Polytope de Montréal was a media installation in the French Pavilion, which now houses Casino de Montréal. The installation included a sculpture

Sculpture

Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...

, light show

Laser lighting display

A laser lighting display or laser light show involves the use of laser light to entertain an audience. A laser light show may consist only of projected laser beams set to music, or may accompany another form of entertainment, typically a dance concert or other musical performance.Laser light is...

, and musical composition

Musical composition

Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...

 designed and composed by Iannis Xenakis

Iannis Xenakis

Iannis Xenakis was a Romanian-born Greek ethnic, naturalized French composer, music theorist, and architect-engineer. He is commonly recognized as one of the most important post-war avant-garde composers...

, for the opening of the Ottawa Art Gallery following Expo 67

Expo 67

The 1967 International and Universal Exposition or Expo 67, as it was commonly known, was the general exhibition, Category One World's Fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, from April 27 to October 29, 1967. It is considered to be the most successful World's Fair of the 20th century, with the...

. The piece is one of many "Polytope

Polytope

In elementary geometry, a polytope is a geometric object with flat sides, which exists in any general number of dimensions. A polygon is a polytope in two dimensions, a polyhedron in three dimensions, and so on in higher dimensions...

s" (flat-sided geometric object, e.g., polyhedron

Polyhedron

In elementary geometry a polyhedron is a geometric solid in three dimensions with flat faces and straight edges...

) by Xenakis.

The light sculpture consisted of, "a geometric array of steel cables

Wire rope

thumb|Steel wire rope Wire rope is a type of rope which consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a helix. Initially wrought iron wires were used, but today steel is the main material used for wire ropes....

 stretching up through the multi-tiered atrium

Atrium (architecture)

In modern architecture, an atrium is a large open space, often several stories high and having a glazed roof and/or large windows, often situated within a larger multistory building and often located immediately beyond the main entrance doors...

 of the building, with 1,200 flashbulbs

Flash (photography)

A flash is a device used in photography producing a flash of artificial light at a color temperature of about 5500 K to help illuminate a scene. A major purpose of a flash is to illuminate a dark scene. Other uses are capturing quickly moving objects or changing the quality of light...

 attached to the cables."

The piece led to the commission of Kraanerg

Kraanerg

Kraanerg is a piece of music for 23 instruments and 4-channel analog tape composed by Iannis Xenakis, originally for a ballet with choreography by Roland Petit and set design by Victor Vasarely...

.

External links

• Oswalt, Phillipp (1991). "Iannis Xenakisis' Polytopes", Oswalt.de.
• "Réalisations architecturales", Iannis-Xenakis.org.