Serendipity on Sunset

Edie Cohen -- Interior Design, 1/1/2002 12:00:00 AM

Shimoda design group had just demolished the window wall of a building on Sunset Boulevard, in the heart of Hollywood, when the glass order was delayed. Rather than covering the exposed five-story structure with screens and scaffolding, architect Joey Shimoda and photographer Benny Chan decided to create a temporary art piece à la Gordon Matta-Clark. "We thought of a light installation because that part of town is as active at night as it is during the day. There are people on the street till 4 AM," Shimoda explains.

He and Chan lit the four upper floors with standard fluorescent strips from Home Depot and applied colored gels. Chan then placed his 8 by 10 viewfinder camera across Sunset, about 60 feet away, and recorded this image. In a split second, all lines between art, architecture, and photography dissolved. The ability to transform the commonplace—even an error in judgment—separates the truly talented from us mere mortals.