Royal Philips Electronics recently provided LEDs to light artist Janet Echelman for her sculpture, “1.26 Amsterdam,” which was on display at the Amsterdam Light Festival from Dec. 7 to Jan. 20. The name of the sculpture is a reference to the earthquake in Chile in Feb. 2010, which shortened the day by 1.26 microseconds. She used LED lighting from Philips Color Kinetics in the light sculpture. The Philips press release says her sculptures reshape “urban airspace with monumental, fluidly moving sculptures that respond to environmental forces like wind, water and sunlight. In India, Echelman used fishermen's nets to create a new form of volumetric sculpture without using any heavy, solid materials.”
Rogier van der Heide, Philips Lighting's chief design officer, said in the press release, “Philips and Janet Echelman share a passion for light as an art form. In a world where technology, art and design are increasingly merging, there is a growing interest in light sculptures and the culture of light. The light sculptures at the Amsterdam Light Festival give meaning to public spaces, show the beauty of simplicity and bring people together. The aim behind the light festival is to use art to enrich and illuminate the city of Amsterdam at the darkest time of year.”