LED Art
Encyclopedia
LED Art is form of light art
constructed from light-emitting diode
s. Many artists that use LEDs are guerilla artists, incorporating LEDs to produce temporary pieces in public places. LEDs are very inexpensive to purchase and have become a new way to make street art. LEDs are, among others, used in installation art, sculptural pieces and interactive artworks.
, Massachusetts in the United States caused by a guerilla marketing campaign. An advertising firm working for Turner Broadcasting System Inc. to promote Aqua Teen Hunger Force
, one of the networks television shows, hired two artists to produce art for the ad campaign. The artists used a character from the television show (a cartoon) referred to as a Mooninite as their imagery. The Mooninite was turned into an LED sign and was stuck to many locations in 10 cities. However, Boston was the only city that reacted by shutting down bridges and bringing in bomb squads to remove the LEDs. The majority of the light boards were removed and the artists were arrested.
A LED throwie is a small LED
attached to a coin battery and a rare earth magnet (usually with conductive epoxy
or electrical tape
), used for the purpose of creating non-destructive graffiti
and light displays.
Artists use them by throwing individual LEDs onto metallic objects, like public sculpture or road infrastructure. By throwing LEDs onto an object, the object itself acts as a canvas. LED Throwies were devised by James Powderly
and Evan Roth
working together at the Graffiti Research Lab
during a fellowship at Eyebeam OpenLab
in 2006.
Light art
Light art is a form of visual art where main media of expression is light. Light has been used for architectural aesthetical effects throughout human history. However, the modern concept of light art emerged with the development of artificial light sources and experimenting modern art...
constructed from light-emitting diode
Light-emitting diode
A light-emitting diode is a semiconductor light source. LEDs are used as indicator lamps in many devices and are increasingly used for other lighting...
s. Many artists that use LEDs are guerilla artists, incorporating LEDs to produce temporary pieces in public places. LEDs are very inexpensive to purchase and have become a new way to make street art. LEDs are, among others, used in installation art, sculptural pieces and interactive artworks.
Infamous LED Art
In early 2007, there was a bomb scare in BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts in the United States caused by a guerilla marketing campaign. An advertising firm working for Turner Broadcasting System Inc. to promote Aqua Teen Hunger Force
Aqua Teen Hunger Force
Aqua Teen Hunger Force , retitled Aqua Unit Patrol Squad 1 in 2011, is an American animated television series on Cartoon Network late night programing block, Adult Swim, as well as Teletoon's Teletoon at Night block and later G4 Canada's ADd block in Canada...
, one of the networks television shows, hired two artists to produce art for the ad campaign. The artists used a character from the television show (a cartoon) referred to as a Mooninite as their imagery. The Mooninite was turned into an LED sign and was stuck to many locations in 10 cities. However, Boston was the only city that reacted by shutting down bridges and bringing in bomb squads to remove the LEDs. The majority of the light boards were removed and the artists were arrested.
Artists incorporating LEDs
- Jenny HolzerJenny HolzerJenny Holzer is an American conceptual artist. Holzer lives and works in Hoosick Falls, New York.-Education:...
- One of the most well known artists who incorporates LEDs into her work. She uses familiar statements and reinterprets them to alter their meanings.
- Cell Phone Disco is an installation that uses the electromagnetic spectrumElectromagnetic spectrumThe electromagnetic spectrum is the range of all possible frequencies of electromagnetic radiation. The "electromagnetic spectrum" of an object is the characteristic distribution of electromagnetic radiation emitted or absorbed by that particular object....
emitted by the viewer’s cell phone and creates a visual interpretation. The LEDs are attached to large grids and when a phone is activated in a section of the room, the lights turn on. They make the invisible environments around us visible.
- Kevin McCormick – an artist who incorporated LEDs into large spheres emulating disco balls.
- GreenPix – Zero Energy Media Wall – created as an environmentally friendly art space. It acts as a low resolution screen for artists to show their work.
- Liu DaoLiu DaoLiu Dao Liu Dao Liu Dao (a Pinyin phrase meaning "island number 6" - , is an international multidisciplinary art collective based in Shanghai, China. Liu Dao was founded in 2006 by island6 Arts Center under the direction of French curator Thomas Charvériat. Liu Dao is an electronic art group...
- an art collective in China that uses actors and filmmakers to make animated LED portraits. The group also combines traditional Chinese arts like papercuttingPapercuttingPapercutting is the art of cutting paper designs. The art has evolved uniquely all over the world to adopt to different cultural styles.-History:...
with LEDs to highlight China's journey from tradition and modernity, and is directed by Thomas CharvériatThomas CharvériatThomas Charvériat is an artist, curator and art director.- Life :Thomas Charvériat was born in Paris and attended the School of Visual Arts in New York, receiving his Bachelor of Fine Arts in photography in 1998, and pursued graduate coursework at Columbia University, receiving a Master of Fine...
to find originality through international collaboration.
LED throwies
LEd
LEd is a TeX/LaTeX editing software working under Microsoft Windows. It is a freeware product....
attached to a coin battery and a rare earth magnet (usually with conductive epoxy
Epoxy
Epoxy, also known as polyepoxide, is a thermosetting polymer formed from reaction of an epoxide "resin" with polyamine "hardener". Epoxy has a wide range of applications, including fiber-reinforced plastic materials and general purpose adhesives....
or electrical tape
Electrical tape
Electrical tape is a type of pressure-sensitive tape used to insulate electrical wires and other material that conduct electricity. It can be made of many plastics, but vinyl is most popular, as it stretches well and gives an effective and long lasting insulation...
), used for the purpose of creating non-destructive graffiti
Graffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
and light displays.
Artists use them by throwing individual LEDs onto metallic objects, like public sculpture or road infrastructure. By throwing LEDs onto an object, the object itself acts as a canvas. LED Throwies were devised by James Powderly
James Powderly
James Powderly is an artist and engineer whose work has focused on creating tools for graffiti artists and political activists, designing robots and promoting open source culture.- Biography :...
and Evan Roth
Evan Roth
Evan Roth is an artist whose work focuses on tools of empowerment, open source and popular culture. He has previously released work under the name "fi5e".-Biography:...
working together at the Graffiti Research Lab
Graffiti Research Lab
Graffiti Research Lab, founded by Evan Roth and James Powderly during their fellowships at the Eyebeam OpenLab, is an art group dedicated to outfitting graffiti writers, artists and protesters with open source technologies for urban communication. The members of the group experiment in a lab and in...
during a fellowship at Eyebeam OpenLab
Eyebeam Atelier
Eyebeam, is a not-for-profit arts and technology center in New York City. Their stated purpose is to promote the creative use of new technologies by funding artwork, education and exhibitions. The founders were John S. Johnson III, David S. Johnson and Roderic R...
in 2006.
External links
- LED Throwies Tutorial on making LED Throwies
- LED Throwies blog European blog about LED Throwies
- A tutorial on how to make more advanced LED graffiti: LED tags and figures using perspex and other light leading materials
- Youtube Video of throwies at work
- Graffiti Research Lab