Artists Paint Gowanus Subway Bridge With Light View Full Caption

GOWANUS — The Smith-Ninth Street subway bridge shimmered with a candy-colored glow Tuesday night as artists turned the concrete crossing into a massive outdoor canvas.

But instead of acrylics or oils, they painted with light.

The Gowanus creative agency Vanderbilt Republic beamed theater spotlights at the 90-foot-high bridge for a temporary light installation called "Spectrum." The projection will be shown nightly at sundown through Jan. 23. Exact times will vary, but viewers can expect to see the artwork from about 7-10 p.m.

Vanderbilt Republic founder George Del Barrio created the installation with collaborator Colin Bowring, a San Francisco-based light artist. "Spectrum" is the latest in a series of "photographic monuments" by the group. Past installations have included one that lit up the famed Kentile Floors sign in June 2014 before the local landmark was torn down.

“They are pixel-mapped, content-rich activations of the urban landscape,” Del Barrio says of the outdoor installations. “It’s an inert brick wall becoming something much more alive.”

For "Spectrum," Del Barrio rented Leko lights from the production company Eastern Effects, which is based in Gowanus and gave Del Barrio a discount. Each night at sundown, Del Barrio and Bowring will aim the high-powered lights out the windows of Gowanus Loft, an event space in the industrial arts complex at 61 Ninth St., right next to the subway bridge.

Using colored gels and motion, Del Barrio and Bowring will create a shifting lightscape that will change each night. Del Barrio plans to experiment with prisms and even smoke and water to see how he can make the light dance.

"It's not just static — there's a lot of motion to it," Del Barrio said.

Del Barrio added that he'd like viewers to get an "uplifted" feeling from the installation.

“I try not to dictate emotion when it comes to art, but if everything I produce can leave an uplifting residue inside the person, I’m happy,” Del Barrio said.

Vanderbilt Republic will host an opening reception for "Spectrum" on Jan. 16 at Gowanus Loft, 61 Ninth St.