 8.
Contemporary pioneers in art, science, and technology have come together at MIT to create one of the most exhilarating and inventive spectacles metro Boston has ever seen. On May 7 & 8, visitors can interact with 20+ art and architectural installations illuminating the campus and the Charles River along Memorial Drive at MIT.
FAST LIGHT kicks off on May 7 at 7pm with the inflation of Otto Piene’s dramatic SKY Event, two massive, brightly lit stars that will rise into the night sky over MIT’s signature dome in Killian Court. The MIT campus adjacent to the Charles River and the Massachusetts Avenue Bridge will light up with dramatic displays of LED lights, architectural pavilions, interactive sculptural installations, and artworks that incorporate energy-efficient lighting solutions and projections on the river itself.
Some of the installations are larger than life—like Piene’s colossal star. Others offer a more intimate, human-scaled experience—like Meejin Yoon’s haunting Light Drift orbs that interact with pedestrians and communicate with corresponding sculptures on the river. Many of the installations demonstrate innovative energy solutions, like architect/professor Sheila Kennedy’s ingenious SOFT Rockers, lounge chairs that offer both ergonomic comfort and alternative-energy charging solutions for portable electronics, like cellphones and iPods.
All the works are by current or emeritus faculty and students in a wide range of disciplines from architecture to computation. Collaboration is the common denominator of invention at MIT, so the creators formed teams to tackle the challenges and technical complexities of the projects. FAST LIGHT highlights MIT’s leadership in energy-efficient technologies, while transforming the physical environment in thought-provoking, often breathtaking ways.
Before the light show begins at 7 pm, visitors are welcome to take a self-guided tour of the 20+ installations during the day on both May 7 and 8.
FAST LIGHT is the grand finale of the FAST FESTIVAL, MIT’s three-month-long celebration of its 150th anniversary—and a tribute to the power of inspired collaborations that span disciplines, media, and all expectations. FAST LIGHT also provides a dramatic close to the Boston CyberArts Festival and the Cambridge Science Festival.
“One of the fundamental goals of the FAST Festival is to explore and develop new concepts, methods, and underlying structures that will keep MIT at the cutting edge of art, science, and technology for generations to come, to the benefit of the Institute and the world.”
Tod Machover
MIT FAST Festival Director
What happens when some of MIT's boldest, most creative thinkers put their heads together to stage a light show?
May 7 & 8, 2011
7 pm - 10 pm
At MIT along the Charles River | Free and open to the public
Memorial Drive will be closed to vehicular traffic from 6 to 11pm on May 7 & 8.
Contemporary pioneers in art, science, and technology have come together at MIT to create one of the most exhilarating and inventive spectacles metro Boston has ever seen. On May 7 & 8, visitors can interact with 20+ art and architectural installations illuminating the campus and the Charles River along Memorial Drive at MIT.
FAST LIGHT kicks off on May 7 at 7pm with the inflation of Otto Piene’s dramatic SKY Event, two massive, brightly lit stars that will rise into the night sky over MIT’s signature dome in Killian Court. The MIT campus adjacent to the Charles River and the Massachusetts Avenue Bridge will light up with dramatic displays of LED lights, architectural pavilions, interactive sculptural installations, and artworks that incorporate energy-efficient lighting solutions and projections on the river itself.
Some of the installations are larger than life—like Piene’s colossal star. Others offer a more intimate, human-scaled experience—like Meejin Yoon’s haunting Light Drift orbs that interact with pedestrians and communicate with corresponding sculptures on the river. Many of the installations demonstrate innovative energy solutions, like architect/professor Sheila Kennedy’s ingenious SOFT Rockers, lounge chairs that offer both ergonomic comfort and alternative-energy charging solutions for portable electronics, like cellphones and iPods.
All the works are by current or emeritus faculty and students in a wide range of disciplines from architecture to computation. Collaboration is the common denominator of invention at MIT, so the creators formed teams to tackle the challenges and technical complexities of the projects. FAST LIGHT highlights MIT’s leadership in energy-efficient technologies, while transforming the physical environment in thought-provoking, often breathtaking ways.
Before the light show begins at 7 pm, visitors are welcome to take a self-guided tour of the 20+ installations during the day on both May 7 and 8.
FAST LIGHT is the grand finale of the FAST FESTIVAL, MIT’s three-month-long celebration of its 150th anniversary—and a tribute to the power of inspired collaborations that span disciplines, media, and all expectations. FAST LIGHT also provides a dramatic close to the Boston CyberArts Festival and the Cambridge Science Festival.
“One of the fundamental goals of the FAST Festival is to explore and develop new concepts, methods, and underlying structures that will keep MIT at the cutting edge of art, science, and technology for generations to come, to the benefit of the Institute and the world.”
Tod Machover
MIT FAST Festival Director
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