Starting this Saturday, the Park Avenue Tunnel will be open to pedestrians at the 33rd Street entrance, as part of Summer Streets, an event that turns nearly seven miles of New York City’s streets into car-less venues for various performances, cycling and art projects. For the occasion, Mexican-Canadian artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer has created a unique light and sound installation controlled solely by the voice of active viewing participants.
The tunnel is illuminated by the voices of the previous 90 participants. As each new visitor makes their vocal contribution, part of the synced installation lights up. Louder voices glow brighter and older voices get pushed down the array of light fixtures, until they eventually leave the tunnel. The interactive experience is constantly evolving and different for each individual participant. See it in action in the video preview above.
The Park Avenue Tunnel will be open for three consecutive Saturdays between the hours of 7-1pm on August 3rd, 10th and 17th.
