‘Light Wave' Installation at Santa Monica Pier

There's still time to view the esoteric and enchanting Pacific-adjacent art.

September might be, on the surface, our most workaday, nose-to-the-grindstone month.

That's only on the surface, as we said, or at first glance, if you prefer a different but same old chestnut. For while summer's swan song is about back-to-school-ing, and sharpened pencils, and stowing the beach towels, it also opens with Burning Man, an outlandish desert gallivant where no grindstones may be seen.

Capturing that spirit in LA, and extending the whimsy and twinkle of summertime, is "Light Wave," an out-sized nighttime installation at Santa Monica Pier. The multi-piece illuminated artwork has been popping up — or, rather, filling with air — over a few warm-weather Thursday nights, with two more to go.

That's right, you can still ride out the season past Labor Day, for "Light Wave" will appear steps from the Pacific Ocean on Thursday, Sept. 1 and Thursday, Sept. 8.

The "color, energy, and sound"-filled piece, from art collective FriendsWithYou, is happening alongside the pier's venerable Twilight Dance Series, which means some sizable turnouts. Arrive early, in short, for a chance to admire the LED sculptures in person.

Were you enraptured by "Liquid Shard" at Pershing Square in August? The Poetic Kinetics project ran a number of days, through Aug. 11, and made quite the impression.

Our summer romance with the large-scale sculpture continues at Santa Monica Pier, with two more Thursdays to go.

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As with many huge public artworks, "Light Wave" is free to see. And as with many huge public artworks, "Light Wave" is loaded with whimsical flair, the kind that just might be transportive to a viewer.

Can September, then, be more transportive, and magical, than its reputation gives it credit for? The glowing curvy shapes at Santa Monica Pier over the next two Thursday nights says it can be, and how.

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