Art for Animals

Many biologists say that half of the animals on Earth will be extinct by 2100. To highlight this critical issue, Louis Psihoyos (sih-HOH-yuhs), a photographer and film director, and Travis Threlkel (threl-KEL), a lighting designer, and other artists created a larger-than-life installation. For one night in December, the team transformed the façade (exterior wall) of St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. Vatican City is the city-state ruled by the Pope, the head of the Roman Catholic Church. 

The team programmed 50 industrial-size light projectors to work as one unit. The projectors shined moving images of animals, like the penguins above, onto the building. The combined lights overpowered the competing glow of the nearby city lights. 

The installation at the Vatican follows a similar event held in New York City last July. There, the team projected images of endangered animals onto the side of the Empire State Building. That installation promoted a documentary by Psihoyos called Racing Extinction. The artist hopes the scale of the works will inspire people around the world. “Everyone can make a huge difference by altering their behavior just a little bit,” Psihoyos tells Scholastic Art.