An unusual event has been held in Jesolo for several years: world-famous artists and sculptors meet on the sandy shore of Piazza Marconi to give life to the “Sandcastle Festival“, an unusual art form always able to arouse great interest and admiration.
Indeed, building a sculpture in sand not only requires special skill and the ability to adapt to the consistency and malleability of the material, which varies greatly from place to place: sand sculpture is a fascinating spectacle for grownups and children because it gives form to the matter on which we daily walk and live, but also because it is able to reawaken memories of beach games that always alive on in the mind.
This year the Municipality of Jesolo decided to make the event even more evocative, making use of professional lighting projectors that would give the sculptors still more prominence. The first performance with these products was for the “Sand Cribs“, in December 2003, when the works of seven sculptors were lit by the same number of Clay Paky CP COLOR colour changers fitted with a CMY three-colour system. Another 4 CP Colors were used for stage-set lighting of the environment.
The lighting technology design was created by Pietro Tondello of ALTAIR, who explained how he arrived at its definition: “The “Sandcastle Festival” is an event that identifies the City of Jesolo, helping to make it known at world level. I thought that the “light” element could both discreetly enhance the works and light up the environments hosting them. I presented a design to the Municipality, illustrating the light effects that could be obtained with the CP Colors, and I also received enthusiastic congratulations from the Mayor, who was present on opening day”.
The works of the sculptors were hosted inside a large stressed structure made of transparent PVC, which was coloured with the most varied chromatic tones, acting as an undoubted attraction to even the most distrait passers-by.
The interesting thing in these applications – continued Pietro Tondello – is that they allow us to experience various aspects linked to the City with more interest and involvement. Light applications in an urban context can be varied and creative, in this case the art-light pairing was certainly a winning combination, experienced with interest by all the population”.
The implementation of the lighting for the sculptures was the work of Rossi Luigi Service of Jesolo, who managed in the difficult task of interpreting the needs of the sculptors and translating them into colour. The person in charge of the service, Mr. Luigi Rossi, told us of two technical details that typified the installation: “We fitted the CP Colors with micro-lens diffusion filters (available from Clay Paky on request), which allowed the beam to be extended up to 80°: this ensured that every corner of the shed could be reached and uniformly lit. Furthermore, we used special weight balancing plates, also available as optional accessories, intended to ensure perfect stability to the projector on any mounting truss”.
Having filed the “Cribs” experience, it is now the time to devote oneself to the summer version of the event, planned from 20 June to 20 July 2004, which will be hosted inside a stressed structure of 1500 m2, prepared each year for the event. The international sculptors will exhibit on this occasion, at grips with a new fascinating and highly representative subject: Ancient Egypt.
The sculptors will first be involved in creating a monumental sculpture as a demonstration, they will then compete to win the prizes. The competition for professionals will be flanked by other side initiatives: a photographic display of previous editions, a competition for children and a sculpture course for children given by Artistic Director Richard Varano.
As for the “Cribs”, lighting will be by Clay Paky, and the artistic and lighting technology design by Pietro Tondello of Altair with the support of Luigi Rossi Service.