Newman Teachers Collaborate for Art Installation at Downtown Hotel

Visual Arts teacher Martin Benson and Computer Science teacher Jenna deBoisblanc are celebrating the installation of their permanent interactive art installation on the façade of the Aloft Hotel on Baronne Street.

 

The installation covers the awning over the hotel’s front entrance with undulating lines of color, courtesy of flexible LED strip lights in bright neon hues. In addition to being a captivating and dynamic feature to the entrance of this contemporary boutique hotel, the piece also imparts an important environmental message.

 

“The imagery is based off of the Mississippi Delta and its tributaries,” Benson explains. “In its normal state, there’s harmonious color flow, like water passing through the tributaries.”

 

However, as guests walk underneath the awning, their movement, detected by two Xbox Kinects, changes the color of the lights directly overhead. The motion turns the lights “dissonant and glitchy,” Benson said. “It symbolizes in a playful way people’s presence and effect on the waterway. Whether you’re aware of it, you’re making an impact.”

 

An international boutique hotel chain owned by Starwood Hotels, Aloft approached the Arts Council of New Orleans to identify a local artist to design an innovative installation for the entrance to its New Orleans property. The Arts Council selected Benson based primarily on his work at the annual Luna Fête, and Benson engaged deBoisblanc, also a frequent Luna Fête contributor, to assist with the technological aspects of the piece.

 

The public installation is new territory for Benson, whose work is normally displayed in private collections, museums, and galleries, including the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, the Contemporary Arts Center of New Orleans, the New Orleans Museum of Art, and the new University Hospital.

 

“This is also new territory for me technology-wise, which is why I brought Jenna on board, because she’s incredible,” Benson said. “We hope to do a lot of projects together.”

 

In fact, the two are exploring how visual arts students can engage with the Makerspace to develop visual arts projects with technological components. Currently, Newman students in deBoisblanc’s Arduino programming course are developing an installation for Luna Fête in December.