The speed of light is a factor to which we have all been taught the maths behind, due to our grey-haired friend “Einstein”. We all remember being asked at some point or another in school classrooms; “What is faster than the speed of light?” Once the academic equations have been theorised, drawn and accepted, what is left?
The truly magical experience is of witnessing, first-hand, what can be transformed by this medium. Essentially, it’s a variable to be empirically observed and be consistently intrigued by. So lights’ true value and divine properties cannot be found in the written format; rather it is manifested through the observers’ personal experience. It suddenly changes from equation to spectacle; and it is within the latter that “Light” manifests into a medium to trigger emotions, awe, intrigue and conversation. Ultimately, perceivers witness light morphing into a tool for a dialogue. In Barcelona, a team of architects have realised the power of light and set up “5 de luz”, which literally means: “5 (minutes) of Light.”
Every day at 22:00 in a narrow street in Barcelona’s province of Gracia, passers-by are exposed to five minutes of various artistic creations, working with light. From animations to shot footage, and even a live interactive drawing session relayed in real time; the format is left open. The founders; Marc Zaragoza & Marga Ruiz Arcaute, both architects living and working in Barcelona, state their intention as: “We wanted to produce something beautiful … One day we started to think about the small fragmental beauty seen and experienced everyday by people but easily overlooked. Like the reflection of the sun on water or the graceful movement of leaves due to a slow southerly wind. We thought it was all commonly very small acts and interactions; things we even take for granted that
ultimately makes a day “beautiful. “From that, we wanted to take these aspects and highlight them to people in a way that respected the scale of what we initially observed. That is why it’s only 5 minutes and daily, allowing each piece
to become part of the same routine we initially witnessed, which triggered 5 de luz.”
Works are sent in and shown from various artists around the world, creating detachment from the artists’ physical presence, which allows “the work” to truly speak for itself. By boycotting ego, the “intended” message is for the spectator to take from it their own conclusions. Mark continued to expand upon how “the world seems to be constantly referenced or reliant on referencing something or another… Before we act on something we check it up… and see how it’s been done before, and what it’s related to… it’s a never ending loop. We don’t specify a brief to the
work because we want it to be abstract and by-go references.”
This allows each piece to truly be seen as a spectacle and a one-off event, even with the rigid daily timetable. What is created through “5 de luz” is a systematic spectacle allowing for an interaction with the public which is never heard but always seen. To be a part of 5” de luz, please send video’s to:
marc@poeticabeligerante.org /
margapoeticabeligerante.org
