CMU School of Drama


Friday, February 25, 2022

See The Northern Lights In NYC At This Mesmerizing New Light Show On 'Edge'

Secret NYC: A new experience on Edge — the highest outdoor sky deck in the Western Hemisphere, open in Hudson Yards — will mimic the coveted natural phenomenon with a new interactive light spectacle called “SKYLIGHT.”

5 comments:

Jessica Williams said...

This seems so absolutely beautiful. To be honest it probably looks better in person but the pictures are still incredible. How marvelous would it be if they were somehow able to set up a permanent exhibit in a public place in NYC so that anyone at anytime could go see these beautiful lights. I can only imagine all the cute proposals in front of it, all the parents taking their little kids to see such beautiful lights in preparation for the holidays, all the local businesses that would see a spike in profits from the installation drawing in tourists. The vision of that gorgeous natural phenomenon of the northern lights above a city so populated and concentrated as New York would be absolutely magical. I can only hope that they are able to make a more permanent installation somewhere after this incarnation of it is taken down in a few weeks.

DMSunderland said...

The intersectionality of lighting and projections technology is so so interesting to me. With the advent of projections as it's own unique discipline within our industry I feel that both are able to find their own identity and heighten and support each other rather than try and fail to be both at the same time. Installation art pieces that rely so heavily on technology our industry uses always makes me feel a swell of pride, like our technology can do more than just exist to support a production that's there one minute and gone the next.

Between these and swarm technology with drones I am interested in seeing where the technology eventually leads us. It's mind boggling to me that we can use technology to so closely mimic natural phenomena like this. And it's genius to make it so the effect is meant to be seen from a sky lounge where you already have that insular layer of glass to remove you from the actual phenomena being observed.

Nick Huettig said...

This is crazy! As someone from a small town, I often lament the lack of a nighttime view. While yeah, in pittsburgh the stars are decently visible from in town, I often find that light gets in the way far too much for it to be enjoyable. I find myself missing easy access to areas that are completely dark, as strange as it might seem. I'm sure places like this exist within the city, but as a freshman my ability to get to them is limited.

Regardless, I'm sure that no matter how bad it is here, it's nothing compared to a place like NYC. To be able to have an experience that lets you see not only the beauty of the night sky, but the northern lights within the city, I have to imagine that it is nothing short of magical. I have not seen the northern lights in person myself, but as somebody who loves nature and natural phenomena (the night sky full of stars is probably my favorite thing on this entire earth), it is a goal of mine to witness them someday.

Sophia Coscia said...

This feels worth a trip to New York to me. It is simply beautiful and given high amounts of light pollution in cities, especially New York, this concept of manufactured night sky feels strangely futuristic to me. Beautiful, but slightly eerie. Like this is what we may see after we run out of sky or evolve past the sky. I believe that the Weekend did a performance on this observation deck as part of the VMAS during COVID. I was dazzled by the way they used the architecture to create the seemingly gravity defying performance. It has stuck with me ever since I saw it. I highly recommend looking it up and watching it. However, I had no clue this deck was open to the public and featured video media used in this way. It is really impressive to me, and I would love to go see it in person.

Madeline Miller said...

This looks so cool. With a city like New York, that has such iconic skylines, the chance to use that imagery in art is a really inspiring thing, and overlaying the Northern Lights is an exciting and beautiful idea. One thing I’m confused about is that the article says “A new experience on Edge — the highest outdoor sky deck in the Western Hemisphere, open in Hudson Yards — will mimic the coveted natural phenomenon with a new interactive light spectacle called “SKYLIGHT.”” It’s unclear to me what part of this show is interactive. The article doesn’t clarify, and neither the New York Skyline nor the northern Lights seem like things a person would be able to manipulate in real time. In the photos,it seems like all of the spectators have their phones out. I would be disappointed if the interactive element was purely virtual. If this show ever comes back, maybe I will have to make it to New York and find out for myself.