Public art is awesome because it benefits the public. People who wouldn’t normally seek out art can be stimulated by surprise upon witnessing something that breaks the mold of ordinary daily life. But it's not just the element of surprise that gives public art value. The transformation of the outdoors brings us fantastic visions of what public spaces could be, allowing us to see them in another dimension.Rio de Janeiro recently became transformed by an especially colorful piece of public art. Italian-born artist Giancarlo Neri brings his installation, Maximum Silence, comprised of 9,000 25cm lights that change in color and intensity, to Paris Square in downtown Rio. In the first stage of their programmed cycle, the lights activate in synchronization, all of them shining blue, then red, then yellow, and finally green. After five minutes, the pattern breaks and it’s a light and color free-for-all.Neri came up with the idea when his wife bought a lamp from IKEA and was surprised when the bulbs in the box were colored instead of white, as she had expected. Good to know IKEA is good for something.He performed Maximum Silence for the first time in Rome, 2007, at the opening of a Nuit Blanche (White Night) event. He subsequently took the work to Madrid and Dubai. "Every place is different. The piece interacts directly with the space," says the Neri. Check it out below:
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