Lincoln Center Will Present Artist’s Solar Power Plant

Artist research material for John Gerrard Solar's Reserve Tonopah, Nevada) (2014). Photo: SolarReserve.

This fall, New York’s Lincoln Center will present a new digital art commission from Irish artist John Gerrard, curated by the Public Art Fund, reports the New York TimesSolar Reserve (Tonopah, Nevada) will utilize a massive 28- by 24-foot LED wall to simulate a solar thermal power plant deep in the Nevada desert.

The computer-generated image, projected on the LED screen, shows a real power plant that uses 10,000 mirrors to reflect light onto one large tower. The scene will change in real-time, reflecting the motion of the sun and moon over the course of the day.

“While video art has had the limitation of only being able to be shown at night,” Public Art Fund director Nicholas Baume told the Times, “this state-of-the-art LED wall will be the first time a project like this will be visible 24/7.”

“With its compelling, subtle imagery and sophisticated use of digital technology, John’s work will be of interest not only to visual art fans and casual passers-by, but also to those who follow gaming and environmental technology,” said Lincoln Center president Jed Bernstein in a press release. “Lincoln Center’s ‘front-yard’ is a terrific location for visitors to explore this free, theatrical work of art.”

“New York City is all about verticality,” added Baume. “The idea of the power of the sun—this most ancient foundational theme of human culture—has a particularly interesting resonance with Lincoln Center, our modern cathedral of culture.”

The installation, on view at Lincoln Center’s Josie Robertson Plaza, on Columbus Avenue between 63rd Street and 64th Street, October 3–December 1, is this year’s follow-up to Christian Marclay’s The Clock, shown at Lincoln Center in 2012, and last year’s exhibition of contemporary sculptures by Los Angeles artist Aaron Curry.


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