Last year, Navy Pier welcomed spring with an art installation in Polk Bros Park comprising 15 glowing, musical seesaws that quickly became a destination for selfies and Instagram stories. Beginning on Friday, the park will host a colorful new installation that should prove to be just as popular with photographers in search of unique backdrops.
Prismatica is made up of 25 six-foot-tall prisms that are illuminated by a projector mounted in their bases, creating shifting colors through the use of reflective dichroic film that covers each of the prisms' panels. As the prisms slowly rotate, viewers will be able to hear a calming soundtrack of bells as they're bathed in the chromatic glow.
Montreal-based Quartier des Spectacles (the same team responsible for last year's seesaw installation) and Toronto-based RAW Design teamed up to create Prismatica, which has been displayed in cities such as Ottawa, Montreal and Washington D.C.
The interactive art experience will open in Polk Bros Park with a ceremony on Friday, February 16 at 5:30pm, where organizers will light up the installation for the first time and serve free hot chocolate. Guests will be able to view the installation during Navy Pier's regular operating hours through April 15.
Take a look at some video footage and photos of the giant prisms in action.
Photograph: Cindy Boyce
Photograph: Cindy Boyce