Amsterdam Light Festival 2014/2015

OGE Creative Group / Centraal station

House of cards Amsterdam Light Festival 2014

Will it blow away or continue to rise up towards the heavens? The fate of the card house wobbles between the two: up or down. According to OGE Creative Group – an agency from Israel that specializes in architecture, street art projects and light design in the public space – this is a question that is far from decided. Instead their design, an almost six-meter-high tower of oversized playing cards, remains in a never-ending state of limbo.

House of Cards is fragile and secure at the same time. You might hold your breath when a storm blows through but when up close, you can see how sturdy and ingenious the structure actually is. A structure just like Amsterdam, actually, a large city built on poles. These poles haven’t collapsed, but that’s not to say that the fear hasn’t been there!House of Cards consists of 125 light boxes in the form of playing cards that in turn (or all at once) appear according to a preconfigured choreography. The structure has several levels; it looks like a modern church from one side and from the other, a classical structure of building blocks. The idea stemmed from childhood memories and the artists’ games with their children. Playing cards were once tremendously popular across the globe with all different cultures. In the Netherlands, one can still find the creations of the Speelkaartenfabriek “Nederland” (NSF), or ‘Playing Cards Factory Netherlands’, a famous printing house located on Amsterdam’s Prinseneiland. As homage to this culture and history, the House of Cards installation is placed close to this historical location.Every card of House of Cards has a different design. OGE’s Gaston and Merav invited 40 friends and internationally acclaimed street and visual artists from all over the world; people who have a special relationship with the city and regard its walls and streets as a canvas upon which to present their work. The result is a stunning new deck of cards that makes its premiere in Amsterdam.House of Cards portrays the city in various ways. It has literally been built up like a large building, layer by layer, so that the structure takes the form of a house. House of Cards also refers to a less tangible but equally important structure in society – a structure that is made up by people and their relationships. We may tend to put our own interests first, but at the end of the day, its better if we all pursue a common goal: the creation of a safe, enjoyable and creative environment. It’s a subtle and fragile network. If someone pulls a card from the deck, or starts to saw at one of the wooden poles, it’s up to the rest of the structure to absorb the blow and remain upright.We’re not quite at that point. For now, House of Cards remains standing, shining in the night. Merav and Gaston prefer to work on their light designs at night and it was during one of these evening creative sessions that the idea for the illuminated House of Cards was born and built, reaching for the stars.OGE Group (Israel)
OGE Group, founded by award winning architects Merav Eitan (1974, Israel) and Gaston Zahr (1975, Israel), specializes in architecture, design and art projects in urban environments. OGE’s various design projects and concepts aim to capture joyfulness as an integral part, both in the design process and in the use of the audience.
www.oge-group.com

Angus Muir / Open Havenfront

Sometimes art does exactly what it intends to do. This is the case with Water Fun by New Zealand-based architect and light artist Angus Muir. Several spherical buoys float on the water’s surface and are illuminated in a rainbow of colors.

No cynicism. No underlying commentary on the unbearable lightness of contemporary society. The buoys exude an un- complicated sense of joy, like balloons at a child’s birthday party or the thousands of colored bouncing balls that made their way down the streets of San Francisco in a 2005 Sony commercial. Watch it and enjoy.A kind of lightning bolt himself, traveling from one inter- national light art festival to another, Angus Muir has found the perfect saying to describe his work: “Celebrating the space.” He celebrates the public space with his light designs, almost bringing it back to life. That’s not easy in an urban environment where artworks compete with flickering neon signs and streetlights. But Water Fun floats effortlessly through the visual violence. Amsterdam celebrates light during the darkest days of the year with this bright and flashy party. And everyone is invited. Join us.Angus Muir (New Zealand)
Angus Muir (1988, New Zealand) is creative director and founder of Angus Muir Design, a company that specializes in creating new experiences in public spaces through spatial design, architecture and installations. He believes in the importance on innovation, sustainability and the use of eco-friendly materials. Muir studied architecture at Auckland University.
www.angusmuirdesign.com

Leandro Mendes / Oosterdok

Light Festival in Amsterdam 2014 2015

Amsterdam has more than 1,700 official bridges. This number excludes private bridges; bridges managed by the Rijkswaterstaat and Dutch railway; scaffolding bridges and recreational bridges; as well as the more than 1,400 bridges and viaducts that aren’t numbered. So one more bridge isn’t a problem, especially when it’s a beautiful one like Floating Bridge, a copy of a curved lattice that lights up in different colors.

