Brooklyn, New York — BREAKFAST, a Brooklyn-based new media Art Studio, is currently exhibiting two new interactive kinetic artworks in the main lobby of Empire Stores in Brooklyn Bridge Park (Dumbo). Awaken 1 and Multiply 1 will be on exhibition through September.

Walk into the lobby of Empire Stores at noon on a weekend and you'll find streams of people lining up to experience the two new art pieces recently installed at the center of Empire Store's main lobby, just in front of the recently opened Time Out Market. You'll find adults and kids alike dancing and waving in front of the pieces, watching as their movements cause each artwork to respond with both movement and sound.

Awaken

Awaken 1 is a 10-foot wide by 4-foot tall piece made up of an array of 168 mirrored stainless-steel "Brixels." Brixels are one of the technologies invented by BREAKFAST that they utilize as a medium to create their art. For Awaken 1, each Brixel reacts to a person's movement in front of it, responding by rotating the associated Brixel 90 degrees to reveal an illuminating light behind. As one's movement ceases, the Brixels rotate back to a flat position, where their subtle movements make the surface appear as though it was resting on a sheet of water. The piece is an exploration of human interaction with a robotic medium, with the medium expressing a reaction to a person’s movements through rotating Brixels with accentuated light. The piece can be used as a canvas by “drawing” with one’s hand in the air.

Multiply

Multiply 1 utilizes another technology created by BREAKFAST called Flip-Discs. While Flip-Disc displays were originally invented in the 1960s for airport signage, BREAKFAST reinvented the technology in 2012, getting the discs to move over 10 times faster, and creating another medium to be utilized for reactive art. Multiply 1 initially appears as a static black canvas measuring about 4 ft x 1.5 ft, but as one approaches the piece the discs (about the size of a dime) come alive, revealing a high-gloss golden finish on the reverse side of the black. The piece displays a real-time version of yourself, and as you move, the discs create a "ticking" sound reminiscent of the old train-station signage from 70 years ago. As you begin to step back, your image duplicate, creating multiple versions of you to interact with. The piece allows one to see themselves in a simplified form, hear their bodies movements, and provide a new perspective on how they see their own form.

About BREAKFAST
BREAKFAST is a new media art studio who create high-tech, digitally reactive artworks, including over 18 large-scale pieces in museums and lobbies around the world. They recently exhibited two new pieces at Christie's Art+Tech Summit in June, will be installing their largest Brixels piece to date in Hudson Yards later this month, and will have an upcoming piece going up for auction at Christie's this December.

Press Contacts
Zolty
BREAKFAST
Director / Co-Founder
zolty@breakfastny.com
917-544-9479