Swimmers by US artist Jim Campbell is the first artwork to be commissioned for showing on the media wall. During the first half of 2018 it will be displayed every evening at sundown. It can be viewed best from the far bank of the river running past the C3A. Campbell, a pioneer in LED art, here shares a reflection that speaks to us about the possibilities of new technologies in telling non-linear stories. The work shows a series of swimmers engaging in random and unpredictable movements and exercises. The background reflects the light upon the water. The formal essence is produced by the succession of varied rhythms that make up the organic structure of Campbell's works, which are derived in turn from the use of technology to speak of everyday matters, of play, of the body, and of artistic genres. In this C3A-specific work, he deploys these strategies whereby the varied rhythms and structures are superimposed within the context of the dialogues between essence and form in the history of art.

What we can see on the screen of this area of interpretation is the digital development of a version prepared specifically to be produced on our media wall. This version is achieved via a software application processing the video version created by the artist, and it provides a simulation of the final result that is similar to what the visitor will see on the building face wall.

Jim Campbell's work can be found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MOMA, and the Whitney Museum of Art, among many other major museums. Campbell, a trained mathematician and engineer, holds more than 20 patents relating to image processing.

Photo credit: Charles Villyard, courtesey of San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.