Marc Brickman Lights Empire State Building May 1

The Empire State Building and the Whitney Museum of American Art are partnering to celebrate its 84th anniversary and the opening day of Whitney's new building in Manhattan's Meatpacking District, respectively. In honor of these two historic occasions, internationally-acclaimed lighting designer, who has designed for Pink Floyd, Nine Inch Nails, and more, Marc Brickman will use the Empire State Building's LED tower lights to design a light show that interprets twelve works of art from Whitney's collection, including artists Georgia O'Keeffe, Edward Hopper, Andy Warhol, Peter Halley, and Barbara Kruger. 

The light show on the architectural landmark will begin on Friday, May 1 at 8 p.m., displaying each artwork-inspired lighting for 30 minutes, before concluding at 2 a.m. on Saturday, May 2. Most of the works that inspired the light show will be on view at the Whitney as part of the new building's inaugural exhibition, America Is Hard to See, May 1-September 27, 2015. A special viewing for museum visitors will be held at the Whitney's new building at 99 Gansevoort Street on Friday, May 1, from 8 p.m. until 10 p.m., which has excellent views of ESB from its four, east-facing terraces.