Pi in the Sky
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Pi in the Sky was an experimental aerial art display where airplanes spelled out pi to decimal 1,000 places in the sky over the San Francisco Bay Area. The display took place on September 12, 2012. It was then displayed again in Austin on March 13, 2014, during the SXSW festival, at which time it was said to be the largest art piece ever displayed in the state of Texas.{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/ericmack/2014/03/14/behold-actual-pi-in-the-sky-on-pi-day/|title=Behold: Actual Pi in the Sky on Pi Day|website=Forbes}}[http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57512588-1/planes-write-out-pi-over-the-skies-of-san-francisco-bay-area/ Planes write out pi over the skies of San Francisco Bay Area {{!}} Crave - CNET][http://www.berkeleyside.com/tag/ishky/ ISHKY {{!}} Berkeleyside][http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/74161d7a-f7b7-11e1-8c9d-00144feabdc0.html#axzz27pHHCrus Barometer: innovation - FT.com]{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20120915092950/http://www.zero1biennial.org/ishky ISHKY {{!}} 2012 ZERO1 Biennial]}}[https://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1256096--pi-in-the-sky-skywriters-draw-first-1-000-digits-of-pi Pi in the Sky: Skywriters draw first 1,000 digits of pi - thestar.com][http://www.digitaltrends.com/lifestyle/pi-in-the-sky-mathematical-skywriting-of-the-first-thousand-digits-of-pi/ Pi in the Sky: Skywriting of the first thousand digits of Pi in SF {{!}} Digital Trends]
Description
The numbers, each {{convert|0.4|km}}{{cite web|author=Tracey Taylor |url=http://www.berkeleyside.com/2012/09/12/those-numbers-flying-high-over-berkeley-pi-in-the-sky/ |title=Those numbers flying high over Berkeley? Pi in the sky |publisher=Berkeleyside |date=2012-09-12 |access-date=2012-09-30}} high, were created by a group of five{{cite web|url=http://laughingsquid.com/pi-in-the-sky-skywriters-fill-the-san-francisco-bay-area-skies-with-the-first-1000-digits-of-pi/ |title=Pi in the Sky, Skywriters Fill the San Francisco Bay Area Skies With the First 1,000 Digits of Pi |publisher=Laughingsquid.com |date=2012-09-12 |access-date=2012-10-01}} skywriting airplanes, and appeared as a dot matrix. The string of numbers was produced in a large loop {{convert|161|km}} in circumference, at an altitude of approximately {{convert|10,000|ft}}.
The aircraft used were 1979 Grumman AA-5B Tigers, small, single-engined planes provided by the company AirSign Aerial Advertising, based in Williston, FL. The numbers were produced by spraying natural, burnt-off canola oil,{{cite magazine|last=Solon |first=Olivia |url=https://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-09/13/pi-in-the-sky |title=First 1,000 digits of pi written in the sky over San Francisco (Wired UK) |magazine=Wired UK |publisher=Wired.co.uk |access-date=2012-10-01}} which dissipated, causing no environmental damage.{{cite web |url=http://www.sfstation.com/pi-in-the-sky-e1708242 |title=Pi In The Sky |publisher=SF Station |date=2012-09-16 |access-date=2012-10-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130202033811/http://www.sfstation.com/pi-in-the-sky-e1708242 |archive-date=2013-02-02 }}
The exhibition began in the skies over San Jose, then continued over Fremont, Hayward, Oakland, Berkeley, San Francisco, San Bruno, San Mateo, Redwood City, Palo Alto, and Mountain View. The planes deliberately flew over the headquarters of NASA Ames, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, University of California at Berkeley, Stanford University, Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Apple.{{cite web|author=MacManus, Christopher |url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57512588-1/planes-write-out-pi-over-the-skies-of-san-francisco-bay-area/ |title=Planes write out pi over the skies of San Francisco Bay Area | Crave - CNET |publisher=News.cnet.com |date=2012-09-13 |access-date=2012-09-30}}
The 2012 display was part of the 2012 ZERO1 Biennial, was conceived by artist ISHKY, and involved a company called Stamen Design. ZERO1 is an art-technology network based in San Jose. The display was intended to draw attention to their biennial showcase for art and technology.{{cite web|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_21526937/pi-adorns-bay-area-skies-silicon-valley-art |title='Pi' adorns Bay Area skies as Silicon Valley art-tech showcase kicks off - San Jose Mercury News |work=Mercurynews.com |date=12 September 2012 |access-date=2012-10-01}}
The 2014 display was part of an ongoing project, directed by artist ISHKY (Ben Davis), and again involved AirSign Aerial Advertising. The 2014 display quickly gained publicity making it the number 2 top trending hashtag on Twitter during the display and within 24 hours it was shared and viewed a little over six million times.[https://www.cnet.com/news/pi-day-celebrations-kick-off-with-a-pi-in-the-sky/ Pi Day celebrations kick off with a 'pi in the sky' - CNET][http://www.airsign.com/pi-in-the-sky/ Pi In The Sky – Skywriting by AirSign][http://www.livescience.com/44102-pi-day-skyriting-over-austin.html Pi in the Sky: Long String of Digits Written Over Austin][http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local/austin-skies-to-be-stuffed-with-pi-this-evening/nfCK3/ Austin skies to be stuffed with pi this evening {{!}} www.statesman.com][http://kxan.com/2014/03/13/pi-in-the-sky-display-had-people-running-for-their-camera/ ‘Pi in the sky’ display had people running for their camera {{!}} KXAN.com]
References
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Further reading
- John D. Barrow: Pi in the Sky: Counting, Thinking, and Being {{ISBN|9780198539568}}
External links
- [http://www.livesoma.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Pi-in-the-Sky-Map.jpg Map showing planned route of aircraft]
- [http://ishky.com/ ISHKY website]
- [http://airsign.com/ AirSign website]
{{Mathematical art}}
Category:Mathematical artworks
Category:Art exhibitions in the United States
Category:Art in the San Francisco Bay Area