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Images of Double Rainbow Passage

This is the description of Double Rainbow Passage included in the honorarium grant application. There were many other sections describing other aspects of the project, but this basic description gives a good idea of what it's all about:

Located halfway between the Esplanade and The Man along the 7:30 axis, Double Rainbow Passage is composed of two lines of 10' white obelisks forming a 20'-wide passage. Each obelisk is 20' from the next, for a length of 200'. This adds up to 11 pairs of obelisks lining the 7:30 axis. The obelisks are each skinned with white ripstop nylon, so during the day they form a simple long corridor of tall white pyramids.

A powerful stage light is concealed within each obelisk, with a motion sensor between each pair. At night, the dormant state of the obelisks is a deep indigo illumination. With interaction, however, each of the pairs of obelisks along the line lights up in its own color. From one end to the other, the gradation of illuminated obelisks covers the spectrum of the rainbow. Hence the name: Double Rainbow Passage.

When a participant enters the passage and triggers a given sensor, two things happen. One is a rapid "Rainbow Flash" in both directions along the rest of the line. The speed of these flashes is almost instantaneous - just fast enough to catch each individual color.

"Trail" mode also ensues with each interaction: the corresponding color lights up in a superfastfast strobe pattern. That pair of obelisks remains illuminated like this for six seconds (a function of the time it takes to walk to the next color). As people pass by each successive color of the rainbow, they create instant bright pings of rainbow, as well as leaving a trail of illuminated colors behind them. Faster travel through the passage results in more concurrently-illuminated obelisks.

If four or five of the sensors detect motion simultaneously (ie, when larger crowds are moving through the passage at once), "Random Happy Flashy" mode kicks in for four seconds. Flashes are really fast, at many per second, with only one individual light on at a time. There is no pattern to the flashes: it's randomized.

If six or seven of the sensors detect motion simultaneously, the Random Happy Flashy mode ensues, but with a third of the total obelisks illuminated at a time.

If eight or more sensors detect motion simultaneously, "Heartbeat" mode is launched. The entire 200' passage suddenly illuminates uniformly in deep red, with the 22 obelisks pulsating together like a heartbeat. After four seconds, the lower-activity mode resumes.

Higher-activity modes are rare, but can be staged and sustained with enough collaboration. Trail mode is the most playful and interactive, and results in many simultaneously-illuminated colors when several people are moving through the passage - in addition to frequent Rainbow Flashes.