How cool is this?! Created to bring awareness about the ways in which light pollution is obscuring the beauty of the night sky, 'Reflecting the Stars' is a light installation off of Pier 49 in the Hudson River. Some more information:
Reflecting the Stars uses wirelessly controlled solar-powered LED lamps to recreate our night sky on the decaying posts of Pier 49 in the Hudson River at Bank Street in Manhattan. The project is free to the public and will be a featured highlight of NYC climate week September 19 – 26.
Nightly, a set of 201 lights twinkle in various patterns as the tides conceal and reveal the lights. Visitors on shore can press buttons which highlight constellations within the lights that are no longer seen in urban centers because of air and light pollution.
Reflecting the Stars was created by Jon Morris, who grew up in a small town in Kentucky star-gazing on Lake Cumberland.
“We hope to not only give the viewer a sublime moment of reflection but also raise their awareness about our disappearing night sky,” said Morris, founder and artistic director of The Windmill Factory art collective. “This combination will motivate people to turn off lights at home, ask their offices to put lights on timers, and perhaps even help influence public lighting policy.”
Steel pipe caps were chosen for the casing of the lights, which rust within days of installation to match the natural decay of the once-bustling transportation pier. The contrast of new technology encased in a rusting shell mirrors our species’ race for advancement that is changing the climate, melting our glaciers, and leaving us at a global crossroads. The installation will be a site of celebrations, protests, and other convergences.
The work was created by The Windmill Factory; you can learn more about it on their website here.
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