Creator Leandro Mendes, better known as the Brazilian VJ Vigas, sees Amsterdam’s bridges as being similar to the organic connections that exist between the cells of the nervous system. They provide the city with valuable energy, and passing through by boat is just as exhilarating.Floating Bridge is the visual accumulation of the energy of the city. It doesn’t just resemble a dozen stacked and lit Amsterdam bridges but its shape is based on concentric half circles that form Amsterdam’s famous canals. According to its creators, this bridge of light is more than an architectural masterpiece. It’s a way to get people out of the constant turmoil of their thoughts and visual impressions, and offer them a contemplative and reflective experience in return. It’s simple: envision yourself as a package of energy and let yourself be carried away in this stream of light.Leandro Mendes – VJ Vigas (Brazil)
During his studies in design and cinema in 2003, Leandro Mendes (1982, Brazil) became interested in audiovisual performances. He now creates VJ and video mapping projects. He has presented his work at several international audiovisual festivals, and was recently announced the winner of the VJ TORNA International Competition in Mexico, Italy, South Africa and Turkey.
www.vigas.art.br

Boyle Family / de Appel arts centre

The facade of de Appel arts centre is illuminated with a selection of Early Projections by the Boyle Family. The Boyle Family is a group of British artists including Mark Boyle (1934-2005), Joan Hills (1931) and their children Sebastian and Georgia.

In the late 1950s, Mark Boyle and Joan Hills began to produce art according to two principles: 1. Art is an objective investigation of the visible world, and 2. The whole world and all its phenomena are possible subjects. In 1963, the Boyle Family started the Earth Studies. This had them collecting samples of ‘the ground under their feet’ taken from random places around the world and which they hung on walls like paintings. Around that time they also had started experimenting with other media forms like performance, film, photography and projections.The Early Projections are a compilation of projections from chemical experiments that were carried out live including the processes of evaporation, corrosion, combustion and fermentation. They were first exhibited in the 1960s at UFO, the first psychedelic nightclub in London.The presentation of the Early Projections by the Boyle Family is part of the exhibition When elephants come marching in: Echoes of the Sixties in Art Today, created by guest curator Mark Kremer. Read more about the exhibition on page 84. De Appel arts centre presents the Boyle Family in collaboration with BeamSystems.
www.deappel.nl

Katja Galyuk / City + Light – Oosterdok

Ah, the paper boat. Along with the hat and the crane, it’s the world’s most folded origami object. Ridiculously simple (although, how do you start again? Oh yes, with the fold in the middle) and immediately recognizable for young and old. An iconic image, with that lower point in the middle, and the front and rear high and safe.

The boat is often seen as a source of comfort during uncertain and turbulent times, despite its frail and non-water resistant material. Take the wishing boat for those who leave for a long time or the comforting symbol meant for traumatized children who have crossed turbulent bodies of water in a rickety boat.A paper boat floats on a Dutch tugboat, or sloepje, in the water near the Scheepvaartmuseum. The illuminated paper boat, about 60 times the size of a folded origami boat, was conceived and designed by Katja Galyuk of City + Light, office for urban lighting. Its shape is unmistakable. A paper boat! From our childhood! The friendly paper boat has been named Intrepid, meaning ‘brave’, or better yet, ‘audacious’. The boat might refer to the illustrious history of the Dutch East Indies in Amsterdam and the impressive wooden trading ships that once docked here. Instead, with her simple approach, Katja Galyuk highlights what the city stands for: safety and security, a place with beacons and landmarks that have become a part of the daily lives of the city’s residents. In this way, the paper boat is an everyday object that, as the result of a slight transformation, can have a great effect.

Katja Galyuk (Russia/The Netherlands)
Katja Galyuk (1975, Russia/The Netherlands) is a designer and consultant in urban lighting. Before moving to the Netherlands, she studied social geography at Moscow State University and worked at the Department of Urban Planning of the Region of Moscow. She founded her office City+Light to create lightscapes that connect people and the public space.
www.citypluslight.com

Todd van Hulzen / Studio Louter – Science Center NEMO

The human mind loves patterns and structures; they provide us with meaning and give support. In the projection World of shapes, shaping the world, abstract geometric shapes are transformed into figurative images and vice versa. The installation consists of a long roll of film that glides through a projector. A colorful city appears on the facade of NEMO and dissolves into a mathematical pattern from which a city gradually rises.

Todd van Hulzen and Studio Louter created the installation Temporal Tower for last year’s Amsterdam Light Festival. They summoned the historical Haringspakkerstoren in light using scaffolding, a large cloth and lighting effects. The phantom tower was just as recognizable as it was abstract, and as tangible it was transparent. The light installation is an initiative of Science Center NEMO. The installation, emphasizing patterns, shapes and illusions, is based on the exhibition about mathematics created by Studio Louter and Todd van Hulzen, World of Shapes for the Science Center.

VisualSKIN / Oosterdok – Het Scheepvaartmuseum

The Flying Dutchman is back! Anchored in front of ARCAM Amsterdam Center for Architecture and The National Maritime Museum, the 17th century ghost ship rests motionless on the surface of the water. When the wind picks up, the ship comes to life; its sails fill and the vessel sways back and forth. Across the water is the colorful replica of the famous Dutch East India Company ship that started its maiden voyage to Batavia in 1749, but that was wrecked in a storm on the English Channel and fell prey to looters. (For the full story, see the Dutch children’s comic book, Angst op de ‘Amsterdam’, from the Spike and Suzy series.)

