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Jim Campbell is the artist, hired by the San Francisco Planning commission for the project that will light up the top of the city’s tallest building – the Salesforce Tower.
Like the Bay Bridge, the Salesforce Tower will feature thousands of LED lights but rather than just light, it will also feature images.
There will be a number of cameras throughout the city that will take video during the day, such as people walking, and waves crashing on the beach, that will then be projected onto the building at night. Campbell explains the images as a “diary of the day.” He’s also working with a dance company to pre-record imagery to project within the building.
And when the fog rolls in, Campbell has a pre-recorded image that will allow the building to act as a lighthouse, with a light circling the building.
Campbell’s background is in engineering, and the lighting will be as energy efficient as possible. The estimated 5,000 watts of power used to light up the building is equivalent to running five toaster ovens.
The panels are going up now, but the completed artwork will not be displayed until the fall.