by David Mahany

About

Jen Lewin is a light artist based in New York who has been doing art for over 20 years.

Most of her recent works are large scale sculptures, often with an interactive component. Some of these are permanent installations, but she also has some traveling works as part of her “Have Art Will Travel” program, which aims to create worldwide public art experiences.

Most of her works involve diffuse LED lighting, often taking the form of tubes that activate by motion, or interactive floor panels that activate when stepped on.

Interaction draws people into the works, hopefully inspiring them in the future.

The Aurora

The Aurora is a 29 foot tall sculpture made out of aluminum, incorporating over ten thousand LEDs programmed to reflect human interaction with the floor panels below, and to reflect the weather outside.

As implied by the title of the work, it is inspired by the Aurora Borealis.

Andante

Andante consists of many colorful tubes of light, which can be interacted with by waving your hand underneath. The interaction causes a color change, and triggers a different tone depending on which tube is interacted with.

Edison Cloud

The Edison Cloud is an interactive chandelier composed of a few thousand glass bulbs with embedded LEDs. 

Through the use of an infrared camera, the cloud lights up in the direction of people walking below.

This work has had multiple iterations in different locations; the newest has 2800 LEDs spread across eight cloud pieces.

The Pool

The Pool is a series of circular pads arranged in a circular pattern. When stepped on, the pads change color and pattern.

The Pool is a travelling work with its first installation in 2008. It has had over 60 installations worldwide so far.

Closing

Sources

https://www.jenlewinstudio.com/about-jen-lewin/

https://www.jenlewinstudio.com/artwork/

Please Touch the Art | Jen Lewin | TEDxMileHigh – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PENUoKd5Feo 

How Jen Lewin developed the technology for her interactive sculptures | Code 2018 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9oKie2Nyok