Amsterdam and the maritime history of the Netherlands is a golden combination according to the creative brains behind Ghost Ship. VisualSKIN, a young, four-man-strong architecture collective from Romania, specializes in the creation of additional dimensions in existing locations by using spectacular lighting designs and projections. Their ghost ship is not only a nocturnal mirage but also a retro-futuristic hologram. Instead of employing the slanted, transparent mirrors and last generation video projectors used to digitally resurrect Tupac Shakur and Michael Jackson on stage during their posthumous shows, the duo turns to water curtains and old-fashioned stage lights.VisualSKIN has created the illusion of a 3D object with two intersecting planar projections, much like the method used to create trees in old video games. The very green and almost creepy apparition is beamed onto vertical, perpendicular planes of water. The wind plays an important role in achieving the desired ghostly and dreamy effect – when it picks up and blows against the streams of water, the image shakes and it’s almost like we are looking at a magnetic field.The use of the water jets reflects, even if unintentionally, the fountain that once stood on this exact location – the members of VisualSKIN were not aware of this coincidence. The mythological fountain, designed by sculptor Albert P. Termote, was constructed in 1956 in honor of the centenary of the Koninklijke Nederlandsche Stoomboot Maatschappij (KNSM), or Royal Dutch Steamship Company. The sea goddess Amphitrite rises from the water on a hippocamp (half horse, half fish) with her son, Triton, by her side (seen blowing on a conch shell). With the construction of ARCAM in 2003, the pair was partly hidden from view and the sculpture fell into the cracks, so to say. Eventually, mother and son were transferred to KNSM Island, where they can now be seen in all their glory.Is it too far-fetched to consider it a righteous revenge that the glowing green ship appears as a ghostly apparition on the same spot where the aquatic gods reigned? As a reminder of their exile, the ship must remain there until the end of time.VisualSKIN (Romania)
VisualSKIN is a team of four young architects from Transylvania: Virgiliu Guraliuc (1985), Alexandra Suciu (1985), Daiana Folea (1988) and Mihai Baba (1986). They are specialized in the creation of additional dimensions using lighting designs and 3D projections in existing locations. They spray objects and buildings with animated pixels to give them a ‘visual skin’.
www.visualskin.ro

Aether & Hemera / Wertheimpark – Nieuwe Herengracht

The Wertheimpark bathes in the glow of a radiant cloud of butterflies, hundreds of which hover above the ground in continuous, upward flight. On the Wings of Freedom is an interactive artwork conceived by Italian design studio Aether & Hemera.

The butterfly as a symbol for a quick transformation is twofold for this installation. On the Wings of Freedom is about the way in which the pervasiveness of technology is changing our society and how little we realize it. Think about it: we can manipulate the flight of these butterflies, their color and the patterns of light with just a few clicks on our smartphones.At the same time, On the Wings of Freedom is about the transformation of the city. The city is a place where people can continuously be inspired, not only culturally but also socially; a place for ongoing change and progress. The joyous flapping creatures in the Wertheimpark are not just a source of beauty and enjoyment, but also a request: keep the change coming. It’s what Amsterdam is all about. It’s been said that a butterfly can cause a storm. Leave it to these butterflies to cause a hurricane of light and creativity.Aether & Hemera (Italy)
Architect Claudio Benghi (Italy) and lighting artist Gloria Ronchi (Italy) are the founders of London-based studio Aether & Hemera. They studied at the Politecnico di Milano, which Ronchi combined with the Brera Fine Art Academy. In their work, they aim to explore the aesthetics of light to create sensory and interactive experiences. Recent exhibitions include Noche Blanca in Bilbao (2014), Kinetica Art Fair in London (2013) and Vivid Festival in Sydney (2013).
www.aether-hemera.com

alaa minawi / Nieuwe Herengracht – Hermitage Amsterdam

The Hermitage Amsterdam is at the heart of Amsterdam. Here, the city is alive with laughter, with the honking of cars and the exciting rings of passing trams. The river flows like a silver ribbon under the sparkling Skinny Bridge, the water washing up against the piers of the dock. It’s here that you arrive with your luggage. A bag slides from your shoulder while another is secured tightly to your back, an invisible backpack of unresolved issues that makes your head hang low.

