Rafael Lozano-Hemmer is one of the artists in the international scene who has contributed the most to the intersection of different disciplines. Born in Mexico, he studied physics and chemistry in Canada and some time ago became a naturalized Canadian citizen. His public digital-art projects, using light and sound in particular, are greatly original and powerful. For this interactive experience at the heart of Manhattan, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer used the site's urban architecture to create a pedestrian passage in a structure that has existed for almost two hundred years. The Park Avenue tunnel, between 33rd and 40th Street in the City's East Side, was opened to pedestrian traffic for the first time for the occasion. It was built in 1834 as the Grand Central Terminal was being erected, and, while it has been somewhat modified, it is one of New York's most stable and emblematic areas, an has been featured in many famous films. Many who have experienced the tunnel from an automobile of a movie theater chair, now had an opportunity to get up early, stand in line on a Saturday or a Sunday, and experience Lozano-Hemmer's version of it. Relational Architecture 21 is the title of his installation in the Park Avenue tunnel. Light and audio were the basic elements used; with 150 speakers and 300 theatre spotlights, Lozano-Hemmer lit up the entire structure and activated the project. Both media were connected to an intercom system with an intensity-based program—the higher the volume of the voice, the more intense the light—and to a Morse-like system that made the spotlights flutter. The arrival of new participants changed the sound. Speakers and lamps were paired, with a 7-meter gap between each lamp-speaker pair. Sound emerged independently from each speaker, so that the general resonance was not jumbled but rhythmic and individualized.
As new arrivals entered the tunnel, the new recording pushed out the precious ones. The installations constant evolution expresses the notions of the ephemeral nature of existence and the recycling of life into new generations, by means both of voices and of the sound of automobiles passing by and disappearing promptly. Even those who have the tunnel as part of their daily routine, people rarely stayed there for more than a couple of minutes (with variations due to the fluidity of traffic). Another symptomatic situation is the experience of feeling one's body inside the tunnel, since people always pass through it encapsulated inside their vehicles. This authorized act of civil disobedience was one of the many pubic activities offered in new York each summer. This one, undoubtedly, left viewers with the feeling that its time was too short.