The dreamy, dizzying kaleidoscope of urban landscape is represented with a grungy edge at City Lights, a new popup art installation at Quartyard in downtown San Diego’s East Village.
Designed by visual-digital artist Ben Guerrette, the experience aims to use light and sound to artfully portray the experience of city life.
I got to visit Quartyard on preview night (the installation opens to the public on Friday, December 6).
City Lights definitely lives up to Guerrette’s promise of “pushing the limits of what’s possible, creating a space where light, sound and urban culture intersect in new ways.”
Approaching Quartyard, the first element I see is an elaborate, expansive projection on the side of a neighboring building. The projection seems to be alive. Shapes and colors twirl on the building facade, inviting me into a surreal City Lights world filled with six unique “zones.”
I’m immediately plunged into the “edgy, untamed vibe of 1990s rave culture” that the installation aims to simulate. Neon laser lights fill the room. It feels like an underground club, one that comes with a functioning swing set.
Tucked in the corner is an eerily lit, graffitied phone booth featuring a bright red landline receiver. I pick it up. An automated message plays: “Follow the symbols and you’ll find what you’re looking for. The city lights hold the key.”
I feel like an undercover spy in a movie, receiving top secret intel.
In the first zone, the mystery, excitement and ordinariness of city life are juxtaposed through three urban elements: a phone booth, a public park and a rave. As I exit the first zone, there’s an area where you can leave your “digital” graffiti on the wall using a laser pointer. After a couple attempts I was able to use the fidgety pointer to leave my initials.
The next zone features floating rectangular boxes with fluctuating lights. Evocative of the city skyline, the piece is glittering and mesmerizing.
Street art is the focal point in the next zone. It feels like walking on a city street next to walls filled with a series of murals done in varying styles, illuminated by choreographed lights.
The next zone is puzzling. There are three fence-like LED sculptures arranged in a triangle. My friend guesses these sculptures are supposed to emulate an urban boardwalk or pier, since coastal-themed audio, i.e., squawking seagulls, fills the air.
The last main area is an outdoor, tapas-style cocktail lounge. It’s intimate, while also drawing on the bustling nature of city life. The bar lines one wall. There’s another graffitied phone booth in the corner. A full bus stop has been recreated, with an artsy twist. Splayed across the ground are wooden pallets covered with rugs and pillows. They serve as seating for the lounge and are accompanied by low, candelabra-covered tables.
The lounge menu features tapas-style bites and a diverse range of cocktails (any of which can be made mocktails). There are holiday-themed drinks, dessert drinks and beverages advertised as “sensory” experiences featuring flames, color changes and more.
Note: Even the bathroom has buttons for guests to change the “mood” of the space, altering the lights and sounds.
My favorite zone was hidden at the far side of the cocktail lounge. Three rectangular panels stand in a dark section, illuminated by digital projections. Here, you’re instructed to wear headphones playing a soundtrack coordinated with the projection. From a city sunset to night time traffic to raindrops racing down a car window, the digital video art vividly captures the beauty of an urban landscape.
I’m completely transported.
“Quartyard has always been a place where innovation thrives, and with City Lights, we’re taking that vision further,” Quartyard Managing Partner Justin Navalle says.
City Lights will be at Quartyard from December 6 through January 19, 2025. For ticket information, go to: City Lights. SDSun