my light is your light… tells the story of the uncertainty of being. The six life-sized figures made of curved neon tubes stand on a dock as though they have just arrived from far away. They are refugees, conceived by artist alaa minawi (indeed, without capitals). minawi is, like his father and grandfather, a Palestinian refugee living in Lebanon.The use of neon lights in art often refers to the way that mass media conveys messages. American artist Bruce Nauman, for example, made numerous works of profound or nonsensical statements in a variety of appealing colors and shapes that flicker on and off (see the banal but enchanting 1985 work, Seven Figures at the Stedelijk Museum). Is it art or Times Square kitsch? Nevertheless, you will be drawn to it, like a mosquito to a UV lamp. alaa minawi has chosen to work with neon for a very different reason. Neon shines the same soft, serene light as a fugitive, he says. According to the artist, people who have been forced to leave their homes exude a soft, gentle glow. His sculptures are made of white neon tubes that distribute an extremely delicate and almost silky substance, especially in the evenings.These fragile light sources have another function. Although bent to resemble the shapes of human figures, you can only see their contours. They are ultimately hollow, much like a refugee, says minawi, someone who has not only left behind all his possessions but also his past and his image of the future. With only those things that he can carry on his shoulders, the refugee takes the risk to flee to a new country to start a new life; a new life where everything can be filled once again.my light is your light… is a temporary monument for the displaced in a city known for being welcoming and tolerant. The group sculpture exudes sadness, the figures’ heads bent and shoulders hunched over. But there is also an unmistakable optimism and borderless confidence in the future about them. Just take a look at the smallest neon figure, most likely a child, leading the others with his head held high. He, too, has had to leave everything behind. And there he stands. To his left, the infectious hustle and bustle of the city, and to his right, the beautiful Skinny Bridge. Just a few more steps and they will have arrived.alaa minawi (Lebanon)
alaa minawi (1982, Lebanon) is a visual artist who studied communication arts at the Lebanese American University in Beirut, Lebanon. He has been working in film, photography and theater in both the Arabic world and in the United States since 2006. alaa minawi is currently working in Lebanon as a lighting designer and writer, and is an interpreter for Iraqi, Syrian, and Sudanese refugees seeking asylum in the United States.
http://alaaminawi.tumblr.com

Irma de Vries / Amstel – Hermitage Amsterdam

Two gatekeepers are positioned in front of the entrance of the Hermitage Amsterdam on the Amstel River. It’s not a coincidence – the museum is currently showcasing more than 30 paintings of gatekeepers from the 17th and 18th centuries. These monumental paintings by Govert Flinck and Jacob Backer, amongst others, are part of the collections of the Amsterdam Museum and Rijksmuseum.

These paintings deserve to be protected and the six-meter tall citizens of Amsterdam appear to take their jobs very seriously. They guard the gate, leaning on tall metal spears that not only look dangerous but also function as support – the gatekeepers are not as sturdy as they appear. The figures, created by visual artist Irma de Vries, are round on one side and hollow on the other, like casts of human bodies. With the help of projected lights (perfectly calculated with video mapping), De Vries brings both the bulbous and the hollow sides to life, making the figures appear as holograms.The gatekeepers don’t just watch over the Hermitage Amsterdam. They also ensure that the ideology of the 17th century is preserved, a time that is considered to be an important period of growth in the Netherlands. The Golden Age brought about many developments in the northern Nether- lands (which made up the Republic of Seven United Provinces), ranging from science (the invention of two different microscopes and Christiaan Huygens’ discovery of the wave theory of light) to paintings (the bourgeoisie loved to be depicted in group portraits, similar to the ones that make up the exhibition in the Hermitage Amsterdam). Similarly important were the successful conquests overseas (which led not only to encounters with other cultures but also, unfortunately, to their exploitation) and the improved position of women in society (who could now leave the house without a male escort even when unwed).The Netherlands wouldn’t be the country it is now without the insights gained more than 300 years ago. The gates that were opened then should remain open. Irma de Vries’ gatekeepers ensure that these ideas keep coming. They don’t resist, but facilitate.These figures are based on the life of Pieter Pietersz Hasselaer. This work was made possible with the help of Nick van Loo, Richard Rijken, Cornelis Rijken and Menno de Vries.

Pitaya / Amstelsluizen

The most beautiful thing is when nothing is what it seems; when you think you know exactly how something is but after further investigation, discover it’s completely different. Take this lighthouse. It’s not a lighthouse but a shipping container that has been cast on the shore and has lost its cargo along the way. After being taken along by the wind and the waves, this heavy object has ended up on its side on solid ground. Safe above ground, several miniature people have built a home on the container: a small wooden white house surrounded by a white picket fence. Light shines from the house at night, in which the pioneers sit, read their books and admire the views of the Amstelsluizen.

The two-man design studio Pitaya had this scene in mind when devising LightHouse. The work is an ode to Amsterdam, a city that has, throughout history, been influenced and shaped by international maritime activities, and that has brought its men to the most exotic places on Earth. Hence the 12-meter-long ship container, a symbol of global trade and wanderlust that is reflected here in the water.At the same time, LightHouse pays tribute to art and imagination. By playing with the elements of scale, incorporating unsuspecting materials and applying light in unusual ways, the artists stir up certain expectations, which must then be reflected upon and even changed. You can see a lighthouse in the work, if you so desire. But above all, LightHouse is a beacon of fantasy, its light dispersed for everyone who needs it. Go see it!
Pitaya (France)
David Lesort (1976, France) and Arnaud Giroud (1977, France) founded design studio Pitaya in 2004. They met while studying industrial creation and design at the Leonard de Vinci Art School in Villefontaine, and now focus on innovative luminous objects in public spaces. Their installations have been presented at various festivals including the Lyon Light Festival, Ghent Light Festival and Arbres en Lumières in Geneva.
www.pitaya-light.comThis work has been made possible with the help of Waterschap Amstel, Gooi and Vecht.Amsterdam and water are inseparable. The city conquered water, and its position on the river has made it one of the most important trading cities in the world. But water has also always been a reason for concern. Polluted canals caused diseases. The city has had to protect itself against flooding from the IJ, and the water levels constantly need to be managed. The river Amstel remains very important for water management in Amsterdam. Waterschap Amstel, Gooi and Vecht ensures Amsterdam’s residents safety, and provides clean and sufficient water. Without Waterschap, the city would be underwater.

