BOSTON, July 21, 2004 — The Athens Olympic Meteor - a light installation created by Mitch Benoff, light sculptor and professor at Boston's Berklee College of Music - is a winner of the international competition for public art to accompany the 2004 Olympic Games. For his installation, Benoff created a series of brilliant streaks of light that rocket at 400 kph to the top of Mount Lycabettus, the highest point in Athens, creating visual meteors that will be visible from points citywide, including the Acropolis and the Old Olympic Stadium.

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	An artist rendering of the Meteor
	© 2004 Mitch Benoff, aerial shot by Nikos Daniilidis

The Olympic Meteor's light show starts at one minute before midnight on August 12, sending 28 consecutive meteors flashing up the hillside for the 28th Olympiad, which begins August 13. The Meteor will continue its brilliant display 24 hours a day throughout the Olympics, with a special display at midnight each night.

Benoff's installation is a winner of the international "Catch the Light" competition commissioned by the Athens Olympic Committee and the city of Athens. The Athens Olympic Meteor is the largest and most visible of the nine light and sound installations chosen for the city. The light sculpture itself is longer than a football field, comprised of 50 strobe lights that rise in a line up the side of Mount Lycabettus. Says Benoff, "The meteor doesn't exist in the real world...it's a mix of technology working with your eye to create the image in your brain."

Trained at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, Mitch Benoff has been a light artist for over 30 years. The Athens Olympic Meteor will be the most sophisticated application of his groundbreaking sculpture "Speed of the Earth," which he developed in 1993 at the MIT Center for Advanced Visual Studies. He has exhibited installations in the United States and Europe, including at two of Boston's First Night celebrations. Steve Gray, of Tiny Gray Matter, came up from Charleston, SC to provide the electronic design for the meteor, and Mark West and Pat McDermott of Design Continuum in Newton, MA worked as design consultants on the project.

For additional information about the Athens Olympic Meteor, please visit www.athensolympicmeteor.com.

Berklee College of Music was founded on the revolutionary principle that the best way to prepare students for careers in music was through the study and practice of contemporary music. For over half a century, the college has evolved constantly to reflect the state of the art of music and the music business. With over a dozen performance and nonperformance majors, a diverse and talented student body representing over 70 countries, and a music industry "who's who" of alumni, Berklee is the world's premier learning lab for the music of today — and tomorrow.

For editorial information, the media may contact:

Margot Edwards
617-747-2004
medwards@berklee.edu