lasers

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Art

Site-Specific Installations Accentuate the Geometric Architecture of Mies Van Der Rohe

Chicago-based duo Luftwerk (previously) partnered with architect Iker Gil and sound designer Oriol Tarragó for “Geometries of Light,” two coordinated installations celebrating the architectural forms of Mies van der Rohe. Both displayed in 2019, the shows were separated by one continent and approximately eight months; the German Pavilion display was on view in February 2019, and the second installation took place this fall at the Farnsworth House outside of Chicago.

The concept was was inspired by the structure’s apparent weightlessness, as it “seemingly floats perfectly on its pedestal”, Petra Bachmaier of Luftwerk tells Colossal. After an initial site visit to Barcelona in 2018, the artists decided to use “a specific tool to accentuate the clarity of the architecture with the laser level, a tool mainly used for construction sites to keep things level,” explains Backmaier. (Bosch Powertools provided the bluetooth-enabled three-plane lasers for both installations.)

For both sites, the designers were inspired by the history and context of each location. The German Pavilion was built in 1929 and demolished a year later; in 1986 it was rebuilt based on drawings. With bright red lines cutting through rooms and wrapping around walls, “Geometry of Light heightens the illusion of physical and material boundaries,” says Bachmaier. This effect also reflects the morphed history of the building, and retracing its form, from physical to two-dimensional drawing, to physical once again.

In the autumnal installation at the Farnsworth House, the artists explored the relationship between the architecture and its rural setting. “It uncovers the forgotten history of the site and remnants of earlier landscape by revealing the underlying geometries that relate the renowned house to its river floodplain, topography and key trees that no longer exist,” the artists tell Colossal.

Explore more of Luftwerk’s site-specific installations on their website and Instagram, as well as projects by Gil and Tarragó.

Design Food

New Laser Engraved Rolling Pins by Valek Imprint Elaborate Designs on Baked Goods

Last year around this time, Zuzia Kozerska of Valek Rolling Pins (previously) practically set the internet on fire with lasers, more specifically her laser engraved rolling pins that imprint different patterns in cookie dough. Kozerska has been hard at work creating increasingly more complex designs as well as special mini pins just for kids. You can see more in her Etsy shop.

Art Design

A Specialized ‘Laser Art’ System Etches a Design onto a Chalkboard at Astonishing Speed

Filmed in December of last year, this specialized laser system at LasX Industries in Minnesota is capable of drawing on surfaces at a rate of up to 6 meters per second. In this example, a design by Andy Gikling is executed in a two-step process. First, the laser moves back and forth in a more familiar raster mode similar to an inkjet or typical laser printer, but at the 1:40 mark things get insane as the system switches to a “vector” process and starts drawing all over the place in real time. If I understand this correctly you’re seeing almost 100,000 vectors drawn in about two minutes and thirty seconds.

Art

An Interactive Forest of Musical Lasers by Marshmallow Laser Feast

Laser Forest is the lastest creation from a creative studio known as Marshmallow Laser Feast comprised of Memo Akten, Robin McNicholas, and Barney Steel who have focused almost exclusively on creating interactive experiences over the past two years. This latest installation involves a forest of 150 interactive rods installed in an empty factory space that when touched trigger both light and audio cues, effectively creating a large interactive instrument. Laser Forest was commission for the STRP Biennale in Eindhoven last month, and you can learn much more about at the Creators Project.

Art

Global Rainbow

Global rainbow is an ongoing light installation by Yvette Mattern consisting of seven parallel laser beams representing a rainbow that’s being projected over populated urban areas and is meant “to encompass geographical and social diversity in its reach and symbolise hope.” The installation was switched on in the UK for the first time last night over the North Tyneside coastline and will be making several additional stops over the next few weeks. You can read more about Global Rainbow on Mattern’s blog and see tons of great photos here.