During BLINK, the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge was reimagined in an explosion of color and sound through “RUMBLE: A Contemporary Voice for the Bridge that Sings,” the fruit of a partnership between Brave Berlin, Vincent Lighting Systems and MASARY Studios. An initiative of Maria Finkelmeier, Sam Okerstrom-Lang and Ryan Edwards, the Boston-based collective MASARY uses their expertise in fine art, percussion, music composition, video animation and live performance to reshape urban landscapes through light projections and unique soundscapes. “RUMBLE” was their first site-specific installation outside of New England.
And it seems appropriate to say it was a successful one.
The installation has been declared by a jury as one of the top 100 entries in the international CODAawards competition, which celebrate "the projects that most successfully integrate commissioned art into interior, architectural, or public spaces." Award categories include commercial, education, healthcare, hospitality, institutional, landscape, liturgical, public spaces, residential and transportation.
"RUMBLE" is nominated under the "Transportation" category.
And the public can actually help decide who becomes a CODAaward winner. Public voting opens Thursday, June 18 to help choose two People's Choice awards. Voting goes live at codaworx.com.
In the CODAaward description, MASARY says the goal of the activation — which was transversed by nearly 2 million people during BLINK weekend — was "to consider the place of this 'bridge that sings; in the context of a city-wide light art festival. Our work combined sound samples from the bridge and surrounding areas, as well as traditional musical instruments in musical scores written for and inspired by the bridge and the city of Cincinnati. These musical works were accompanied by hyper-synchronized lighting programming — created by the composers with intimate detail and musically specific nuance."
The CODAawards are an extension of CodaWorx, an "online platform that connects artists, designers, and fabricators with municipalities and developers."
