Creator Julius von Bismarck has constructed a large emoticon on top of a lighthouse in Lindau, Germany that displays the collective emotions of passersby. A camera snaps shots of random pedestrians and a computer tallies people’s emotions into four categories: happy, sad, angry, or surprised — resulting in a city-wide emotional display. We wonder if there are certain times of the day or week when people are especially moody (8 a.m. Monday morning), or if the emoticon itself can cause an emotional swing or placebo effect? This installation, as part of the Provinz exhibition, will project through August 28th, but next time we’re hoping for an emoticon that can LOL or ROFL…preferably on top of the Empire State Building.Click here to watch a video of similar project unveiled in Berlin.
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