Pulse Room by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, premiered at Plataforma exhibition in Puebla, 2006, and shown at the Venice Biennale 2007. A sensor records the pulse of the public and converts it into light flashes shown by incandescent light bulbs. At any given time the room shows the heartbeat of the 100 most recent participants.
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This was an amazing display of technical ingenuity intertwined with art. The fact that this exhibit relied on the viewier’s participation in order to reach its full potential, added to the experience.
I enjoyed being able to see the transformation something ordinary and not terribly asthetically pleasing, to a thing of beauty and wonder.
The arrangement of the lights and the pulsating flashes created wonderful shadows. The images of the people fading in and out as they were walking around, gave an air of surrealism to the exhibit.
Yes…an active viewer…a participant…is required here. We’ll have an opportunity to consider the difference between a viewer and a participant when we turn to Baroque art…especially Bernini.