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19/9/2012

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer

Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia

Open Air is presented in conjunction with the 2012 Philadelphia Live Arts & Philly Fringe Festival and the 2012 DesignPhiladelphia Festival.

Commissioned by the Association for Public Art, Open Air by artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer is a spectacular free interactive light experience directed by participants’ voices and GPS locations, illuminating the night sky from Philadelphia’s historic Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Inspired by the city’s rich tradition of democracy and respect for free speech, Open Air was created specifically for Philadelphia and for participation by the general public. Using a free mobile app developed by Lozano-Hemmer’s studio, participants are invited to record and submit messages of up to 30 seconds in length — shout-outs, poems, songs, rants, dedications, proposals. In response, 24 powerful robotic searchlights, stationed strategically along a half-mile section of the Parkway, will create a unique, dynamic light formation in the sky. The lights will react in brightness and position to the GPS location of the participants and the frequency and amplitude of their voice recording, which can be heard through the app, the project website and public speakers located at the Project Information Center and Information Outpost. The free “Open Air Philly” app will be available from the iTunes store starting September 20.

Priority will be given to those submitting messages from the Parkway, but for those not onsite, the project website, www.openairphilly.net, will allow users to record messages that will be archived and played back by the lights if other web visitors rate them highly. All participants will have a personalized webpage created automatically with their message, comments and images of the light sculptures that their voice created. Accessible on the Open Air website, the archive will also feature selected “Voices of Philly,” recorded messages from distinct individuals past and present who have inspired and influenced the flavor of Philadelphia. Each evening, invited community groups will be the first voices and will open the night with their featured messages.
SCHEDULED PARTICIPATION

Nightly at the Project Information Center / Eakins Oval

To kick-off each evening, at 8:00pm select community groups and their messages will be featured.

9.21 Philadelphia Live Arts & Philly Fringe / Performers & Producers
9.22 Community Peace Night / Share Messages of Peace
9.23 The Pigeon Presents: The Philadelphia Poetry Slam
9.24 The Best Day of My Life (So Far) / Storytelling Seniors
9.26 Young Involved Philadelphia / Civic Engagement and Empowerment
9.28 Grizzly Grizzly / Contemporary Artistic Collective
9.29 Hispanic Heritage Night / featuring El Centro Cultural Mexicano
10.1 Franklin Paine’s Skatepark Fund / Advocating for Skaters
10.2 Planetarium on the Parkway / featuring Derrick Pitts at 8:30pm
10.3 Project H.O.M.E / None of us are Home until all of us are Home
10.3 Planetarium on the Parkway / Rain Date at 9:00pm
10.4 Ubu Night / featuring Kenneth Goldsmith and Special Guests
10.5 Breadboard + NextFab Studios / Creative Applications of Technology
10.6 Family Night / Activities for Kids and Teens
10.7 Philly Youth Poetry Movement / Youth & the Power of their Voices
10.8 Women in Transition / Empowerment & Advocacy for Women
10.9 ArtReach / Arts Accessibility for All
10.10 Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia / Cycling Enthusiasts
10.11 The William Way Community Center / LGBT Community
10.12 Art Sanctuary / Drawing Inspiration from the Inner City
10.13 Neighborhood Night / Local Residents Gathering
10.14 DesignPhiladelphia / Promoting Design and Innovation

SPECIAL EVENTS
Saturday, September 22/ 2PM / FREE / Philadelphia Museum of Art
Performing Freedom: Art, Spectacle and Agency in Public
On the occasion of Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s newest public artwork, Open Air, commissioned by the Association for Public Art, “Performing Freedom” is a panel discussion (or conversation) exploring the possibilities of technology in the service of art to reinforce the public sphere as a site for the coexistence and intermingling of connective spectacle, alternative narratives, and individual agency. Panel participants include: Rafael Lozano-Hemmer; Steve Dietz, President and Artistic Director, Northern Lights, and Founding and Artistic Director, 01SJ Biennial; and Penny Balkin Bach, Artistic and Executive Director, Association for Public Art.
RSVP/Free but tickets are required – visit philamuseum.org/calenderEvents
Tuesday, October 2 / 8:30PM / FREE
Planetarium on the Parkway

The Association for Public Art, the Franklin Institute and artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer invite you to “Planetarium on the Parkway”: a free interactive presentation of Philadelphia’s night sky, hosted by Chief Astronomer Derrick Pitts. A dynamic and inspirational speaker, Dr. Pitts will direct the robotic searchlights currently performing the artwork “Open Air” to highlight salient stellar objects viewable from the Parkway. Amateur and budding astronomers are welcome to bring their telescopes!
Wednesday, October 3/ 6PM / FREE / PennDesign, University of Pennsylvania
Open Air: Richard Sommer and Rafael Lozano-Hemmer in Conversation

In conjunction with the Association for Public Art and the DesignPhiladelphia Festival, PennDesign is pleased to welcome Richard Sommer, Dean of Architecture, Landscape, and Design at the University of Toronto, in conversation with Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, creator of the interactive public art project Open Air. Ken Lum, Professor and Director of the Undergraduate Fine Arts Program and noted public artist himself, will introduce and Penny Balkin Bach, Artistic and Executive Director of the Association for Public Art will moderate. The conversation will be preceded by Sommer giving a talk in which he will situate Philadelphia, and Lozano-Hemmer’s work within his theory of the Democratic Monument, and a short presentation by Lozano-Hemmer.
RSVP/ Free but tickets are required – visit openairpublicart.eventbrite.com

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Rafael Lozano-Hemmer (b. 1967, Mexico City) is an internationally recognized Mexican-Canadian artist currently living in Montreal. He has produced large-scale interactive art installations across the globe, including the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, the 2010 Light in Winter Festival in Melbourne, Australia, and the 50th Anniversary of the Guggenheim Museum in New York in 2009. His work in kinetic sculpture, responsive environments, video installation and photography has been shown in museums and biennials in four-dozen countries. From September 6 – October 13, 2012, Lozano-Hemmer will have an exhibition of his work, Voice Array, on display at New York City’s bitforms gallery. For more on the artist, visit lozano-hemmer.com.

PARTNERS & SUPPORTERS
Partners and Supporters of Open Air include: the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation; the National Endowment for the Arts; the City of Philadelphia Parks & Recreation and Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy; Audubon Pennsylvania, Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC); Center City District; Parkway Council Foundation; Canadian and Mexican Consulates; Mexican Cultural Center; Park Towne Place Apartments – an Aimco Community; Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Rodin Museum; The Victory Foundation; Independence Foundation; Prudent Management Associates; 6abc, WHYY; Metro Philadelphia; Tierney; Expert Events; Catering By Design; Take One Production, and individual donors, among others.

www.openairphilly.net

Image: Simulated image of Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s Open Air

Media Inquiries Only:
Canary Promotion
Megan Wendell, megan@canarypromo.com
Carolyn Huckabay, carolyn@canarypromo.com
215-690-4065

FREE Opening Night Celebration: September 20, 2012 7:30 pm – 11:00 pm

Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Located between 21st and 24th Streets on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia
Nightly from 8:00pm – 11:00pm

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