Students HvA / Amstel – Torontobrug

“People make the place,” is the conceptual starting point of the The Sphere of Amsterdam. How is Amsterdam actually doing? Did Ajax just lose a match, leaving the city with an air of disappointment? Or radiate love? Are we all looking forward to the weekend?

For this installation, the city’s mood is measured using Internet and mobile data techniques every hour. The mood is then visualized with the use of colors and light effects and a three-meter-large ball of light. At specific times during the day, visitors can use an App to light the ball with a color of their choice. Be sure to photograph or take a video of the spectacle to post it on Instagram and Facebook!The team from the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences that created the light ball approached it as a research project. How can you visualize “big data” and how can we link it to our emotions? What does the universal “language of light” look like?The Sphere of Amsterdam is a unique collaborative project between students from the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, the Technical, Economic & Management departments, and researchers of the Amsterdam Creative Industries Network.

Tjep / Amstel – Herengracht

The bridge is the perfect connection between two parallel experiences, those of being on the water and being on the street although we don’t often stop to think about it. When you cross a bridge, you rise above ground level – above the rush of the city – and you look over the water, or beyond, into the future. When passing underneath, an unseen, century- old part of the city is revealed.

Lightbridge, by design agency Tjep., is an ode to Amsterdam’s bridges, much like an actual bridge, functions as a connector itself. The artwork not only draws on bridging our experiences of the city from the street and the water but attempts to connect the 17th century architecture of Amsterdam’s canals to the newest developments along the shores of the IJ.

Tjep. refers playfully to Amsterdam’s most iconic lights: the ones that line the arches of Amsterdam’s bridges. The lights used by Tjep. in Lightbridge react to movements, from both the street and the water, and respond with computer-controlled lighting effects. Never before has an artwork so beautifully bridged the gap between what was and what is to come.

Frank Tjepkema / Tjep. (The Netherlands)
Frank Tjepkema (1970, The Netherlands) graduated from the Design Academy in Eindhoven in 1996. He started his own design studio, Studio Tjep., in 2001 and was Department Head at the Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam from 2001 to 2004. His work has been selected by Droog Design and has been included in several international museum collections such as the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) in New York and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. Tjep. won the Dutch Design Awards twice in 2004 with his design for the British Airways executive lounge and the jewelry design piece Bling Bling.

www.tjep.com

Stichting Barstow / Nationale Opera & Ballet

If you have read Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, or seen the film adaptation with Johnny Depp, you know that the Californian city Barstow is the last stop before the madness of the games and entertainment paradise that is Las Vegas begins. “We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold,” Thompson wrote. That’s the exact moment the trip can begin.

Barstow is also the name of the Dutch artist collective consisting of Steven Bos, Susan Lanting and Gover Meit. The name is not a coincidence, of course. Stichting Barstow has a passion for the spectacular, for artworks that don’t find themselves in the confines of white walled spaces but in the public space for all to admire their compelling presence. The artwork made by Stichting Barstow immerses the audience in a world where other laws apply: the laws of spectacle.Take the moon on the roof. We all know that Moonburn is a large balloon painted with glow-in-the-dark paint. Although considerably smaller than the real moon – 6 meters in diameter versus 3,475 kilometers – the balloon appears larger than the moon, and its presence really shakes things up. The skyline of Amsterdam is different than usual and something special has been added: spectacle.The nice thing about ‘simple’ additions like these, or actual imitations of natural phenomena, is that we are able to better appreciate the originals. In 2003, Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson, whose body of work consists mostly of imitating various natural phenomena such as rainbows, waterfalls and fog, created a shining sun in the large Turbine Hall of London’s Tate Modern.Of course, visitors realized this was an illusion. But those who witnessed this art performance will never forget it. It’s hard not to think of this artist when seeing the sun set over the sea. The only thing Eliasson did was recreate something that existed long before us and that we can enjoy daily. For Stichting Barstow, it wasn’t enough just to imitate the moon. They had to add something, something to connect the moon to the city. Better yet, connect it with the craziness of the city, the lights, the crowds. There’s a reason why the title of the work is Moonburn; in the same way that the sun can have an affect on our behavior, so does the moon. Some people actually go a little crazy. Lunatism, although never scientifically proven, is a condition that describes sleep-walking and mood swings during the presence of a full moon.Now the moon reflects the light of Amsterdam. At night, the moon charges with the energy radiated by the city. In return, Moonburn ensures temporary insanity in the minds of those who look up and find themselves in another dimension, the last stop before total absurdity.

Stichting Barstow (The Netherlands)
Artists Steven Bos (1984), Susan Lanting (1982) and theater director Gover Meit (1987) founded the collective Stichting Barstow in 2014. They graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam in 2009, and Bos and Lanting continued their education at The Sandberg Institute. Meit has produced many theater plays and strives to combine various art disciplines. Bos and Lanting create visual experiences using modern techniques like 3D video. As Stichting Barstow they explore new forms of visual spectacle.
www.stichtingbarstow.nl
www.bos-lanting.com
www.meitje.com

Saskia Hoogendoorn & Lieuwe Martijn Wijnands / Amstel – Zwanenburgwal

There is no other city in the world where you can find as many nationalities as Amsterdam; the city’s 800,000 residents represent 178 nationalities.

