Bay Area Bites: Give us your personal take on The Bay Lights project.
Villareal: My initial impulse was to add an additional layer to this already rich environment. I did not want to overwhelm the site but to augment it by creating a very integrated artwork. I believe my work will allow people to see this iconic piece of infrastructure in a new way.

The final concept is remarkably close to my initial idea. We have fought to keep the project as pure as possible, firmly rooted as an artwork. Each of the 25,000 lights is individually controllable and can display 255 levels of brightness. I write custom software that is based on simple rules but that creates sophisticated effects mimicking those found in nature. My interest is in how a set of numbers can appear to have personality and life. All my work is abstract with no images or text. I engage chance in my process and I am interested in the process of discovery.

Bay Area Bites: What are your ties to the Bay Area? What does this art mean for the Bay Bridge and Bay Area as a whole?

Villareal: The Bay Lights is absolutely site specific. It is custom made for its environment and takes its inspiration from the systems that surround it-- the traffic, weather, organic systems all factor into the abstracted movement of the lights.

The Bay Area is incredibly inspirational to me. I lived in San Francisco in the early 90s and worked at a research lab in Palo Alto. There is such a wonderful spirit of innovation and creativity that opened my mind and helped me to integrate art and technology in a deep way.

Bay Area Bites: The Bay Area is home to many Burning Man fans. You have long-term ties to Burning Man yourself. How does that relate to the Bay Lights?

Villareal: I was inspired to created programmed light installations in the mid-1990s. One year, at Burning Man, I put up an irregular grid of 16 blinking lights above my encampment to act as a beacon. I used it to get home after a long night out on the playa. The art-making both on and off the playa evolved from there.

Bay Area Bites: What do you like to eat while you are in San Francisco working on The Bay Lights?

Villareal: Antipasti and pizza funghi with Fontina and black truffle oil at Americano.

Octopus carpaccio, oak roasted Ono and Tomales Bay Oysters at Waterbar.

Hog Island clams and baked eggs at Zuni.

Related Information:
The Bay Lights
Twitter: @TheBayLights
Facebook: The Bay Lights

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The Bay Lights: Restaurants with a View and Interview with Artist Leo Villareal