This summer downtown Houston will be all aglow as Houston First Corp. and Avenida Houston will be debuting its latest work of art, “Roseaux,” which is set to make its premiere this Friday, July 1.
“Roseaux” is a “particip’active” installation, which provides both an immersive and interactive experience for all passersby that choose to engage the piece with their feet. Roseaux’s tall individual reeds feature sound and light sensors that will attract visitors and provide a gorgeous backdrop to an already stunning Houston skyline.
“As 1ToMn (1 Touch of Madness) designs and creates “particip'active’’ and interactive artworks, our aim was to urge users to move and have fun while encouraging their competitive side, in a colorful and illuminated atmosphere as beautiful by day as it is by night,” team members said.
Avenida Houston routinely showcases breathtaking art exhibits or installations each summer, but this year will be quite different as Houston will be the first city in Texas and in the southwestern region of the United States that will feature the unique and engaging international piece.
“Roseaux” is free to the public and will be available onsite through Labor Day weekend from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.
ABOUT THE ROSEAUX TEAM
Creation and artistic direction: 1ToMn
Light and sound design: UDO Design and Serge Maheu
Interactive control system design: Serge Maheu
Co-Owners: Init and 1ToMn
Tour production: Creos
1ToMn, Co-Owner and Creation and Artistic Direction
This young creative company with a crazy touch that designs and produces architectural works as well as ‘particip'active' and interactive installations made to animate public spaces and provide new experiences for users. 1ToMn transforms the perception of spaces and architecture by cleverly mastering movement, light and sound. Architects, engineers and designers are united in the creation of physical art installations that travel or carry the public into universes where the unexpected is combined with amazement.
UDO DESIGN, Light and Sound Design
UDO Design was founded more than 10 years ago by Ludovic Lefévère, architect DPLG, with the aim of showcase architecture and cityscapes through lighting. For each project—infrastructure, heritage building, new construction, performance hall, public space or illuminated night walk—the team is committed to creating animated environments that take the public on a journey. The way users interact with light is at the heart of UDO’s creative process aimed at transforming places, events and objects into vibrant, inclusive and unforgettable experiences. UDO’s conceptual approach and technical choices are focused on the users’ wellbeing and the respect of their environment in the spirit of sustainable development.
SERGE MAHEU, Co-Light, Sound and Interactive Control System Design
Trained as a computer engineer, Serge Maheu has followed a more creative path that led him into arts and multimedia production. He is a multifaceted professional with experience in film, animation, photography, sound & music, computer programming, mathematics, interactivity, electronics and design, as well as an avid lover of straight and obliques lines, squares, pixels and concrete, minimalist and repetitive music. He strives to create innovative art based on a certain digital poetry while pursuing the relation of mankind with the digital world. He’s open to fresh ideas, collaborations, and new art (or non-art) forms. Serge also produces maple syrup with his father every spring, but that’s a whole other story.
INIT, Co-Owner
Init specializes in the creation and manufacture of mobile participatory installations. Being at the forefront of the planning of public spaces, Init offers consultancy advice on urban scenography designed to make public spaces livelier and more attractive. INIT’s possesses the largest rental fleet of mobile facilities contributing to the wellbeing of the world’s societies through innovative and operational concepts. Init recruits national and international designers, multidisciplinary teams, and renowned scenographers. INIT goes out to collaborate with artists in order to make their creations “tourable.”
CREOS, Tour production
A leading agency for temporary public interactive installations, Creos connects owners, creators, and distributors of public art around the world so installations can travel and shine on the international stage. Creos offers a portfolio of very diverse installations that give visitors a unique sensory and interactive experience that changes based on the location and the users. Creos also offers expert consulting services for technology and art in public spaces, and project management services for the creation and development of participative installations.