They are the beating heart of the city and now this image has been visualized for all to see. A heart shines in the center of Amsterdam where the water of the Amstel and the Zwanenburgwal meet.178 BOTTLES, 1 MESSAGE consists of 178 bottles containing LED lights that can be controlled by the festival’s visitors. The duo Saskia Hoogendoorn and Lieuwe Martijn Wijnands of creative agency Tijdmakers collaborated with light specialists Rivolta, Triple It, Robert Overweg and Jasper Kloosterboer for the execution of the artwork.The artwork was inspired by the famous words of former city councillor, Floor Wibaut (1859-1936) whose statue can be seen standing around the corner from the City Hall: “There’s only one land: earth. There’s only one nation: humankind. There’s only one faith: love.” Everyone can spread this message. Take a photograph of the artwork and share it via social media (#178BOTTLES) or project your country’s flag on the heart using the Amsterdam Light Festival App and website.Saskia Hoogendoorn & Lieuwe Martijn Wijnands (The Netherlands)
Saskia Hoogendoorn (1973, The Netherlands) studied social psychology at the University of Amsterdam while Lieuwe Martijn Wijnands (1970, The Netherlands) studied design management at the Amsterdam Fashion Institute and culture, organization and management at Amsterdam’s VU University. They have been working together as Tijdmakers since 2006 and create projects that connect people based on a principle of ‘social flow’, or informing, involving and activating others to create new energy and ideas.
www.tijdmakers.nl

Jacques Rival / Amstel

Amsterdam Light Festival Mirrorings

Mirrors and light. You don’t need much more to create the perfect illusion. In the Californian desert, close to Joshua Tree National Park, artist Phillip K. Smith applied mirrors and LED lights to the boards, windows and doors of an old wooden house. When the sun had set and the warmth of the day lingered on the ground, the hut appeared almost like a mirage in the horizon. There are great photographs of the artwork to be found on the Internet.

Mirrors and light, it’s really that simple. That’s what French artist Jacques Rival thought when he spotted a wind spinner – a hanging mobile of concentric circles that turn independently of each other – when walking past a gift shop in Amsterdam. Stare at it long enough and your eyes start to spin and tear up, just as they do when looking at paintings and sculptures by artists from the 1960s, who would apply optical illusions in their work.Mirrorings, a blown-up version of the wind spinner that Rival used as a reference, now hangs in front of Hotel de l’Europe. At the point where the water of the Amstel River reflects the lights of the Munt Tower and its surroundings, the large, hypnotizing and rotating circles reflect Amsterdam’s cityscape. It reminds us of the LED-lit desert hut in the Californian desert. In contrast to the harsh neon billboards and the piercing beams of car headlights, light art in the urban environment can be ideal for exploring areas where the ordinary dissolves into a magical dream, says Rival. That’s where we find Mirrorings.Jacques Rival (France)
Jacques Rival (1972, France) is an architect who studied at L’École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture in Lyon. He has used light in his installations and designs since 2000. His work, mostly done in urban spaces, uses color to attract the attention of passersby. Rival’s work has been shown at many international festivals including Amsterdam Light Festival 2013, Dubai Festival of Lights 2014 and Jerusalem Light Festival 2014.
www.archizip.com

LIGHT(onda)FLOW / Herengracht – Utrechtsestraat

Amsterdam Light Festival Boatroute

LIGHT(onda)FLOW. It’s not an easy title. It becomes a lot clearer when you know that ‘onda’ means ‘waves’ in Spanish and Portuguese. LIGHT(onda)FLOW is the poetic representation of the fusion of light and water in an undulating, serpentine-like movement, mirroring the movements of the two natural phenomena.

The work refers both to the waves that have bobbed through Amsterdam’s canals for centuries, and the famous Dutch light that is reflected in the water. It also touches on kinetic art, a form of art that has lingered like a serpent through art history for a long time. Kinetic art considers the representation of movement and the progression of time as its key principles. This art form was conceived at the beginning of the 20th century by Italian futurists, fond of machines and factory work, and perfected by artist Marcel Duchamp who created the Bicycle Wheel in 1913, the first continuously moving and rotating artwork.The snake of LIGHT(onda)FLOW rises from this tradition. Driven by a powerful motor, the exposed piece of rope slivers along the wall like an ongoing homage to one of the most important elements of the city: the water. The legacy of the futurists lives on.LIGHT(onda)FLOW (Spain)
Lighting designers Carla Jardim (1977, Brazil) and Fabienne Cuny (1977, France) have backgrounds in architecture. Lola Solanilla (1974, Spain) is specialized in ephemeral architecture, and Marga Vicens (1980, Spain) combines architectural lighting projects and the world of showbiz. They have all completed the Lighting Design Postgraduate Program at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia in Barcelona.

