GUEST BLOG by Doron Gazit

Doron Gazit is the owner of AirDD. No doubt you know about his collection of illuminated inflatable designs as his company has been a staple of the industry since 1986. But what you might not know is that all those designs originate from Doron's artistic vision and that his inspiration comes from nature. His body of work was awarded the Special Events magazine Gala Award of Excellence, and he himself was inducted to the Event Solutions Hall of Fame. His Airtubes have been on the cover of Smithsonian magazine, and Doron was a featured artist in The Festival of Lights in Jerusalem as well as one of the intrepid (and dusty) artists who trek to the desert every year for Burning Man where he does his research and development! From the very beginning, Doron has followed his passion for "air-chitect." Not only has he made sustainable business out of it, he's added light and illumination to many of this industry's events. Glad he's now part of the design dawg pack!
David Merrell
Lead designdawg, Creative Director and Owner, AOO Live and AOO Events

Environmental Art: On the Asahi River, Japan

Raw Spaces

 By Doron Gazit

All my life I have looked at raw spaces – from the desert and ocean where there are no borders to empty airplane hangars with soaring ceilings and barren walls. To me I see possibilities in these spaces to create art with what is there – air. The space becomes my canvas, Airtubes are three-dimensional lines and the Hi-lights are the dots that make up my three-dimensional "paintings."

When I started Air Dimensional Design, now AirDD, in 1986, I had already been "sculpting the wind" for years, making the invisible visible using what became our Airtubes. I simply did what came naturally to me and what I loved doing. I thank Dave for this opportunity to be a guest design dawg and reflect on what I do. When I look back on it, I see I was very fortunate to be able to turn my personal art and passion into a viable and successful business but also a design that has been part of so many amazing, international events.

THE SKY IS NOT THE LIMIT

Architecture + art + space =  AirDD at its best. I want to share some of the events that helped define AirDD as well as push us into new directions.

 A commissioned piece done in Dubai. I call the 10 75-foot-tall towers "Flowers at Sunset." Using a total of 2,000 feet of Airtube, it was a time when architecture and Airtubes met in the most dramatic of ways.

This was a lifetime ago, yet to me it feels like yesterday! It was an event on a dry lake centered around a performance by the great tenor, Pavarotti. There was nothing --nothing--here! To give the space vertical elements with abstract musical notes. I used the Airtubes with scaffolding as an architectural elements.

Here Airtubes played off the color and linear structure of the green building (there is a red, blue and green building) of the iconic Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles. This was called "Playground for the Wind" because the wind moved in and around the Airtubes, animating them in a beautiful dance.

I want to take a moment to thank clients like this who love environmental art such as this and have been able to see how there is a place for it in event design.

The opening of the Fuji Building in Japan.

The next thing...To complement Airtubes, which are one long three-dimensional line, I began to play with shape. From this came a collection we named Hi-Lights. This collection of about eight different design subsets has allowed me much freedom to explore shape, light and lift, and again I've been able to explore my passion for this form of "air-chitecture" both professional and personally; yet always as an artist.

For many of the designs in this collection, nature is my inspiration. Below is a progression of photos that I think visually mirrors my journey as a designer and an artist.

It begins with Airtubes at Burning Man where wind, nature and people interacted, creating an environment for the wind to manifest itself physically. The next photos is of an Airtube in the Burnt Carmel Forest in Israel and then an Organic Hi-Light in the same location. Finally, the organic, lighted shape takes its place amid the architecture of ancient Jerusalem.

COMING DOWN TO EARTH

Of course, my greatest satisfaction has been bringing my art to our day-to-day lives, our celebrations and special events. It's about bringing lightness, color and humor to raw spaces -- urban, heavy environments -- in order to define a space and create a focal point of beauty upon which the eye can rest.

The visual impact of three-dimensional pieces is very powerful. Because of this, with less you can do so much more.

 
There have been events we’ve done at which the only design element is several Organic Hi-Lights hanging in a warehouse. Just that is a statement unto itself. Here the Organics (Lilia, Medusa and Spring) were the perfect way to transform an airplane hanger into a more intimate space during a trade show.

Here they are being used at a Bar Mitzvah designed by Jonathon Reeves, International Event Company, as part of the overall design.

Spheres and Stars are two Hi-Lights that are used the most often to fill space above, or on the ground. as you can see from these two events designers love them for their shape -- a perfect amount of blank canvas for projections of design, or branding. The stars in the photo above shown at the annual show for the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) are actually one of our newer designs. Called Lotus Stars, they are more free form in shape.

Spheres by day

By night

Spheres,  and lots of them! This event, an awards presentation in honor of the designer James Watterson, used 80 Hi-Lights altogether. Spheres, Cones and Hydra trees illuminated in primary colors were the main design element.

Rising Stars -- Stars that appear to have "fallen" from the sky -- 

at the 75th Anniversary of the iconic Griffith Observatory.

One of my Burning Man creations using our 31-point stars in a 

new way to bring color and light to the desert.

Believe it or not, these Hi-Lights are actually on top of a "car" at Burning Man. 

Quite a sight to see in motion!

We continue to expand our Hi-Light collection based on client needs and what we see in the design world as well as nature that excites us. Always we look at the technical aspects of the products, refining them to offer brighter LEDs, quieter fans and greener options. 

Because if I can pass one thing onto all the artists in this industry it’s that creativity doesn’t exist in a vacuum. For as much as I love to sculpt with the wind, being tethered to the earth by understanding business, abiding by a code of ethics and having the highest regard for quality workmanship has allowed my creativity to soar.

I hope that this post helps many of you in this industry see that you can be successful following a dream. It’s been a journey that for me, is written on the wind.

About Doron Gazit

Doron Gazit has been exploring the fluidity of motion since 1981 when he began capturing the wind in Israel and sculpting with it using air-filled three-dimensional tubes, first on a small, personal level in nature, then on a large-scale in urban settings. His work was noticed by international event designers which led to commissions for huge, temporary installations at major events such as World Expos and the Olympic Games in 1984. He began AirDD in 1986 and went on to do architectural installations on some of the world’s most significant buildings and landmarks.

As AirDD grew, Gazit continued to explore wind, water and motion in nature through intimate, interactive performance pieces. These art events involve wind, nature and people, giving all the to “play” with and “sculpt” the wind, making the invisible visible.

Gazit's latest venture is taking his lifetime work, Sculpting the Wind, and freezing it for all time, literally. His collection of lighted sculptures, called Frozen Flow, will be on exhibit for the first time at the Los Angeles Dwell show, June 22 - 24,  Booth 1225.