Nocturne Halifax

myampgoesto11:

ARTIST MAKES REAL RAINBOWS

(photos: A successful test of McKean’s rainbow over the Bemis Center (all images courtesy the Bemis Center)/Rendering of the rainbow production system.)

“Well, here’s something we didn’t think could be done: homemade rainbows. Artist Michael Jones McKean has figured out how to create colorful arcs of light in the sky, and he’ll be making them this summer above the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts in Omaha, Nebraska. It’s like instant happiness.

McKean’s project, titledThe Rainbow: Principles of Light and Shapes Between Forms, has been underway for a decade — understandably, since a rainbow can’t be an easy thing to produce. The artist enlisted the help of irrigation and rainwater-harvesting experts, atmosphere scientists, plumbing and electrical experts and Bemis Center staff to devise a rainwater and renewable energy system at the museum. The whole thing works on a massive scale: Rainwater is filtered and collected in six 10,500-gallon waters tanks. A custom-designed pump in the gallery then sends pressurized water to nine nozzles mounted on the museum’s roof, and twice a day, a wall of water rushes up above the building. Rainbows emerge within the walls of water, lasting for about 20 minutes each.”

[via Hyperallergic]