Loop.pH / Herengracht – Insinger de Beaufort

You might not have heard but the United Nations has proclaimed the year 2015 as the International Year of Light. Light is used in art, in science, in health, in nature, at home, and just about everywhere else. Light is so pervasive that we hardly ever stop to think about it. This is the case even though energy shortages may become a serious problem in the not so distant future. What better place to highlight this issue than a light festival where the city’s beauty and power of innovation are literally illuminated, albeit in the most sustainable manner.

This winter, a spectacular, futuristic-looking landscape arises from the Herengracht. Arborescence looks like a crossing between a system of advanced streetlights and the porous stems of a mystical mangrove forest teeming with fireflies and glowworms. The elements float on pontoons on the water’s surface and are illuminated from below by way of sensor-equipped LED lights that react to the movements of the water.Is this what the near future looks like? It could be. Arborescence is the visualization of an idea, the application of new technological possibilities in regards to energy use, packaged in an appealing setting of a set of trees, which are among the main energy suppliers of mankind.Loop.pH (United Kingdom)
Loop.pH is a London-based spatial laboratory founded in 2003 by Mathias Gmachl (1974, Austria) and Rachel Wingfield (1978, United Kingdom). Wingfield graduated from the Royal College of Art in 2001 and Gmachl has a background in experimental music. They operate across the fields of design, architecture and science. Their work can be found in the collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum, Museum of Modern Art New York, and Bloomberg Art Collection.
www.Loop.pH

Eibert Draisma & Aoife Wullur / Herengracht – Leidsestraat

Amsterdam Light Festival Tulip Mania Lights

Tulip mania, or tulpengekte, tulpenwoede, bollenrazernij in Dutch are all words that refer to the hysterical tulip trade in Holland and Utrecht in the 17th century, the first economic bubble in world history. During those days, a bag of tulip bulbs, imported a century earlier from the Ottoman Empire, was worth so much after a period of three years that you could buy a row of canal houses for them. And then, just like that, the lucrative trade collapsed in 1637.

This winter, the tulip craze returns to Amsterdam. Over by the bridge at the Herengracht and the Leidsestraat, two colorfully lit beds of tulips rise from the water.The tulips don’t just rise from the water spontaneously, however, just as the economic boom in the 17th century didn’t fall from the sky. Instead, it was the result of prosperous trading and people working together. Working together is what defined the Dutch Golden Age and what these tulips need to rise above the water; they require actual human strength.That’s the reason for the 20 pumps that line the bridge. Those who want to discover tulip mania in 2014 will have to work for it. City residents, passersby, tourists – everyone is invited to participate in this collaborative project. Pump, and let the tulips bloom.

Eibert Draisma and Aoife Wullur (The Netherlands)
Designer, inventor and artist Eibert Draisma (1966, The Netherlands) started his own design firm after graduating from the Design Academy Eindhoven. His products range from karaoke singing robots to speaking coffee machines and dancing lamps. Designer and creative co-creator Aoife Wullur (1985, The Netherlands) graduated from the Design Academy Eindhoven in 2011, and creates conceptual designs with a technological touch.
www.eibertdraisma.nl
www.aoifewullur.com

Tropisme; Alfred Marseille, Paul Godschalk / Herengracht – Leidsegracht

Amsterdam Light Festival Neon

In 1979 American multimedia artist Rudi Stern published his manifesto Let There Be Neon, a history of neon lighting and its implementation in art, architecture and advertisements. Stern dreamed in neon lights. In 1981 he said, “I have plans for neon sidewalks, neon highways, neon tunnels; neon on bridges, under water and alongside the contours of trees in the park.”

Stern passed away in 2006, but he would have been pleased to see the neon artwork of the Tropists. It has everything that makes neon so irresistible. The work is a line of text, like that used in American advertisements in the 1950s when salesmen and advertising men discovered the potential of the medium. In a variety of colors the artwork screams, THIS IS IT, BE HERE NOW, which also happens to be the work’s title. Clear and simple, it’s exactly what neon signifies. But above all, Stern would have been impressed with the way the artwork operates.It flashes. It crackles. It sparkles. The artwork encourages visitors to come closer with its attractive colors and provoking message. At the moment the visitors arrive at the location they are beckoned to, the lights dim, accompanied by an array of loud rustling noises. Annoying, insidious and endlessly elusive, flickering in the periphery of your scope – that’s how neon should be. “An addition to the urban surroundings,” wrote Stern.Tropism; Alfred Marseille, Paul Godschalk
Founded in 1987, artist collective Tropism has been active again since 2012. Cofounder and media artist Alfred Marseille (1961) and technician Paul Godschalk (1957) worked together to create this piece, THIS IS IT, BE HERE NOW. The collective creates artworks, installations, soundscapes and films, as well as curating complete exhibitions like Photosynthesis in the Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam (2013) and Edinburgh, Scotland’s Botanic Gardens (2015).www.tropisme.nl

Univate / Herengracht 295

Amsterdam Light Festival Herengracht

Contribute to the interactive projection Lux Turba Sensus. Developed by Univate, the projection is fed by real-time big data collected during the Amsterdam Light Festival. Add your own content to the installation using the hashtag #AMSTERDAMLIGHT.

