PROJECT: Streetlight

project: Street Light

Out on the open playa, a single streetlight stands where no street should be. From a distance it looks ordinary—almost misplaced. It’s the kind of object your brain wants to ignore, because it already knows what a streetlight is.

Then you get close enough to see the details: the crosswalk buttons on their short poles, the crisp circle beneath the lamp, the sense that it’s not just on—it’s waiting.

Press the button.

For a moment, nothing happens. And then the corner answers back. First with sound: a tight pocket of city life, focused beneath the lamp like you’ve stepped into a street you remember but can’t place. Then, as night takes over, the ground becomes the artwork—shifting “light,” illusions, and scenes that react to bodies in the circle. Stay long enough and the piece starts to reveal a second layer: patterns, hidden sequences, behaviors you don’t notice until someone accidentally unlocks them. If the night gets loud, the street corner can change again, morphing into an invisible

Street Light is a full-scale streetlight and crosswalk in the desert—an interactive system of localized audio, interactive/reactive projection, and presence tracking that turns a familiar civic ritual into a small mystery you can step into.

Experience

How it works (day + night)

Visitors interact by standing beneath the light or pressing the crosswalk buttons.

By day:
Button presses switch between authentic street soundscapes played through a hidden audio beam, creating a localized “street corner” that feels present without blasting the surrounding area.

By night:
A dust-sealed projector casts a circular pool of light on the playa that subtly shifts and reacts to presence, movement, and button presses. Hidden button patterns unlock playful visual scenes, and loud nearby music can activate a special “party mode.”

Physical

Physical description

Street Light is a full-scale, ~25–30 ft tall steel streetlight modeled after Southern California urban fixtures. The top housing contains a dust-sealed DLP projector, IR depth sensor, ventilation system, and directional speaker. Two authentic metal crosswalk buttons are mounted on short poles nearby, recreating the feel of a real street corner. During the day, speakers hidden within the structure creates a localized sound “bubble” around the foot of the light, playing field recordings from cities around the world. At night, the projector creates a responsive ground-projection experience that shifts, transforms, and reacts to people.

Dimensions (approx.)

(Not a functional traffic control device.)

Intent

Artistic intent

Street Light explores the “ordinary within the extraordinary.” A familiar object from daily life is placed in the surreal expanse of Black Rock City, inviting participants to rediscover it with curiosity rather than habit. Meaning changes with context: a streetlight becomes a portal, a gathering point, a playful presence, or a strange companion depending on how people engage with it. By revealing hidden layers of sound, light, and interactivity, the work encourages adults to play, explore, and pay attention to subtlety. The global soundscapes connect distant cities to the playa, reminding us that everyday places hold wonder when we choose to notice them. Street Light celebrates discovery, surprise, and small moments where the familiar becomes magical.

Feasibility

Execution plan (high level)

Design → Prototype → Integrate → Deploy

Safety and operations (what reviewers care about)

Budget

What funding enables

Grant support primarily funds the parts that de-risk deployment and ensure the piece runs reliably:

Team

Crew and build resources

This project is being executed as an engineering-led build with clear ownership across disciplines. Members of this team comprise local artists and career professionals with cross-disciplinary overlap and a passion for creation.

Build space: Glass House Arts, Del Dios California

Still here?

More coming soon.

Stay tuned…