Artist James Peterson on Sessilanoid and LED DIY for Newbies

James Peterson doesn’t want you to just look at his art, he wants you to experience it.  “I want people to have a respite of intrigue and joy, to tap into their inner child, that sweet naïve place where it’s okay to be in awe and just enjoy something,” he says. Thanks in part to color-changing LEDs, the LA-based Peterson’s latest piece, Sessilanoid, undoubtedly achieves this infectious sense of wonder. In Sessilanoid, Peterson used RGB LED strip lights to illuminate an array of translucent, sculptural wall hangings that “mimic the growth patterns of a life form to abstractly represent barnacles,” he says. LED strip lights behind the molded forms respond to a grid of buttons; new color patterns emanate out from the central form and connect to other pieces when participants push the buttons.

Though there is an environmental message behind Sessilanoid, Peterson’s first priority is to get people smiling and talking. “I like to create situations where strangers meet and things are naturally intuitive. The core of everything is enjoyment and conversation between the people interacting with it,” he says.

Peterson believes that art creates a unique environment in which viewers are more apt to initiate and be receptive to discussion. “It gives me the opportunity to share what inspires me without forcing it down their throat,” he says. “I think if you make something beautiful and compelling, people naturally want to ask questions about why you did it, how you did it and the technology behind it.”

Fittingly, technology is a big part of what makes Sessilanoid so effective. “I used LED lights in this piece because I needed something that was low voltage, didn’t get hot and was dynamic and easy to work with,” says Peterson. Though Peterson used a fairly complicated system to create his lighting application, he believes advances in LED technology are making it possible for beginners to experiment with LEDs in similar ways. “I had the luxury of using an architectural lighting component system to run RGB through a DMX controller. It was very versatile and very intuitive and that’s part of why LED is so interesting: it’s dynamic, creates low carbon emissions, is more approachable and is becoming less tech-heavy every day,” he says.

For beginners looking to create custom lighting applications, Peterson recommends beginning with accessible technology. “Arduino platforms are a great place to start. You’re limited to how much material you can push through the system and how flexible you can be, but you can always grow into a more elaborate system once you learn the basics,” he says.

Sessilanoid was recently accepted into Art Basel, the premier international art show for contemporary and modern works, and will be showing at both the Switzerland and Miami exhibitions. If you can’t make it to either of those, watch the piece in action here, and consider helping Peterson raise funds to transport his piece to Art Basal on his Indigogo page.