What is Yvette Mattern’s global rainbow?

4 min read
Yvette Mattern - Bergen, Norway Bergen Lights 2020 - Jan Lilleb
1 Yvette Mattern – Norway Bergen Lights, Bergen, 2020, photo: Jan Lillebo

What was Global Rainbow?

Global Rainbow, After the Storm is a monumental outdoor laser installation by American artist Yvette Mattern 1, viewable to millions of New Yorkers. Organized in response to Hurricane Sandy, the artist projected seven beams of high power laser light 2 over communities hit hard by the storm, originating on Manhattan’s 3 Lower West Side and spanning across Brooklyn toward the Rockaways.

What inspiread this work?

The installation aimed to symbolize hope and act as a call to action to support the communities devastated by the storm. The artwork illuminated the night sky and was visible for up to 35 miles. Despite its significant range, the lasers used a minimal amount of power, approximately the equivalent of two hairdryers. Global Rainbow has been presented throughout Europe and launched the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad in England and Northern Ireland.

Yvette Mattern - Bergen, Norway Bergen Lights 2020 - Jan Lillebo
2 Yvette Mattern – Norway Bergen Lights, Bergen, 2020, photo: Jan Lillebo

Video: Yvette Mattern about Global Rainbow

YouTube video
2 min 45 sec
YouTube video
11 min 17 sec

About Yvette Mattern

Yvette Mattern is a visual artist who lives between New York and Berlin. She holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from Columbia University’s Film Division. Mattern works mainly with video and film, which she fuses with elements of performance, public, art and sculpture. Mattern’s video Last Day of Magic was included at the 53rd Venice Biennale Official Satellite Program in 2009, and her work has also been exhibited at the Stenersen Museum, Oslo, Norway; Künstlerhaus Büchsenhausen, Innsbruck, Austria; and Freies Museum, Berlin.

Selected laser installations

Global Rainbow, New York City, 2009

Yvette Mattern - Global Rainbow, New York City, 2009
3 Yvette Mattern – Global Rainbow, New York City, 2009, photo: Peter Norrman
Yvette Mattern - Global Rainbow, New York City, 2009
4 Yvette Mattern – Global Rainbow, New York City, 2009, photo: Peter Norrman
Yvette Mattern - Global Rainbow, New York City, 2009
5 Yvette Mattern – Global Rainbow, New York City, 2009, photo: Peter Norrman
Yvette Mattern - Global Rainbow, New York City, 2009
6 Yvette Mattern – Global Rainbow, New York City, 2009, photo: Peter Norrman

After the Storm, Standard Hotel, 2012

Yvette Mattern - After the Storm, Standard Hotel 2012, James Ewing/Art Production Fund
7 Yvette Mattern – After the Storm, Standard Hotel 2012, photo: James Ewing/Art Production Fund
Yvette Mattern - After the Storm, Standard Hotel 2012, James Ewing/Art Production Fund
8 Yvette Mattern – After the Storm, Standard Hotel 2012, photo: James Ewing/Art Production Fund
Yvette Mattern - After the Storm, Standard Hotel 2012, James Ewing/Art Production Fund
9 Yvette Mattern – After the Storm, Standard Hotel 2012, photo: James Ewing/Art Production Fund
Yvette Mattern - After the Storm, Standard Hotel 2012, James Ewing/Art Production Fund
10 Yvette Mattern – After the Storm, Standard Hotel 2012, photo: James Ewing/Art Production Fund
Yvette Mattern - After the Storm, Standard Hotel 2012, James Ewing/Art Production Fund
11 Yvette Mattern – After the Storm, Standard Hotel 2012, photo: James Ewing/Art Production Fund
Yvette Mattern - After the Storm, Standard Hotel 2012, James Ewing/Art Production Fund
12 Yvette Mattern – After the Storm, Standard Hotel 2012, photo: James Ewing/Art Production Fund
Yvette Mattern - After the Storm, Standard Hotel 2012, James Ewing/Art Production Fund
13 Yvette Mattern – After the Storm, Standard Hotel 2012, photo: James Ewing/Art Production Fund

