“A human arabesque was created to launch TED conferences in the Middle East after the Arab Spring opened up the region to new ideas. It represents the multiplicity of ideas and the people presenting them in a human kaleidoscope inspired by the infinite geometric patterns found in Arabic art. Celebrating ‘the power of x to multiply great ideas,’ we worked collaboratively with director Körner Union, whose mirrored sets have formed the aesthetic base for a number of projects, to create a 59-foot-high mirrored prism over a moving floor. The result, an ornamental arabesque pattern, is a feat of engineering and choreography without computer manipulation.”