Presentation Title: Project Blinkenlights
Presentation Details:

B L I N K E N L I G H T S

In 2001, Project Blinkenlights developed the “Blinkenlights light installation in Berlin, Germany turning the “Haus des Lehrers building at Alexanderplatz into a huge computer screen, worlds most interactive light installation achieving a broad range of public participation. The “screen consisted of 18 windows in 8 floors therefore providing a matrix of 144 monochrome “pixels that could be individually turned on and off. Blinkenlights combined the charme of a low tec installation with high-profile computer programming and managed to deliver a high level of participation for the public. People could send in their own animations to be played back on the screen. They could also play the classic computer game Pong in real time just using their mobile phone.

A R C A D E

Encouraged by the great success of the installation, the group got invited to join the Nuit Blanche art exhibition in 2002 in Paris to create the successor project named “Arcade. Targetting the Biblioth que nationale de France, the group managed to build worlds big gest interactive light installation so far. The installation made use of greyscaling redefining the appearance and flexibility compared to the original installation. The screen used 26 windows on 20 floors resulting in 520 “pixels. Each pixel allowed displaying 8 dierent brightnesses. The installation covered 3370 square meters making it visible from many kilometers away.

About Tim:

Tim Pritlove is a long time computer hacker, events organizer and member of the Chaos Computer Club. Working as a programmer, teacher and consultant he played around with a variety of computer systems and computer networks since the early eighties. He is the organizer of the annual Chaos Communicaton Congress and the quadren nial Chaos Communication Camp. Tim is the coordinator and project leader of Project Blinkenlights that became famous for interactive light installations in public buildings. In another life, he is an assistant professor and system administrator at the University of Arts in Berlin.