Why are there giant eyes on the MIT dome? The story behind the art installation.
There are eyes in the sky over the campus of MIT and the stories behind them brought the artwork to life.
MIT display captivates Cambridge
It was enough to stop people in their tracks as they walked along Memorial Drive on Thursday night. The eye-popping installation atop the iconic MIT dome captivated those who caught a glimpse.
"Oh my God, it's gigantic," said Abbey Gullens of Boston. "I didn't expect it to be this big honestly, and I have seen the dome before, but having a huge eyeball on it is very surreal."
It is so big you can see it from across the Charles River in Boston.
"Especially nowadays where everything is competing for your attention, having something stop you in your tracks is so unique for an art piece," said Violet Frizzle.
The series of projected close-ups of eyes is the vision of world-renowned designer and educator Behnaz Farahi. She and her team worked for months to create the story-telling exhibition which focused on the gateway to the soul.
Farahi took advantage of the architecture and eye-like shape of the dome, to create her latest installation, Gaze to the Stars.
"The eyes hold the stories"
"When I moved to Boston, I realized people are mentally and physically running all the time. So how can we slow people down," Farahi said. "How can we stop and actually embrace all of these human experiences? Eyes have become this important medium for thinking about the future. But also, there are so many micro-expressions. We move our eyes and communicate through our eyes. The eyes hold the stories, and I am really interested in how we can tell the stories of the city of Boston."
Farahi and her team of a dozen MIT students created this exhibition from the ground up. The first step was building an AI-generated sensory pod. The device allowed people to stare into it while being asked a series of AI-generated questions. Their responses, and right-eye, were recorded and ultimately built a story.
There were 200 students and faculty members who had their eyes scanned and stories recorded.
The display on the MIT dome allows people to scan a QR code to hear the story of the eye on display.
There is still time to catch this installation. It will be on display Friday night 7 p.m.-1 a.m.
