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Draft:Skies Painted with Unnumbered Sparks

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Skies Painted with Unnumbered Sparks
ArtistJanet Echelman
Year2014
LocationVancouver, Canada

Skies Painted with Unnumbered Sparks is a large-scale, interactive aerial sculpture created by Janet Echelman, installed in March 2014 for the 30th anniversary of the TED Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia. The sculpture spans 745 feet between the 24-story Fairmont Waterfront hotel and the Vancouver Convention Center.

Design

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The artwork was developed in collaboration with Aaron Koblin, Creative Director of Google's Data Arts Team. The interactive element of the sculpture allowed visitors to control the lighting of the piece in real-time using gestures on their mobile devices. At night, the sculpture was illuminated by beams of light that responded to these gestures, creating a dynamic visual experience.

Constructed from 860,000 hand and machine-made knots and 145 miles of braided fiber, the sculpture weighs nearly 3,500 pounds. The materials used include Honeywell Spectra fiber, known for its lightweight and high strength, being 15 times stronger than steel by weight. This material allowed the sculpture to be suspended across the large span between the buildings. The design and installation of the sculpture were supported by Autodesk, a company specializing in 3D design software. Autodesk developed custom software to model and test the sculpture's feasibility, allowing for the exploration of density, shape, and scale in detail.

Skies Painted with Unnumbered Sparks was designed to travel to various cities worldwide following its debut at the TED Conference. The title of the sculpture is derived from a quote in William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, and the interactive lighting component symbolized the idea that each person is like a star, able to "paint the skies" through their interactions with the artwork.[1][2][3]

References

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  1. ^ "Skies Painted with Unnumbered Sparks: Janet Echelman at TED2014 | TED Blog". 2014-03-17. Retrieved 2024-08-12.
  2. ^ "Unnumbered sparks fly through the sky, drawn by cellphones | TED Blog". 2014-03-31. Retrieved 2024-08-12.
  3. ^ Magazine, Smithsonian; Gambino, Megan. "A Massive Aerial Sculpture Is Hoisted in Downtown Vancouver". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2024-08-12.
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