Call it a case of art imitating life. For residential and commercial LED applications, original equipment manufacturers frequently turn to polycarbonate for its clarity, toughness, good light transmission and light weight. Now, these same properties have led acclaimed artist Danial Nord to utilize polycarbonate in his sound and light installation, No Exit (2013), for the California-Pacific Triennial at the Orange County Museum of Art.
Nord’s installation consists of a translucent twenty-foot wall with three open doors, suspended from the ceiling and internally illuminated by video-controlled LED lights. The source footage, edited from explosion scenes in Hollywood action-adventure movies, drives the bursts of color, light, and sound that provide a striking auditory and visual experience to visitors of the dark gallery.
To convey his aesthetic and artistic message to his audience, Nord needed LED diffusion materials that were reliable with outstanding performance. He chose Markolon® Lumen XT polycarbonate sheet and Makrofol® LM 903 polycarbonate film from Bayer MaterialScience LLC to bring his artistic vision to life.
The polycarbonate film, found in the interior of key LED components, was chosen for its excellent light reflection and dispersion in tight areas containing LEDs. Nord chose the polycarbonate sheet for its outstanding LED light diffusion, flexibility, durability and surface texture. This product can be found on the exterior surfaces of the sculpture.
“This installation shows that our materials, which are proven in the commercial and residential lighting markets, can also be used in creative, more avant garde applications,” said Dennis Duff, managing director, Sheet NAFTA, Bayer MaterialScience LLC. “The exceptional properties provided by our Makrolon polycarbonate sheets and Makrofol polycarbonate films translate into numerous LED applications that are only limited by the imagination.”
Danial Nord’s No Exit (2013) will be on display at the Orange County Museum of Art as part of the 2013 California-Pacific Triennial running through November 17. This show features thirty-two artists working in countries around the Pacific Rim. No Exit (2013) is the first in a series of site-specific works from Nord using similar materials and technologies. For more information about Danial Nord and his work, visit http://danialnord.com/.
