Lozano-Hemmer’s Flatsun

Two years ago, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer created a large-scale public art installation—a spherical and dynamic simulation of the sun hovering over the city of Melbourne. This week, the artist has brought a new iteration of this project to the Armory Show; considerably smaller in scale, Flatsun at bitforms involves a more intimate experience for viewers.

Steven Sacks, the owner and director of bitforms, was happy to elaborate on the work: “Flatsun has eleven different seasons which are emulating seasons of the sun, each with a different landscape,” he said of the glowing circular LED panel, which responds to the movements of bystanders using algorithmic computer software. “It’s not looping, it’s not predictable; there are algorithms for each of these different surfaces and different movements—all of them, interpreting you.”

Compare videos of the artist’s past and present suns, at right.