| In 1999 a school of Kenny Schwartz's Playa Fish
made their first big splash at Burning Man. At the
very least they were ahead of their time. The theme for
Burning Man 2002 is The Floating World.
This year the playafish will join a sea of glowing
creatures like no other on this planet.
This year I've made l0l (a name, not a number --
rhymes with Paul, but there's a zero in the middle.)
He's an electrically controlled coolneon sea anemone.
He has 144 separate coolneon segments.
Photo by Cameragirl
The segments are attached electrically to a control
panel made of over 100 magnetic reed switches under a sheet
of plexiglass. You pass a magnet over the control panel
and the segments light up. You can't break it, and
you can't get it wrong. (Um, don't take that
as a challenge, ok?)
L0l joins 3na as my coolneon interpretation
of members of the cnidarian phylum (animals with stinging
cells, including jellyfish, anemones, hydra, and corals).
These are actually fascinating animals with remarkable
adaptations and reproductive cycles. Some have a
symbiotic relationship with photosynthetic algae and
are thus able to get energy from sunlight. Some are
asexual, reproducing by leaving small slices of themselves
behind as they move! Here's a few
good links to learn more about them:
Here's a photo of
3na and l0l at the Flambe Lounge's 2002 Blue Ball, swiming
away from all the activity.
Photo by Cameragirl
|