
L.A.'s Most Derided Piece of Public Art Is About to Light Up Again - extraterra
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/why-is-triforium-lit-up
======
kibwen
_> Given the decay of time and the risk of turning it on, the team is using
custom-built LED triangles that sit atop each hand-blown glass prism to light
it up._

I think they've inadvertently created an interesting new dimension to the
artwork here. Software developers especially should be able to appreciate the
feeling of being unable to properly reengineer a flawed system due to expense
or expedience, and just slapping another layer on top instead. Sort of like a
celebration of path dependence. I'd like to see more examples of long-form
artworks that gradually evolve through different artists and eras.

~~~
sandworm101
>> I'd like to see more examples of long-form artworks that gradually evolve
through different artists and eras.

Much of this is actually illegal in many counties. Re-working a sculpture is
seen as trampeling on the artists rights, specifically "moral rights" which
cannot be contracted away. The classic example case of this is Snow v. Eaton
Center.

"In Snow, a 1982 case at the Ontario High Court of Justice, the defendant had
purchased a sculpture of 60 geese that they placed inside their shopping
centre. During their Christmas celebration the defendant tried to attach
ribbons to the necks of the geese. The plaintiff alleged that the addition of
the ribbons modified his work in a manner prejudicial to his honour or
reputation."

~~~
LeifCarrotson
Litigating this seems like a pretty quick way to kill future sales of your
artwork...

~~~
sandworm101
You can't. Artists cannot divest themselves of future moral rights via
contract. If you want to change a work, you have to go back to the artist each
and every time. If artists could simply lift them, moral rights would be just
another thing waived in every sale. But moral rights are not copyrights. They
cannot be used to prevent future sales (ie first sale doctrine).

~~~
gamblor956
That's true in the EU, which is why commissioned public sculptures and other
forms of visual art have become a rarity of late in the EU.

------
Luc
Pictures of the original electronics:
[http://eecue.com/a/1421/TriforiumControlCenter.html](http://eecue.com/a/1421/TriforiumControlCenter.html)

~~~
8_hours_ago
Wow! Seeing those pictures makes it obvious why they decided to add new
electronics and lights instead of reusing the existing ones. Even with
documentation that looks like it would be a real pain to interface with.

~~~
yellowapple
Looks like fun to me.

------
krrrh
It may also be of interest to HN that Jona Bechtolt & Claire Evans who are
leading this project are the core members of the band Yacht. Claire recently
published _Broad Band_ [1] to acclaim, which explores the history of women
involved in the early years of the internet. She also edits Vice’s science
fiction site. Both are very cool people who continuously crank out interesting
projects.

[1] [https://clairelevans.com](https://clairelevans.com)

~~~
kepano
Here’s a podcast in which I discuss with them this and their other fascinating
projects [https://blog.lumi.com/wellmade/26-claire-evans-jona-
bechtolt](https://blog.lumi.com/wellmade/26-claire-evans-jona-bechtolt)

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gregable
> Back in the 1970s, a computer used 8-bit tape, in binary code—picture a roll
> of paper tape with holes cut into it.

This seems like quite an ambitious project for 1975!

~~~
Someone
The idea to use _”a roll of paper tape with holes cut into it”_ to control a
machine was _250 year_ old in 1975
([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basile_Bouchon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basile_Bouchon))

(It took around 80 years to get a decently working implementation)

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duxup
>Its primitive, custom-designed computer couldn’t execute Young’s intentions;
the sound came out wrong, and the lights rarely synced as they should have.

I'm a bit surprised by this. Most professional artists I know put a huge
amount of effort into working with / experimenting with the medium they're
working in get the results they want. I don't know any (i'm sure there are
some) who do one off experiments, they're usually pretty experienced with the
materials / medium they work with.

~~~
soperj
It was built in 1975. How would they have a huge amount of experience in the
medium?

~~~
damon_c
Yes and it was much more difficult to write mocks and unit tests back then!

~~~
addicted
And imagine completing a project without being able to include npm packages
such as leftpad. Unthinkable.

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mmjaa
Awesome! I have walked past it a few times and wondered how it was ever
supposed to have worked, so its going to be wonderful to see it in action one
day ..

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kens
Anyone know what computer the Triforium used originally? I searched around but
couldn't find details.

------
daodedickinson
Walt Disney Concert Hall is more derided. Maybe that would be "architecture",
which counts as "public art" for me, but perhaps not thee. Some would also
name Ramón C. Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts, but I like that
one.

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rossdavidh
"Hey, there's this new piece of technology, I think it will enable great
things! Let's start off with a really big budget, very public project, first
thing!" Ouch. Not that the software developer community has any room to talk.

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Angostura
Sadly the artist died in 2007.

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rconti
What's the risk of turning it on? A short, inside of .. the concrete?

~~~
accrual
I wonder if the estimated multimillion restoration cost includes rewiring the
structure. Perhaps the existing wiring just isn't suitable for use at all.

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Tistel
Its amazing that this was just 43 years ago. Thats nothing in the grande
scheme of things.

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nsxwolf
Oh, people don't like that? I always thought it was neat.

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drcode
Hmm... surely, the Hollywood sign would win any contest of "L.A.'s most
derided piece of public art"?

~~~
simias
>to deride: to speak of or treat with contempt, mockery, or ridicule; scoff or
jeer at

Is the Hollywood sign really the target of that much mockery? Caricature
surely but that's not the same thing.

~~~
mortenjorck
The Hollywood sign wasn’t always considered an icon. For many years between
its initial construction in the 1920s and its restoration in the 1970s, it was
poorly maintained and considered an eyesore: [https://theconversation.com/the-
history-of-the-hollywood-sig...](https://theconversation.com/the-history-of-
the-hollywood-sign-from-public-nuisance-to-symbol-of-stardom-78584)

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standerman
atlasobscura.com seems to show up an awful lot on HN, and I rarely find the
links to be technically relevant or useful, but always full of ads. It would
be nice to be able to filter them out

~~~
Washuu
Atlas Obscura is another site I ignore since it requires Javascript for images
to load.

~~~
tracker1
install uBlock Origin, seems to work for me with JS enabled, though does seem
to have a fullscreen nag, and a scroll nag...

The _WORST_ imho are the sites that ask for notification permission, to which
my initial reaction is _FUCK YOU_... there's no call for that without a user
initiated action.

