Nuit Blanche: Behind the scenes with Blinkenlights

I had occasion to be up in one of the City Hall towers today and got a behind the scenes peek of Blinkenlights’ Nuit Blanche installation “Stereoscope” that will turn both towers into a giant interactive electric canvass until October 12th. You can read all about the project on their website, but here’s the jist:

After a long break, Project Blinkenlights is coming back big time in Toronto, Canada this year. Targeting the landmark building of Toronto City Hall, the group is participating in this year’s Nuit Blanche all-night art event on October 4th, 2008. The installation’s name “Stereoscope” reflects the special nature of the building with its two curved, opposing facades effectively creating a three-dimensional appearance.

Not having rested in the recent years, Project Blinkenlights has developed new technology to wirelessly control the lights placed behind the 960 windows of City Hall allowing for a large scale visual concert during the night in downtown Toronto.

In each window a thin white screen has been hung that will catch the light from the lamps installed throughout the towers. Each lamp has a wireless device on it, allowing it to be individually controlled. The public can participate in a few ways, including:

Among the more traditional features, everybody can play classic computer games on the facade simply by using a mobile phone. The two upper parts of each tower serve as dedicated playgrounds each offering separate telephone numbers for individual gameplay. These numbers will be published on-site beginning the week before Nuit Blanche so that people can get the information where they need it – at Nathan Philips Square in front of City Hall in Toronto.

Note to iPhone owners: you can get the Blinkenlights application from the iTunes store.