SOLAR FLARE photo courtest of Caitlind r.c. Brown.
A new interactive art installation will light up Stephen Avenue for the next couple months when darkness arrives early.
SOLAR FLARE by artists Caitlind r.c. Brown and Wayne Garrett (the creative duo behind CLOUD another impressive light installation) is a giant ball of light suspended 18 feet above the avenue between Centre Street and First Street S.W. and surrounded by heritage buildings. According to Caralyn Macdonald of the Calgary Downtown Association two motion sensors on either side of the work (near the big cement spheres in front of the Art Gallery of Calgary) detect people passing below which triggers the rotation mechanism of a metal cylinder inside the piece. That cylinder has holes cut in it (different sizes and patterns) and when it spins the "sun" shimmers. When one motion sensor is tripped the motor spins at a slow speed. When the other sensor is trippedit spins more quickly.
The Calgary Downtown Association commissioned the artists as part of its effort to enhance the vitality downtown. The public is invited to come out to see the work and meet the artists on Thursday December 19 from 6 pm to 8 pm at the Art Gallery of Calgary. SOLAR FLARE will be lighting up Stephen Avenue until February 2.
