The Lights Over English Bay

I got a chance to walk right under the robotic lights in Vanier Park three nights ago.  I was with my 8 and 2 year old children and we approached Vanier Park with the goal of answering the question “just where are these things?”

The reaction to the 20 lights that were in continual movement was hugely positive from the kids.  There are ten search lights in the West End and 10 in Vanier Park.  Even on a rainy night they look great as the light makes the moisture in the air shimmer.

When I got home I looked up Vectorial Elevation (www.vectorialvancouver.net/home.html) on the Internet and discovered a couple of interesting facts.

The lights are controlled in 12 second intervals by folks online.  You can go there and submit a design.  You have to download a Google Earth plug in.  I played with it for a little while and then realized that it was going to take me a lot longer to decide what would happen in a 12 second show than it was really worth.  

On another web site, I read that the total power consumption was going to be less than what’s used at a normal hockey game.  

The artist responsible, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, is cited by Wikipedia as “Mexican-Canadian electronic artist.”  He was born in Mexico City and took a B.Sc. in Physical Chemistry from Concordia in Montreal.

The Vectorial Elevation is certainly good fun that’s free for all.