Light As Art

For many years, we have enjoyed this seasonal treat that we see when visiting Longwood Gardens in the summer. These large water lily pads have always been fascinating. Recently, we visited again, and discovered a display in a pond on an opposite side of the gardens. I assumed they had begun planting the water lilies in the pond near the Italian Gardens. On closer inspection we found an entirely different fascinating display.

Yep, it is a sea of CD-ROM collections somehow attached to round discs. The reflecting side picks up the light with an ever-changing rainbow of colors. Hubby observed that they must be an old collection of AOL discs. We used to have a never-ending stream of mailers with their CD enclosed. I always thought there must be a better way to use a CD as I tossed many into the trash. Bruce Munro gets an A for creativity in my book. He asked people to send him their old CD-ROM collections and he received thousands.

The new exhibit at Longwood Gardens is very clever, inspirational, and creative. It is an installation of different types of plays in light and color by Bruce Munro of UK. The night light exhibit opens in June, but we were able to see the daytime exhibit on the lake near the Italian Gardens. It is best viewed during the day as one roams around the lake with the sun reflecting from different angles. As you walk and the light changes, the CD-ROM collection reflects changing colors. It's really beautiful. 

It is an astounding visual effect and very hard to capture in photography. It is best experienced in person. YouTube has a video of some of his displays. 

Even though it is a really cool concept, and I would like to see it again later in the summer, I still prefer Mother Nature's water lilies on the other side of the gardens.