NYFOL offered visitors a curated collection of lighting installations created by local and international lighting designers, performance artists and technologists - all working with the medium of light. The event was presented by The New York Festival of Light Organization, a non-profit art group. Its vision is to create and provide a unique and delightful experience for residents and tourists by enhancing New York City's architecture through interactive, static and projected lighting installations.
NYFOL marked the U.S. debut of Clay Paky's Supersharpy fixture. Clay Paky was also represented at the festival by a dozen each of Sharpys, Alpha Spot HPE 700s and A.leda B-EYE K10s.
Lighting designer Ira Levy, who heads lighting production company Levy Lighting NYC, cofounded NYFOL with Liam O'Braion and serves as its creative director. Four years in the making, NYFOL finally gives New York the kind of impressive festival of light found in other major cities.
"We have such an active lighting industry and were the only city without a festival of light," says Levy. When prospective sponsors and others asked for a proof of concept, The NYFOL Organization staged last year's First Light in lower Manhattan as a launch event to raise awareness and generate excitement for a festival of light. A.C.T Lighting supported First Light and was eager to jump on board for NYFOL, which was planned for Dumbo.
"Ira is a long-time friend, so we offered to provide the new Supersharpys and create a powerful statement for the festival," says Brian Dowd, vice-president of sales at A.C.T Lighting. Collaborating with Levy, he mounted eight Supersharpys on a 6ft tall platform and pointed the lights up at the sky to form the Beacon, a stunning tapering column of blue light that could be seen from midtown Manhattan. A big mirror ball hung in the centre of the platform spilling shards of light over the area when the beams focused on it.
"We have been demo'ing Supersharpys to customers here for several months but this was believed to be the first use of Supersharpys in the US," says Dowd. "Supersharpys were just used to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Each Supersharpy is only 470 watts but their power is mind-numbing: Nothing in lighting history comes close to it."
"The Beacon became an iconic part of the festival," says Levy. "It reached up higher than the 20-story buildings in the neighbourhood, and you could see the rotating pattern in the clouds."
Levy Lighting provided the Clay Paky fixtures that played key roles on the main stage under the Archway of the Manhattan Bridge lighting the performers and highlighting the architecture of the structure. The stage hosted an array of DJs as well as singer and light performer Nicole Renaud; the sonic cinema group Zero Times Everything, which provided the live soundtrack for the laser show; and iLuminate.
"We lined the tunnel with two lines of stick truss, which housed the moving lights and laser system," Levy explains. Twelve Sharpys accentuated the laser effects shooting beams "that were safe enough to light people," he says. Twelve Alpha Spot HPE 700s "gave texture and depth to the ceiling architecture" while twelve B-EYE K10s "washed the stage and highlighted the performers."
Francesco Romagnoli, Clay Paky area manager for North and Latin America, added, "This was a great event and an excellent showcase for our new fixtures. Mr. Levy is a great designer and we enjoy collaborating with him."
(Jim Evans)
