#einar goes digital

[drawingeinarorn]

Just had a (quick) thought

Just had a (quick) thought

It is wonderful to have a quick thought. The thought that blasts into mind and sets off a chain reaction. And the results is an auction of drawings done digitally with my digital pen and digital whatever you draw on. (avoiding names as I am not sponsored). So finally I have gone digital, and admitting to it, as before I thought is only worked on electricity. The auction is for the fun of it. And…

[y4nyi-blog]

Chosen artwork: Immaterials: Light Painting WiFi by Timo Arnall, Einar Sneve Martinussen, and Jørn Knutsen (2011): http://vimeo.com/20412632

Any attempt at mapping something never fails to intrigue me – even more so when such a creative visual representation (of using light) is used. When I first saw this artwork, I could generally guess the intention of the artists, and I guess that is the true beauty of this project, which is the simple, concise method of representation that speaks of its concept at first glance.  

Description In this project, light is used as a medium to map the immaterial network of WiFi signals in the city. 80 light bulbs are attached on a 4m long rod, and will light up in correlation with the surrounding WiFi signal strength, made possible through digital programming. The project is documented and captured using long exposure photographs, presented in a sequence of still images.

The photographs are captured in the context of the built environment. Images are photographed in the city, captured among buildings and along the streets. Also, photographs are taken at in the evening. The resultant ‘light signals’ contrasts with the surrounding built environment.

Given the length of rods used (4m), the resultant scale of captured signals is greater than the human scale and tends towards an architectural scale.

Analyse and interpret  The team behind the project was trying to map out the immaterial (conventionally unmappable) to make visible the intangible WiFi networks that are omnipresent in our lives, so as to study the spatial and material qualities of wireless networks. Through the process of materializing and contextualizing such invisible technologies, it allows us to be more aware of our surroundings, in a bid to understand how such landscapes of networks affect our understanding of the urban environment.

The choice of medium strongly relates to the subject matter. In this project, light is used to bring out the ‘invisibility’ of the network. For instance, should the photographs be captured in the day, the resultant “wavelengths” of WiFi signals would not have been portrayed as obviously as it were to be captured at night.

Smaller details such as the pulsation of the points of light during the capturing of the long exposure photograph allows them to control the porosity of the captured network. By doing so, a semi-transparent texture of the network is achieved, allowing the user to see through the visualization and contrast it to the physical environment in the background.

Also, the artists chose to work in an architectural scale in which the WiFi networks operate in, and this serves to effectively situate the hidden network in the physical environment.

Evaluation and judgement The project is successful in physically portraying how relationship between the built environment and the invisible landscape of WiFi networks. Through the medium of light painting, it reveals the behavior of WiFi networks on where it is located and how the city around it is built. It also reveals hidden connections between spaces and environments, which are not physically and visually explicit in the real world. For instance, a university’s network may extend into a nearby park, enabling the creation of physical points of confluence as students gather to tap on the intangible WiFi network.

However, the result of the artwork lacks depth and precision when it comes to discussing the spatial qualities of the built environment, for it is something that goes beyond a 2-dimensional photograph, and may be better portrayed through a 3-dimensional volume/ exhibition space.

That said, I still admire the bold experimentation on the medium of light painting, for it is a fairly new design language that has potential to spark more interpretations and re-creations of the work.

For further reading/discussion: The artists themselves have reflected on their artwork, which propagated many other similar projects that have tried to emulate the qualities of the discussed project under the following link: http://www.yourban.no/2012/06/06/projects-inspired-by-immaterials-light-painting-wifi/

References YOUrban — Immaterials: Light painting WiFi. (n.d.). Retrieved January 26, 2017, from http://www.yourban.no/2011/02/22/immaterials-light-painting-wifi/