What does being American mean to you?

Situated on six acres of land in the heart of Manhattan, this nighttime pop-up installation featured video portraits of Americans from all walks of life. Debuting in the leadup to America 250, Path of Liberty encouraged visitors to consider themes of American democracy and freedom and their evolution. As the interactive designer on the project, RLMG used a highly iterative design and development process to meet a compressed 10-week timeline.

Image Courtesy of C&G Partners

Creating the Flag

As visitors enter the pop-up art installation, they are greeted by a set of interactive kiosks that invite them to address the question "What does being American mean to you?" They can either snap a photo of themselves or record a short video. Our custom-built CMS allows the client to vet the clips and approve them to be incorporated into a shared digital flag. 

This massive display is positioned beautifully against the New York City skyline. The visitor photo and video contributions compose the red, white, and blue rectangles of the American flag. As visitors walk by, clips pop out to fill more of the screen, alternating between the user-input responses and pre-recorded video interviews. As the display shifts between the flag’s subtle “waving” to personal videos, visitors see themselves and their fellow Americans in this work.