Hart-slag (heart beat)
The municipality of Heerhugowaard - a city with no center - asked artists to come up with a conceptual outline for linking three 'centers' in the city.
I proposed placing an electronic text display at three locations, where the Dutch word 'hartslag' (heartbeat) would appear in such a way that the four letters of 'hart' and the four letters of 'slag' — each with their own individual led colours — each flash alternately in rhythm with the actual heartbeat of a resident of Heerhugowaard, who is connected to the 3 displays via a real-time sensor.
Two colours were to be incorporated in each display; the soft pulsating heartbeat would cause the two colours to be seen both in their pure and blended form.
Installed at the three locations in an existing brick wall, the displays would also be visually linked in terms of colour, size, lettering and movement, at the same time providing the city with a real heart.
For practical reasons but also in light of political debate regarding health care and safety, the sensor installation was to be located at the office of one or several institutions for care that are manned 24 hours per day like the police, fire services and first aid post.
The commissioning body did not opt for this proposal.
year | 2002 |
location | Heerhugowaard |
photography | stills from animation by Martin van Marion |
animation | Martin van Marion |