Everyone can share messages and photographs, which simultaneously serve as real-time inspiration for other visitors. The more data shared, the more intense the images become. As soon as something new is shared, the installation changes. In addition to the visitor-generated-content, data from organizations will also be transformed into light. The inspiration for this dynamic design stems from the telephone exchange building; the location where Amsterdam’s telephone lines have come together for decades.

Amsterdam Light Festival / Herengracht

Cities contain a certain kind of magic. They’re exciting. But it’s an excitement that’s hard to describe. Amsterdam Light Festival calls this phenomenon Couleur Locale, an essential component to experiencing the city. Fourteen different colored filters have been added to street lanterns to symbolize Amsterdam’s rich couleur locale. What is your favorite color?

Géraud Périole / Herengracht, between Leliegracht en Herenstraat

A champagne bubble bath. The end of the tubes of Willie Wonka’s miraculous chocolate factory. Vanishing holes to unknown solar systems. Perfect soap bubbles that float endlessly towards the heavens. You can see just about anything in the light circles hovering above Amsterdam’s Herengracht, the realization of French artist Géraud Périole. You can be as poetic or prosaic about it as you want. Périole entitled his artwork Effervescence, which actually means (the) bubbling, fizzing and foaming.

The art is in the alleged simplicity. The artist likes to use uncomplicated and recognizable forms that he continually repeats. The rings are compiled in an ingenious system of cables that have been attached to the trees lining the canals and which can’t be seen in the dark. The luminous circles appear to hang effortlessly in the air and it’s up to the imagination of the viewer to ‘finish’ the artwork when standing on the edge of the canal, or better yet, inside a boat.Surprise and magic, that’s what it’s all about. Kindness also plays a role because – let’s be honest – an artist who, in the middle of the winter, manages to give his audience a sensation that resembles a warm bubble bath deserves the Nobel Prize for, well, ultimate satisfaction.Géraud Périole (France)
Géraud Périole (1968, France) is specialized in the lighting of historical buildings and public spaces. He currently focuses on event lighting and is especially drawn to the combination of technical innovation and artistic expression. He acquired his technical background while studying construction sciences at the University Paul Sabatier in Toulouse, France. His work has been presented at the Arbres et Lumières Festival in Genvea, Switzerland, and at the Fête des Lumières Festival in Lyon, France.
www.geraudperiole.com

Rob van Houten / Herengracht – Brouwersgracht

Amsterdam Light Festival Circle of Life

Some places require an archway. Take the Melkmeisjesbrug, for example, the narrow, pedestrian-only bridge that connects the Brouwersgracht and Herengracht. Providing an almost magical entrance to the city center, it’s hard not to imagine an archway over this bridge. This winter, this wish has become a reality. Amsterdam-based architect Rob van Houten has designed Circle of Life specifically for the Melkmeisjesbrug, a ring of light around the bridge that, when we are at its highest point, makes it seem as though we are floating above the city.

Circle of Life is a Möbius strip, or a loop with only one surface and one side. It was named after the German mathematician and astrologer August Ferdinand Möbius who discovered the loop in 1858. It quickly became a symbol for eternity, and was used by Dutch graphic artist M.C. Escher in drawings and etchings from the 1960s; in one drawing he depicted ants marching on a Möbius strip-like grid.Circle of Life is also about eternity, about the endless stream of water in the canals and the rush of people to the city. The colors of the ring also play an important role in this scene. It starts off in a milky white color, depicting an empty city needing to be filled with life. When someone crosses the Melkmeisjesbrug, the intense light flows in both directions and blends together to form new colors.It’s a different experience from the water. When a boat passes the bridge, the ring’s milky white light reflect the light dancing along the sides of the canals at night; more rough and wild at first, until the water settles and the calmness returns. And then everything starts all over again: shake, light up and settle – Circle of Life functions just like the city itself.

Rob van Houten (The Netherlands)
Rob van Houten (1971, The Netherlands) is an architect, engineer and designer. He studied architecture and building technology at the TU Delft. He works in Amsterdam and New York City and teaches design and building technology at TU Delft. He also has experience in lighting design, both natural and artistic.
www.orbitect.nl

Amsterdam Light Festival / Fietsflat, Centraal Station

Amsterdam Light Festival Bike Lights Ohlala

Artists were briefed about the theme and story of this year’s edition of Amsterdam Light Festival in March. We asked them to celebrate the city as a place to broaden perspectives, to create new ideas with others, and to explore the city’s history and future.

The artists have interpreted the theme in their own way and together, their work ensures that Amsterdam Light Festival remains a celebration of Amsterdam and cities all over the world: cities that are full of ideas, chances and opportunities and cities that evoke curiosity.OHLALA consists of 2,000 bicycle lights that have been designed for Amsterdam Light Festival. The batteries of these lights don’t have to be replaced since they are solar-powered. Do you want to take a piece of Amsterdam Light Festival home with you? Order your ORL (OhLaLa Red Light) on the Amsterdam Light Festival website!