*군무비행을 모티브로 한 라이팅 설치물 [ Studio Drift ] Flylight

새들의 군무비행을 본적이 있습니까?
하늘이라는 캔버스를 바탕으로 살아서 움직이는 물감들이-새들의 작은점들이
마치 도트 패턴의 점과 같다.-
만들어 내는 독특한 풍경은 그대로 그림이 되고 애니메이션이 됩니다.
실상 그 아름다움은 살기위한 자기 방어의 수단으로 활용되는 대표적인 예이다.
불규칙적이며 다양한 볼륨의 형태로 변화하는 새들의 군무비행은
자신들보다 큰 매나 독수리와 같은 포식자보다 커다란 볼륨을 형성함으로써
자신들을 보호한다. 여기에 다양한 형태로 변화는 역동적인 움직임마저 들게 하여
포식자의 눈을 속이는 현상을 일으킨다.
스튜디오 '드리프트'는 이와같은 새들의 군무비행을 추적 조사함으로써 군무비행이 갖는
아름다운 삶의 형태-자연은 다양한 형태의 삶의 그래프를 만들어 낸다.
자연이라는 커다란 장은 다양한 삶의 곡선이 만나는 도표가 된다-
를 라이팅의 패턴으로 표현함으로써 인공적인 자연공간을 연출한다.
이렇게 디자인된 라이팅 설치물은 관찰자로 하여금 새들의 군무비행을 연상시키며
자연이 펼치는 다양한 삶의 패턴 그래프를 보게 될 것이다.

reviewed by SJ

Today’s remarkable creation comes from a design team in the Netherlands called Studio Drift, composed of artists Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta who began working together on their first Flylight back in 2007.

Studio Drift developed the concept for Flylight based on the precise patterns, formations and seemingly random behavioral tendencies found in a flock of birds when they fly together. The flight patterns within the flock seem arbitrary and even playful, but as the designers researched, they learnt that that this is never the case. Each move a bird makes is deliberate and with good reason; 'the birds have to keep a safe distance from each other while staying safe from possible aggressors, this makes them fly close together to form dark spots in their formation so the attacker cannot pinpoint an individual bird.' Therefore, while pleasing to the eye, the flock formations are a natural defense with which to protect the birds from their predators. The goal of Studio Drift was to translate the behavior of a flock into light patterns and demonstrate this on large light installations. The viewer is meant to experience what it would be like to watch a flock of birds from within that flock itself.

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The sheer size of a Flylight is quite impressive (each Flylight consists of a minimum of 180 glass tubes), and this successfully provides the viewer with a sense of impermanence - a type of beauty that cannot be frozen or captured. Based on the movements they wanted to recreate from a flock of birds, the design team developed a system to take 'flock behavior' and translate it into 'digital DNA' to create recognizable visualization with light. Each light tube is individually controlled, and each tube can 'see' their environment through the use of sensors; they are able to interact with one another. This information is then fed into a computer simulation that drives the 'behind the scenes' electronics of the lights. No pattern ever repeats itself. With each new pattern, the ‘birds” must choose their way within the limits of the installation (the “flock”) themselves.

Although Studio Drift started their first Flylight in the year 2007, it wasn’t until earlier this year that they felt ready to showcase their masterpiece at Salone del Mobile 2011 in Milan, their first show outside of the Netherlands, where it was enthusiastically received.

The specific Flylight showcased in this post is a piece commissioned by the architects Philosophy of Design of Moscow, Russia,  for a private residence in their city. This a larger Flylight, consisting of 200 glass tubes that evoke fluid movement and interact with anyone moving along the staircase that it floats above. It is an ever-changing centerpiece that stretches along both levels of the home in the dining space and entry hallway. The installation is impressive and alive with patterns and sequences of smart light.

from  contemporist