So for my birthday I wanted to go downtown to see the Light City event and even though I didn't get the chance to see everything it had to offer, I really enjoyed myself just browsing all the beautiful works of tech-savvy art.
The very first thing I notice when entering the harbor was the Plaza, by artist Scott Pennington. It looked like such a fun place to be with its theatre-like marguees, carnival feel, and Vegas style. It was just captivating. The first thing my husband said was, "that would make an awesome mini golf place." All I kept thinking was 'of course you would say that."
The Pixel Promenade, by Radiance (Erin Barry-Dutro and Kyle Steely) was super cool. Hovering above the bridges connecting Piers 4 and 5 was an LED canopy that displayed messages that attendees sent in. Of course it seemed a little counter-productive as I watched a few people staring down at their phones crossing the bridge instead of up at the lights, but that is the generation we live in, I guess. Either way, I certainly had my chin up in the air the entire time, of course causing myself to trip a few times because I was in awe of the lights.
Next stop...the Peacock that I was super duper excited to see. I kept hearing about it on the radio and seeing it on the news. This attraction was presented by Greater Baltimore Committee and the artists are Tim Scofield and Kyle Miller. Let me tell you...this thing was incredible. This LED fiber optic peacock sits at 12 feet high and the feathers opened up to about 20 feet tall and 40 feet wide...now add awesome music and flashing lights! BAM!!!! My son was so intrigued, I don't think he wanted to leave.
Disappointingly so, we missed the Circus of Wonders. Standing at a solid 5 foot nothing, I couldn't see a thing. I should have gotten there sooner...Dag-gon Peacock and it's awesomeness! I did snag a pretty cool photo though.
Okay, so the next thing I saw blew me away...but in such a subtle way. The Voyage, by Aether & Hemera presented by Brown Advisory, enchanted the spectators with 300 paper boats floating in the Inner Harbor water. Yes PAPER boats! How amazing is that! I mean if you didn't get to see these, you missed out. These paper boats turned the harbor into a sea of changing color. As I sat there watching the colors change with my son, I just felt so blessed to see there is still true art in the world.
On our journey back to the car, we heart the heart-throbbing sound of drums. Of course my curious soul couldn't miss an opportunity to see what that was all about. The Community Beacons: Making Waves presented by Visit Baltimore was created by Kinetic Frenetic (Jenn Figg, Matthew McCormack, and David Fakunle). This incredible West African percussion sound thumped as their drums lit up and gorgeous waves of light appeared on the Baltimore Visitor Center...probably not the best time for my son to have fallen asleep, but it was so worth it! Of course in my journey I noticed a remarkable structure entitled The Glacier by Riki K, presented by Constellation. The beauty of this art piece isn't just in the glittering lights and alluring sounds, but in its subtle way to address issues of global warming.
Last but not least was that amazing illuminated graffiti-like wall. The artwork was entitled Lumen by Kristin McWharter and Steven Lynam. Attendees and street artist decorated the wall with fluorescent-ink markers...the result...a super bright and beautiful moral of collaboration and togetherness!
