Client: Design Communications Limited; The Greater Columbus Convention Center

Overview

“As We Are” focuses on the now commonplace act of documenting one’s existence in an effort to connect with others. Sometimes referred to as the ultimate selfie machine, the digital sculpture considers how self-representation has evolved by confronting the idea of self, and recognition of what we seek in and from other people.

The outer—ahem—face of the 14-foot-tall LED sculpture is comprised of custom-designed LED panels featuring a 5 mm pixel pitch. SNA Displays manufactured the 5 mm LED panels at 1.5″ wide by 6″ high (8 x 30 pixels), small enough to allow Design Communications Limited’s (DCL’s) assembly team to adjust the panels along the facial contours of the first-of-its-kind structure.

The 24 customized layers of LED panel bands were manufactured to DCL’s specifications and combine to approximately 220 square feet of digital canvas. The sculpture’s LED façade features interior diodes packaged via surface-mount device (SMD) technology, offering crisp imagery and wide viewing angles.

Goals

The art piece is "intended to present Columbus as a welcoming, diverse society" according to artist Matthew Mohr, who suggests that the exhibit offers a commentary on the role that social media plays in our culture. It asks viewers to contemplate portraits of people from different ethnicities and gender identities.

“An underlying theme of my work is technology in service of communication, according to the artist. “It runs through my practice and my teaching. Without substance, technology is either a tool or a parlor trick.”

Process

The installation prototype was made from hot-wire-cut foam and the final structure is cut aluminum. The interactive digital art piece includes more than 3,500 custom-engineered LED panels manufactured and provided by SNA Displays and over 845,000 pixels.

The panels were designed to accommodate the tightest radius, the bridge of the nose.

Visitors sit inside the sculpture, a photobooth, and interact with a touch-screen monitor. The photo booth uses a process called photogrammetry in which 29 images are taken simultaneously. A 3D model of the user’s head is generated from the photos and all images are stitched together onto the LED screen.

Additional Information

Won a Silver APEX Award at the 2018 Digital Signage Expo.