Best of BBtv – Omega Recoil: Electricity as Art

Xeni Jardin 8:46 am Wed Aug 27, 2008

The Boing Boing tv crew is taking this end-of-summer week off from production, so we're revisiting some of our favorite episodes from the last couple of months — fun stuff you may have missed.

Today: John Behrens and "Omega Recoil" build giant Tesla Coils. Their work explores how electronic fields can be excited in the environment, and their creations become the centerpieces of interactive public art performances.

Some of the tinkerers and performers in this SF Bay Area-based collective were previously associated with Dr. Megavolt, an electrical art project which…

[featured] a person in a metal mesh suit
interacting with artificially generated lighting. The Doctor sets
objects on fire with electricity originating from large Tesla coils,
spars with the electric arcs and exhorts the audience to worship the
elemental force of electricity.

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