White Noise White Light

Location:
Athens, Greece; 2004 Olympics
Scope:
Temporary public art installation
Program:
Interactive public art
Area:
4,000 sf
Credit List:
Höweler + Yoon Architecture, Eric Höweler, J. Meejin Yoon
Year:
2004

Comprised of a 50' x 50' grid of fiber optics and speakers, "White Noise/White Light" is an interactive sound and light field that responds to the movement of people as they walk through it. What appears at first to be a static, neutral and transparent grid of vertical markers dissolves into a luminous sound-scape by night. As pedestrians enter into the fiber optic field their presence and movement are traced by each stalk unit, transmitting white light from LEDs and white noise from speakers below.

Just as white light is made of the full spectrum of color, white noise contains every frequency within the range of hearing in equal amounts. If the motion is detected, the white LED illumination grows brighter while the white noise increases in volume. Once motion is no longer detected, the light and sound fade into dimness and silence.