Humanscale’s installation at Milan design week mimics the movements of its visitors, explains designer Todd Bracher, who teamed with Studio The Green Eyl for the occasion.
New York-based Bracher has created an interactive light sculpture for the manufacturer of ergonomic workplace products.
Titled Bodies in Motion, the installation was designed by Bracher in collaboration with digital designers Studio The Green Eyl, and aims to capture the feeling of human movement.
The installation, which is situated in the warehouse of Ventura Centrale in Milan, features a minimal representation of the human body formed of lights that respond to the movements of visitors.
As visitor’s bodies are scanned by camera sensors, 15 motorised lights project tightly-focussed white beams onto a screen fifteen metres away. The points of light on the screen correspond to key points of the subject’s body including the head, shoulders, elbows, hands, sternum, hips, knees or feet.
Founded in 1983 by Bob King, Humanscale produces ergonomic products for the workspace such as seating, desks, lighting and workstation accessories designed to improve the overall health and wellbeing of workers with different needs.
This artwork was influenced by the research of Swedish scientist Gunnar Johansson, who investigated motion perception in the 1970s.
“He explored the idea that our brain is hard-wired to recognise the human figure even with very little information,” The explained. “So even with just three points moving in a certain formation you will understand that this is a human arm moving, or with 15 points you will understand that it is a human figure walking.”
[via]