New Haven, 2013

Yvette Mattern - New Haven, 2013 - Harold Shapiro
14 Yvette Mattern – New Haven, 2013, photo: Harold Shapiro
Yvette Mattern - New Haven, 2013 - Harold Shapiro
15 Yvette Mattern – New Haven, 2013, photo: Harold Shapiro
Yvette Mattern - New Haven, 2013 - Harold Shapiro
16 Yvette Mattern – New Haven, 2013, photo: Harold Shapiro
Yvette Mattern - New Haven, 2013 - Harold Shapiro
17 Yvette Mattern – New Haven, 2013, photo: Harold Shapiro

Global Rainbow, Scotiabank Nuit Blanche, 2014

YouTube video
1 min 34 sec

Aha! Festival, Cleveland 2014

Yvette Mattern - Aha! Festival, Cleveland 2014, Frank Lanza
18 Yvette Mattern – Aha! Festival, Cleveland, 2014, photo: Frank Lanza
Yvette Mattern - Aha! Festival, Cleveland 2014, Frank Lanza
19 Yvette Mattern – Aha! Festival, Cleveland, 2014, photo: Frank Lanza
Yvette Mattern - Aha! Festival, Cleveland 2014, Frank Lanza
20 Yvette Mattern – Aha! Festival, Cleveland, 2014, photo: Frank Lanza

Marseille, France, 2018

Yvette Mattern - Jean Nouvel building, Marseille, France, 2018 - Georges Robert
21 Yvette Mattern – Jean Nouvel building, Marseille, France, 2018, photo: Georges Robert
Yvette Mattern - Jean Nouvel building, Marseille, France, 2018 - Georges Robert
22 Yvette Mattern – Jean Nouvel building, Marseille, France, 2018, photo: Georges Robert

 

All images by Yvette Mattern unless otherwise noted.

Citation

Footnotes

1. https://publicdelivery.org/tag/yvette-mattern/
2. https://publicdelivery.org/category/installation/light/
3. https://publicdelivery.org/tag/manhattan/
1. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Yvette-Mattern-Bergen-Norway-Bergen-Lights-2020-Jan-Lillebo-1.jpg
2. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Yvette-Mattern-Bergen-Norway-Bergen-Lights-2020-Jan-Lillebo-2-1.jpg
3. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Yvette-Mattern-Global-Rainbow-New-York-City-2009-Peter-Norrman-1.jpg
4. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Yvette-Mattern-Global-Rainbow-New-York-City-2009-Peter-Norrman-2.jpg
5. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Yvette-Mattern-Global-Rainbow-New-York-City-2009-Peter-Norrman-3.jpg
6. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Yvette-Mattern-Global-Rainbow-New-York-City-2009-Peter-Norrman-4.jpg
7. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Yvette-Mattern-After-the-Storm-Standard-Hotel-2012-James-Ewing-Art-Production-Fund-1.jpg
8. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Yvette-Mattern-After-the-Storm-Standard-Hotel-2012-James-Ewing-Art-Production-Fund-2.jpeg
9. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Yvette-Mattern-After-the-Storm-Standard-Hotel-2012-James-Ewing-Art-Production-Fund-3.jpg
10. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Yvette-Mattern-After-the-Storm-Standard-Hotel-2012-James-Ewing-Art-Production-Fund-4.jpg
11. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Yvette-Mattern-After-the-Storm-Standard-Hotel-2012-James-Ewing-Art-Production-Fund-5.jpg
12. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Yvette-Mattern-After-the-Storm-Standard-Hotel-2012-James-Ewing-Art-Production-Fund-6.jpg
13. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Yvette-Mattern-After-the-Storm-Standard-Hotel-2012-James-Ewing-Art-Production-Fund-7.jpg
14. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Yvette-Mattern-New-Haven-2013-Harold-Shapiro-1.jpg
15. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Yvette-Mattern-New-Haven-2013-Harold-Shapiro-2.jpg
16. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Yvette-Mattern-New-Haven-2013-Harold-Shapiro-3.jpg
17. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Yvette-Mattern-New-Haven-2013-Harold-Shapiro-4.jpg
18. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Yvette-Mattern-Aha-Festival-Cleveland-2014-Frank-Lanza-1.jpg
19. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Yvette-Mattern-Aha-Festival-Cleveland-2014-Frank-Lanza-2.jpg
20. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Yvette-Mattern-Aha-Festival-Cleveland-2014-Frank-Lanza-3.jpg
21. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Yvette-Mattern-Jean-Nouvel-building-Marseille-France-2018-Georges-Robert-1.jpeg
22. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Yvette-Mattern-Jean-Nouvel-building-Marseille-France-2018-Georges-Robert-2.jpeg