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Have you ever had a day where it seemed everyone around you was in a bad mood? Or that the whole city was celebrating?

Thanks to a new public art installation, Minneapolitans will be able to determine whether their hunch is correct.

Meet MIMMI, a sort of illuminated "cloud" stationed over the 

Minneapolis Interactive Macro Mood Installation

; it's the creation of Jack Cochran and Carl Koepcke and 

 to determine whether people are happy or sad or angry. That information is transmitted to a series of LED bulbs.

At night, the city's mood is reflected in its color; warm colors reflect happiness, while a more negative vibe radiates cool tones. People can check on the cloud 

During the day, when it's hard to see the color of the bulbs, the cloud responds to what's going on around it.  Implanted with a misting system triggered by motion sensors, the cloud sends down a light rain on people walking by.

Carl Koepcke says  he and Jack Cochran wanted to create a sculpture that took what was happening in the digital world and brought it out into a physical space.

Cochran adds that the piece is a reflection of how computing devices are invading our physical spaces:

MIMMI will be one of the centerpieces of the 

, which runs from 6pm - midnight tomorrow evening. Last night MIMMI got its first real test with real weather; it was deflated by the 80mph winds and hail. But after a quick repair the mood cloud is up and functioning again.

Gulgun Kayim, director of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy for the city of Minneapolis, says MIMMI is the first of a series of public art installations meant to inspire people to make better use of the Convention Center Plaza.

MIMMI will hang out over the MCC Plaza until the fall, to be replaced by another interactive piece.

Arts and Culture

State of the Arts Blog

Marianne Combs

Author

Have you ever had a day where it seemed everyone around you was in a bad mood? Or that the whole city was celebrating? Thanks to a new public art installation, Minneapolitans will be able to determine whether their hunch is correct. Meet MIMMI, a sort of illuminated “cloud” stationed over the Minneapolis Convention Center…

Meet MIMMI, Minneapolis’ new mood cloud

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