‘Lightweaver’ by Alexis Rochas
Rochas told The Hollywood Reporter that the 45′ tall x 70′ wide sculpture would be about 700-750 feet long if it were to be unraveled completely. This was his second work to display at Coachella.
Rochas told The Hollywood Reporter that the 45′ tall x 70′ wide sculpture would be about 700-750 feet long if it were to be unraveled completely. This was his second work to display at Coachella.
Like many of the pieces at Coachella this year, "Squared" transformed from day to night. The tree-like sculpture with cube-like leaves lit up in bright neon colors when the sun went down.
Ristow’s red iron giant was chosen as a meeting spot for many festivalgoers for its size and identifying features.
“Where else can you have interaction with 100,000 people in three days, and where can you get immediate interaction from the public?” Smith asked, expressing his excitement about the number of people who came across his work during the festival. Many festivalgoers took selfies in front of the mirror, of course.
One of the most eye-catching pieces at the festival was a gigantic, roaming astronaut by Poetic Kinetics, a design team known for its large-scale, kinetic art. In addition to its design, the team was also very interested in encouraging space exploration in younger generations. “We always are interested in a little bit of education, a little bit of allusion and magic and taking the detail further than you might expect,” Poetic Kinetics’ Patrick Shearn told THR. This year marks Poetic Kinetics' third turn at Coachella.
"I never had a love for sharks, trust me," McHugh said. "It wasn't until people started to educate me that I really got into it." His work "Disco Jaws," made of mirror tiles and hung inside the Yuma Tent, brought beauty to the often villainized animals.
Because "Escape Velocity" is a roaming piece, its setting varied during the day — it never looked the same. Not to mention, the work, like many others, also transitioned from day to night. During the day, the work was a roaming astronaut. At night, the visor of the astronaut filled itself with video footage. Festivalgoers could, for example, project their face into the visor of the astronaut, becoming one with the work. “Every time you see the astronaut, it’s always going to have a different thing going on for it,” Shearn explained. “I think it changes the nature of the festival. It makes it much more whimsical, much more fantastical.”
"It's just kind of these beautiful moments where you have these strong, crisp monoliths during the day, becoming these very thin, subtle, ephemeral fields of color during the evening," Smith said. At sunset "Reflection Field" took on a new layer of beauty as it transitioned from day to night.
During the day, the free-standing blocks simply mirrored their desert environment, but at night they became bright, neon blocks lit up by LEDs. The mirrors enabled the blocks to merge color, creating a color spectrum that works on multiple levels.
“What I like about my piece is that it’s not site specific and it is entirely site specific,” Smith told THR.
Peterson's 40' long x 20' high work was covered in recycled CDs, creating beautiful chromatic purples and blues to contrast with the desert landscape. With a 30' long rotating passage inside that festivalgoers could walk through, the piece is very much built on interactivity. “A big component of my work is getting people to interact with each other,” Peterson said. “We’ve become so insulated in our work. I’m inspired by how we can break that down, and get people to play and interact with each other again, to be a little more open and a little less suspicious.”