Bluebox (art)
The bluebox was a project of the Magdeburger Club eV and the BlinkenArea in the state capital Magdeburg . A light installation was set up and operated in the empty Blauer Bock in Magdeburg.
prehistory
In the winter of 2004 the members and helpers of the Magdeburg Club transformed an empty building in Magdeburg's city center into a Christmas calendar . After negotiations with the owner and new wiring in the house, the time had come: the rooms were illuminated with fluorescent lamps so that the number of the respective calendar day could be seen on the front of the house from the outside. The installation was set up with time switches so that the next day was switched to at midnight. After that, the lamps had to be repositioned for the next day. The project, financed by donations, reached its climax on the evening of December 23rd with a small farewell party for the advent calendar fans who had attended the changeover for many nights. The Magdeburg Club was able to support various youth and cultural projects in Magdeburg with the remaining donations.
Bluebox project
The following year, 2005, the city of Magdeburg had its 1200th birthday and the Magdeburg Club decided to expand the installation. Following the example of the Blinkenlights , La Bastille, TowerTalk or Tetris For Buildings project, the house was to be transformed into a computer display. This did not succeed in the anniversary year, but the project was implemented a year later. Each of the 686 (98 windows × 7 floors) windows thus became an individually controllable pixel .
While looking for technical support, the Magdeburg Club came across the BlinkenArea in the summer . This contact resulted in the joint bluebox project in July 2006 . In the late summer of 2006, talks were held with the management company of the so-called Blue Block , a former one-room apartment building in the center of Magdeburg, which has been vacant since 1993 . Like the city of Magdeburg, they were open to the project. The general enthusiasm for the project also infected many sponsors who ultimately made the installation possible.
Before the building could blink, a lot had to be done in the building itself. The starting shot for the first work was given in September 2006. First, bulky or trip-prone objects and the worst of dirt were removed. The next step was to cover the windows with yellow steam tarpaulins, which first had to be cut to size and distributed. Before the installation was commissioned, kilometers of cables and telephone wire had been laid in the building to secure the power and data distribution. In addition, a batten with four commercially available 150 watt construction lights was attached in front of the window in each room . A control board per room - two in some rooms - and a distributor module per floor as well as a control computer with ISDN completed the installation in the final spurt.
As planned, on December 1st, 2006 at 8:47 pm, the starting shot of the light installation was given by mobile phone during the launch party on Ulrichsplatz.
options
The bluebox was open to every viewer to look at the light installation or even to participate. For this purpose, it was possible to download programs for creating animated films on the bluebox from the project page and to send in your own films. You could also dial in using a mobile phone and play Pong and Pac-Man directly in front of the building with the blue block as a display .
technology
All in all, the bluebox
- 686 150 watt construction spotlight
- 10 km of data and power cables
- 1029 m² vapor barrier film
- 672 dowels
- 703 meters of wooden slats
- 336 metal bracket
installed. There were also countless tools, especially drills and saw blades.
Donation projects
Various fundraising campaigns were launched as part of the project. On the one hand, there is a phone number with which you can play games such as Pong , Tetris or Pac-Man or start your love and greeting messages in the house. All income generated with the number is earmarked for a charitable purpose that has not yet been determined in the areas of children, youth and culture. It is also possible to take on a symbolic sponsorship for each of the 686 windows. The donations from window sponsorships are also used exclusively for charitable purposes. More information is available on the project website.