It Must Give Off and Receive Light

~100ft x 70ft outdoor light installation

Year 2017

Venue BLINK Cincinnati

Location Cincinnati, OH

Impact Snapshot

Role

Composer/designer on large-format public commission

Audience

BLINK Cincinnati festival audiences

Stack

Large-scale LED control, Public-space interaction, Live performance integration

Outcomes

Outdoor participatory installation delivered at festival scale.
Playable instruments allowed visitors to alter light behavior.

Measured Signals

~100ft x 70ft footprint.
13 documented presentation frames from BLINK installation.

Ground-level night view of glowing fabric columns scattered across a downtown Cincinnati street with blurred figures moving through the installation

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Aerial drone view looking down at the full installation showing columns arranged in a radial pattern with blue-glowing drums scattered among crowds of people

Close-up looking into a drum from above showing the LED-lit translucent drumhead glowing purple-white with circuit board and electronics visible underneath

Children playing a snare drum on its concrete base among softly glowing columns at night

Snare drum on metal stand with concrete donut base, LED rim glowing purple, surrounded by festival-goers

Wide night view of crowds among glowing columns with a person playing a drum at center, downtown Cincinnati skyline behind

Close-up of drumsticks striking a snare drum with LED ring around the rim glowing bright purple, motion blur on the sticks

Family with young child playing a drum surrounded by columns glowing warm white, pink, and red

Elevated view of the full installation from across the street with columns glowing warm colors and an illuminated civic building in the background

Daytime close-up of snare drum head showing the translucent surface used to diffuse the LED light

Daytime detail of a concrete column base with fabric strap and buckle securing the white fabric skin

Daytime detail of column top showing the wooden ring capping the white fabric cylinder, downtown buildings out of focus behind

Hand touching a glowing purple snare drum at night with fabric light columns visible in the background

Video documentation available at: youtube.com/watch?v=PCDjWsmG3rk

Interactive Demo

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Description

Eighteen glowing fabric columns and a constellation of snare drums fill a ~100ft x 70ft outdoor space in downtown Cincinnati. The drums are the controls: striking a drumhead triggers LEDs embedded in its rim and sends color rippling through the surrounding columns, turning each participant into a performer shaping the light field. Without input the columns stand dark—the installation only comes alive through play. Each night of the festival, the Intermedio team performed newly composed music live among the columns, layering structured composition over the crowd's improvised rhythms.

Concept

An instrument disguised as public art. The piece collapses the boundary between audience and performer by hiding the controls in plain sight—familiar objects (drums) that anyone can play, whose output is not just sound but light visible across an entire city block.

Team

Eric Blyth Designer
Sam Ferris-Morris Composer
Justin West Composer/Designer

Capabilities

Large-scale LED InstallationLive PerformancePublic Art

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