PIXEL PARTY! Ben Holmen, an Eau Claire-based software engineer and technology-driven artist, has created a new art installation – the "Kilopixel" – now located at SHIFT (615 Graham Ave., Eau Claire). The 1,000-pixel display showcases user-submitted designs and real-time images through a custom web interface, all created by Holmen.

“I spent six years building a ridiculous wooden pixel display,” Ben Holmen said as we sat in front of his latest creation: the “Kilopixel.”

A software engineer and technology enthusiast with a focus on web apps, art installations and more, Holmen described the Kilopixel – currently on display at SHIFT (615 Graham Ave.) in Eau Claire – as the product of an innate desire for  “impractical displays.”

“ ‘Impractical’ to me has a lot of humanity involved in it,” Holmen said. “Things like (impractical displays) are very interesting to me; to create a mechanical system that produces results in a certain range of parameters, but it feels organic … or creative within those constraints.”

The Kilopixel's physical mechanism – a 1,000-pixel display made of wooden “pixels” which rotate 90 degrees at a time, turning a natural wood or black hue – focuses on user-submitted designs and real-time images drawn by the user.

Compared to modern image displays – where millions of digital pixels can change at a rapid rate per second – Holmen's project involves a time-consuming, slow observation of pixel movements which are manipulated through a custom programmed web interface he developed.

“This project has everything: a web app, a physical controller, a custom CNC build, generated code, tons of fabrication, 3D modeling, 3D printing, material sourcing – so much to get lost in,” Holmen shared in a blogpost to document the journey of the Kilopixel.

“It's the most ambitious project I've ever built,” he said.

“(The Kilopixel) is a reason to connect with people," Holmen, pictured, said. "Which to me is completely worth it."

Holmen’s original concept for the installation was always to feature it in person; it's tied to the SHIFT space and Eau Claire community, Holmen said.

Yet, between the time of installation this November and its inception years ago, he broadcasted the prototype to share the project – both for his own enjoyment and to allow people from around the world to interact with it.

In those few weeks, Holmen received hundreds of unique designs from people, from simple illustrations to complex reimaginings of notable paintings – including Grant Wood's “American Gothic” among others.

Holmen surprised Volume One with a customized design, pictured above. (Photo by Evelyn Nelson)

With such a wide-reaching project online – reaching hundreds of thousands of users online – bringing the Kilopixel back to SHIFT felt like a homecoming, Holmen said.

At the local coffee bar, users have embraced the “impracticality” of the installation and generated abstract forms as well as visuals of their own names.

Holmen has several ideas for the project’s future, though he intends to keep the Kilopixel in the Chippewa Valley community before returning it back to his home studio.

After all, the most intriguing aspect for him is watching others interact with the Kilopixel and devise their own applications for it, perhaps even inspiring future game designers.

“(The Kilopixel) is a reason to connect with people,” Holmen said, “Which to me is completely worth it.”

Visit the Kilopixel in person at SHIFT (615 Graham Ave., Eau Claire) to generate your very own images to display, or visit kilopx.com online to view the collection of Holmen’s favorite user-generated images.