Sky & Earth, light- & mirror artwork

Sky+Earth, a lighting and mirror art piece, triggers various emotions due to its integration with the surroundings. Fred Baumgart, the artist, develops an installation that moves people to action. It is the result of a symbiosis of ideas from artist Fred Baumgart, and Traxon´s managing director, Stijn Bröcker. This collaboration led to a unique and multi-functional art piece that can provide an outstanding and memorable experience for the audience.

The installation brings together aesthetic materials from nature in contemporary design. The idea for a mirror installation that creates a stage and reflects what is above, such as the combination of sky and mirrors, was developed by artist Fred Baumgart, who has realized various non-mirror art pieces positioned in nature in the past.

Vegetation and sky alternate in an impressive interplay. The atmosphere is both campfire and stadium. Strong reflections keep the viewer’s eye in constant motion. A reflection of the surroundings by day and night. By day, the viewer sees what is above him; by night, light art is created (animations that create moving images, some of which can be accompanied by sounds).

Supported by passionate metalworkers, structural engineers, graphic designers, and photographers, he creates an installation that can be placed both indoors and outdoors. Fred sought the assistance of an LED strip lighting installation to be installed at the bottom of the art piece since he also wanted it to be active at night. At this point, something spectacular and effective was the result of the collaboration between Fred and Traxon:ecue.

The clients were looking for a lighting system that could be adjusted to their design. Stijn Bröcker: “The artist’s idea was to activate the mirror at night with lighting. I proposed to adapt our Media Pixel Ribbon from a 100 mm pixel pitch to a 33 mm pixel pitch, creating a low-resolution video mirror with each LED light point individually controllable.” Traxon e:cue used media ribbons, a flexible, IP67-rated solution that accommodates curved architectural structures and free-form applications with an even radiance in full-color RGB. The lighting control was realized with e:cue SYMPL Pixel Nodes controlled by an SYMPL core SP running Sympholight Software. The vast creative possibilities of the Sympholight software enabled the artist to bring his creative vision to life.
Fred Baumgart explains: “Our main challenge during the project was to install lighting, and the result demonstrates the flexibility and adaptation of Traxon e:cue products and how they can respond to different expectations. They completely customized their standard product to fit our needs.”

Fred Baumgart, the artist, said: “I wanted to create a unique experience during both days and nights. The viewer can see what is above him during the day and feel connected to his spiritual aspect by the reflection of the sky and natural elements, while during the night, light art appears, including animations with different stories and sometimes accompanied by sound, which could create a more pleasant environment. According to the designer’s experience, Fred adds: ”People become completely quiet while they are standing around the art piece and watching the reflection or the light art, and the surrounding atmosphere is relaxing with positive vibes like what they experience during campfires in the middle of nature”.
Feel free to be creative while you are designing without being worried about the challenges. In Traxon: ecue we have endless possibilities for you.

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