Color and Light at SAM Take Up Permanent Residence Downtown Seattle

A rendering of Mirror, an LED permanent art
installation at the Seattle Art Museum that
was just unveiled
(Photo: Courtesy SAM)

The next time you're in Seattle, you can take in one of the city's newest examples of permanent public art that is sure to become a Downtown Seattle icon. It's called Mirror, and the piece had its unveiling this weekend at the Seattle Art Museum. Created by L.A. and New York-based artist Doug Aitken, the piece was commissioned by the late collector Bagley Wright and his wife Jinny. Mirror is a giant LED screen that wraps around the Northwest façade of the building.

 

According to the SeattleArt Museum, the installation, Mirror has a main component that "is a glass-covered horizontal band of projected images which dissolve into narrow columns of light that run up and down the façade in a dynamic configuration. The work is conceived as a 'mirror' in an expanded sense: the artist will create a video archive of footage shot in the Pacific Northwest that reflects the Seattle region and is responsive to its surroundings. "

 

Aitken has utilized a computer program that will make continuous visual sequence changes to the LED. The installation's computer is designed "to be responsive to changes in the environment around SAM such as weather, light, special events and traffic, giving the impression that the entire building is alive with motion."

 

Mirror will essentially become a living part of the cityscape and reflect the city rhythms surrounding it. For more information, visit www.seattleartmuseum.org.

Watch a video on Wired.com HERE:

 

http://www.wired.com/video/doug-aitken--mirror-at-seattle-art-museum/2243325726001