Coneheads Local 208 is a community of fifty builders, artists, computer system design geniuses, and all-around amazing creators who are bringing Illumicone into reality. Our leader is Ross Butler, the first official conehead who had the vision to create interactive art which would bring the community together.
Illumicone at Burning Man 2016
Video by Charlie Novak
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Illumicone is light and mechanical art driven by participation and interaction.
A glowing presence draws participants inside where strange and odd mechanical gadgets spark curiosity.
A whirling, changing color spectacle appears as participants turn, spin, pull, and push Illumicone’s gadgets to create dazzling patterns of light and movement.
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The first digital sketch was completed by Drew "Fat Tony" Layton in January of 2016. | |
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The first artistic drawing was completed by Ray Caraway in April of 2016. The assortment of widgets seen within the cone will be an ever-changing experiment! Widgets will come and go, but their purpose of interactivity between participants and lights will stay the same. | |
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Our first erection of Illumicone was done in May of 2016. Approximately twenty coneheads participated in the erection. The success was celebrated with a BBQ, bonfire, and twirling below the lights. | |
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During Element 11 of 2016, Illumicone glowed for the public for its first time. This was also the first "deep playa" art installation to occur at Stargazer Ranch! We could not have been happier with the placement of Illumicone and the reactions that the cone received. Participants engaged with the widgets for hours every night! | |
| At Burning Man of 2016, Illumicone's distant sparkle in the vast, inky blackness lured a constant stream of participants away from the edge of Black Rock City and out to deep playa. | ||
| All night every night, participants became part of Illumicone, creating the light show that beckoned others from across the playa to join in. |
A Glimpse of Illumicone
Video by Charlie Novak
Illumicone stands over 18 feet tall with 36 strings of LEDs descending from the top of a center pole down to the ground. The lights encircle an area 36 feet across at the base. Participants are enticed to enter the interior of the cone through the gaps between the strings.
Contained around and within the cone is a collection of interactive widgets--some large, some small. The widgets are constructed mainly out of repurposed objects of various sorts. Each widget incorporates sensors that signal position, movement, and other information to the central controller that computes the light patterns and drives the LEDs.
Participants manipulate the widgets to control the patterns of light displayed by the LED strings. Each widget has a different effect on the patterns. For example, spinning one set wheels causes vertical stripes of different colors to around the cone in step with the wheels. Spinning another set does the same with horizontal rings that move up and down the cone. Spinning a bicycle wheel makes the entire cone sparkle. Levers and knobs have other, interesting effects on movement, color, and intensity--or even change what the other widgets do. The excitement of discovery and interaction provides playful entertainment for all who enter Illumicone!
