Client: Greenland USA

Location: Los Angeles, CA, United States

Completion date: 2017

Artwork budget: $2,400,000

Project Team

Artist

SUSAN NARDULI

Susan Narduli Studio

Artist

REFIK ANADOL

Refik Anadol Studio

Industry Resource

analogNative

Industry Resource

Onformative

Industry Resource

Greyflake

Architect

Gensler

Industry Resource

DG Hunt & Associates

Industry Resource

Standard Vision

Art Consultant

Isenberg & Associates

Overview

ConvergenceLA is a media installation on the façade of Metropolis Towers in downtown Los Angeles. The canvas for the artwork is an integrated LED display, nearly 100 feet wide by 18 feet high. It explores new ways of storytelling through an intelligent platform that both expresses and responds to the spirit of Los Angeles. The artwork receives realtime data from 8 sources and processes 4 million points of data per hour to create an ever-changing cinematic narrative framed within fragments of the cultural and historical context of Los Angeles. The public can also experience ConvergenceLA online at convergenceLA.com.

Goals

ConvergenceLA evolves in tandem with the city itself, a digital simulacra that parallels the complexity of ongoing natural and cultural phenomena to create a convergence of physical and virtual. As the city and community experience continued growth, our intention was to reflect that spirit of change and opportunity, presenting a portrait of the evolving story of Los Angeles as a city and of its people.

Process

ConvergenceLA was conceived and produced by Susan Narduli and Refik Anadol. The vision was to create an immersive visual experience created by exploring new sources of information and new ways of storytelling that bring the past, present, and future of the city to life. Like the city itself, the artwork evolves and learns. It is fed by data streams, public interaction, and the ongoing life of the city. It is intelligent.
"This project represents a truly unique opportunity to produce a work of art that tells the story of our community in a brand new way. We hope our art, like Metropolis itself, becomes a landmark for Los Angeles both locally and around the world.” –Susan Narduli & Refik Anadol

Additional Information

Metro routes, tectonics, weather and ocean data, astronomy, demographics, social media and news posts all captured and displayed in realtime provides the framework for a new way of storytelling. ConvergenceLA weaves together live content with narrative video, aerial photography, data sculptures and generative art to create an ever-changing artwork. While a reflection of the ongoing rhythms of the city, the collected data also holds the historical chronology of Los Angeles for the life of the artwork.