April 10, 2021 – November 28, 2021
The new media artist collective BREAKFAST specializes in kinetic works that are connected to social causes.
They created this piece in response to the civil unrest that spread across the nation in the wake of George Floyd’s death on May 25, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Each sweep of movement across the piece is tied to an individual social media post using the #blacklivesmatter hashtag in real time. The piece is also activated by you, our visitor. When you move into viewing range, a sensor registers your motion and routes the data through a computer that captures your silhouette. The computer then activates synchronized magnets that instantaneously flip the two-colored discs to render your shape.
In a statement by the artists:
This moment cannot go down as just another moment. We felt the need to create something this week. To not allow ourselves to sit silent, as this is not acceptable for any of us ever again. On that very thought, we created an artwork titled “Don’t Go Quiet.” The upside-down flag symbolizes a country in distress. Each ripple through each stripe visualizes a person currently making their voice heard via the #blacklivesmatter hashtag and any other trackable mentions of the term “Black Lives Matter.” The piece is a real-time representation of how loud we’re collectively speaking. May this flag never slow. May it never go quiet. We must keep using our voices, not just now, but from now on.
