Light Projects' evolving mission to create
wondrous spaces continues. In 2006 we are focusing
on light, space and time to develop innovative
"chromatic
spatio-temporal environments".
This newsletter is the second of several
communications focusing on installations of multiple
scales, lectures, and exhibitions for which color is an
expressive language.
Join Light Projects for Coney Island Parachute Jump July 7 Event, link below!
Coney Island Parachute Jump Illumination
Brooklyn, New York, USA
Thirty-seven years have passed since the closing of
Coney Island’s world-renowned Parachute Jump ride.
Since then, darkness of night has rendered the tower
nearly invisible. Starting in July 2006 the
two-hundred-sixty-foot illuminated structure will
shatter the starry sky accompanied by waves
pounding against its surfside site! This
artist-programmed “skin” of colored-light transforms
the filigreed steel Parachute Jump framework – a
shimmering omni-directional icon for Coney Island
and all of Brooklyn.
The 170-ton Parachute Jump tower was constructed
for
the 1939 New York World’s Fair as an amusement
ride, modeled after paratrooper training towers. In
1941, the Jump was relocated to Coney Island’s
Steeplechase Park with a half-million riders a year.
In 1969, after the Park’s sale to the late developer
Fred Trump, the Jump was closed permanently, and
abandoned. In 1988 the tower was officially
landmarked. In 2000, the City’s Economic Development
Corporation assumed responsibility and engaged the
STV engineering firm to rehabilitate the structure,
abate the lead paint and restore the landmark red
and yellow colors.
Following structural refurbishment, the lighting project began in 2005...
Objectives were
established during a design process with the
stakeholders group that included New York City’s
Department of Parks and Recreation (its owner),
Brooklyn Borough President’s office (its funder)
and New York City Economic Development Corporation
as the coordinating agency. Collaboratively this
process aspired to create an illumination would to
serve as an internationally recognized beacon for a
revitalized Coney Island. Its landmark colors were
to be enhanced and echoed during the evening and
night -- and choreographed lighting sequences would
imply motion expressing the rise, fall and floating
of parachutes specifically and Coney’s tradition of
the whimsical, unique and unusual in general.
Light...Time...Movement...Urban Icon
The malleable forms of light, time and color are
the
media with which Leni's artform is constructed. For the
Jump, episodic rhythms, affectionately named during
long nights of electronic programming, include
“Cha-Cha-Cha”, “Ghost Chasing Its Tail”, among
others, are woven into scenarios which perform
nightly during the entire year. Programs were
sketched and based on music composition language
such as stanzas which include glissando, pizzicato,
legato rhythms, among others, and utilizing
automated color-changing floodlights and LED
sparkles as “instruments”.
The vernacular surroundings of the Coney Island boardwalk
and its engineered steel icon contrasts
with tomorrow’s development – sophisticated and
sleek – typified by the modern Stillwater Avenue,
IND subway station. The influences and desires of
artist, audience and stakeholders exert a powerful
dynamic tension within which public artwork is
developed.
As the artist, Leni envisioned a meeting of the popular
and the mysterious emanating from the semi-solid
figure of the mushroom-shaped tower. Illuminated
iconic models ranged all the way from the Eiffel
Tower, recently re-lighted, to the Empire State
Building which demarcates public celebrations and
occasions as well as dividing urban day from night.
An innovative fixture was designed to satisfy the
client’s desire for an icon that would be seen from
multiple vantage points including
the Verrazano Bridge. An on-site mock-up was
orchestrated to design a light-emitting diode (LED)
fixture pointing in several directions. Called The
Trident, in honor of the Coney beachfront, the
fixture is composed of a calibrated set of three
one-watt red diodes, applied to the tower’s “stalk”
and canopy in a regular pattern.
Six discrete scenarios mark notable days of the of the year...
...such as the Coney boardwalk season, the full
moon and holidays – with visual chimes to announce
the hour, on the hour. The light performances start
one-half hour before sunset and go dark at midnight,
except during fall and winter...and the bird
migratory season, when the lights are programmed to
turn off at 11:00 pm, as a part of the “Lights Out
New York” initiative.
Depending on the date, every night of the year, a
blossom of light – animated, joyous, mysterious, and
colorful – is viewed from ocean, highway, boardwalk
and neighborhoods all around New York City. Link
to a description of the six scenarios
Team Credits
Owner: New York City Parks and
Recreation
(Project managed by NYC Economic Development
Corporation and funded by Brooklyn Borough
President, Marty Markowitz)
Light Projects Team: Leni
Schwendinger, Stephen Bickford, Courtney Hewitt,
Charles Cameron, Mark Simpson
Master Programmer: Paul Hudson
Rehearsal Programmer: Alex Fogel
Engineers: STV
Consultant: Ron Fogel and Associates
Equipment: Electronic Theater Controls,
Martin Professional, Phoster Lighting
Contractors: Turner Construction, Linco
Electrical, CAN Resources, 4 Wall Entertainment
Lighting
Celebrate
And join us also for our ongoing celebration of urban art sited throughout cities
Leni Schwendinger Light Projects has honed artistry,
craft and technology over the past decade into a
singular “product” recognized throughout the world
of lighting, architecture, engineering and public
works.
Through highly competitive processes Light Projects
wins commissions that fit our unique
profile--developed for clients who share our passion
for light and its effect. These are projects that
require innovative solutions for highly visible
“destination” sites such as the McCaw Hall
performing arts center, at Seattle Center, and the
landmarked Coney Island Parachute Jump. We
welcome any challenge seeking to implement and
integrate materials, structure and light.
Two projects in this category have recently been
awarded to Light Projects.
- Enid A. Haupt Conservatory at the New York
Botanical Garden, for which we are mandated to
create a versatile, context-sensitive lighting
system for eleven Victorian glass houses.
- St. Louis Arch Grounds, for which we are
creating a span of light that will connect the
Saarinen/Kiley -designed site to the city and
complete the original design vision.
Lectures
We invite you to join us for an upcoming opportunity to hear Leni speak!
Color and Light: Humanizing the Urban Nighttime
Environment
Illuminating Engineering Society--October 9 2006
in Tampa, Florida
Leni will discuss how the colored light “trend” is
on the rise. As manufacturers lead the way by
refining technologies and ease of use, by what
measure can designers, agencies and owners rate the
applicability of colored light? This seminar
proposes a creative nighttime vision, covering a
range of public projects.
... In New York City
Light Projects Employment Opportunties
We are seeking bright, creative, articulate
designers and artists to join our staff. Light
Projects has openings for lighting designers and an
artist assistant.
We invite you to visit
our light filled Hell's Kitchen loft studio. Please
call Welfe
Sullano, office manager/marketing coordinator for an
afternoon date.
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