Jack Kalish and Gabriella Levine , two students in the New York University Interactive Telecommunications Program, exhibited “Bytelight” at the winter student show–that’s where we at A New Days Work saw it first, and were impressed with the execution and focus. The project takes one, tiny component of computer visualization, an LCD pixel, and translates it to physical proportions: portrayed as a physical, engaging light sculpture that hangs above the viewers head like an ordinary light fixture, Kalish and Levine invited participants during the ITP winter show to play with the 24 switches under the light sculpture, each standing for a bit of information that change the light and color of the tubes above.
Let’s get talking — Bytelight is a great piece to interact with, but the documentation takes on it’s own life and feels like a new age music video — what do you think is the role of documentation in works that hinge on audience participation?
The challenge of this piece is that it can be read as either a) an instructional piece of technology, which makes visible the particular mechanics of digital objects like an LCD pixel, or b) as an aesthetic object whose effects (visual) are more important than its cultural/technical significance. Fortunately, it’s also possible to understand the piece as doing both things at the same time, which I think is the best way to work through it.
On the video, you’re right Colleen, it’s a little music video-y. I’d prefer a documentation that engages a history of the pixel, building into the rationalization for Bytelight.
Hey Zack,
You really cut through to the crux of what the project is about. Any work of art ought to be aesthetically pleasing, especially when dealing with interactive art. Bytelight welcomes the passerby to play with it, once the visitor is engaged they could begin asking those questions: “What is this about?” Or, they may not. Some might see it as a puzzle to solve: “Oh, I can make different colors with it… wait, how could I make yellow?” And through that process of playing, you subconsciously acquire an intuitive of understanding of binary byte values. “Oh, I see, this switch makes the light much brighter, but this switch only a little brighter.” Or, you might be awed by the physical behavior and properties of colored light. So, yes, it could function on both levels; cognitive and emotional. My hope is that the experience would challenge the visitor to question technology in their lives that they typically take for granted, but it need not.
Hi Jack, thanks for joining in! You provide some great insight into how participants reacted to your work. Did you expect people to think of it as a game or a puzzle? So fascinating!
When I played with Bytelight, I was obsessed with the rainbow beams that resulted as a by-product of the light mixture. I was wearing a white sweater, and the rainbow beams it created on my sweater and on the white wall were beautiful.
[...] Puppets”, we were tipped off to the project by Jack Kalish, one of the designers of “Bytelight“, and we are glad he did – it’s advanced, complicated, and a little creepy. What [...]