Patrick Dougherty's The Upper Crust, 2009
I recently had the honor of working as one of five assistants to sculptor Patrick Dougherty on a large-scale public art installation at Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco. The temporary sculpture was constructed in the tops of resident sycamore trees using nearly ten tons of interwoven willow branches. The project, funded by the San Francisco Arts Commission, took three weeks to install and will remain in place until February of 2010.
Hootin' Hollow, 2009
Dave Lovejoy, an artist and fellow assistant on the Patrick Dougherty project, invited me to help out with a sculpture commission installed at Cow Hollow School in the Presidio of San Francisco. Based on the City Hall design, we constructed a large willow play structure using nearly 3000 pounds of interwoven branches and the help of many children and parents who volunteered their time to assist us. The structure will remain in place for at least two years.
Everything that remains, 2008
Commissioned sculpture for Appirio, Inc., San Mateo, California.
As technology improves, many IT companies are moving toward the idea of renting server space and computing applications over the Internet rather than using costly on-premises software powered by back-end infrastructure. This has resulted in the disposal of much outdated or defunct equipment, sometimes containing large amounts of PCB waste, poisonous chemicals, and lead toxins. Rather than send their excess servers to the landfill, the folks at Appirio wanted to offer it up as the basis for a sculpture that might somehow comment on this complex technological and environmental situation.
My idea for the piece was a play on words, referring to the role that servers typically perform in business infrastructure where they are considered the backbone or central nervous hub of the networking system. The now unnecessary units reminded me of the fossilized remains of a once vital structure.
70" x 36" x 39"
Dismantled network infrastructure servers: steel, copper, plastic, sheet metal, computer cabling/wiring, circuit boards, fans, and miscellaneous hardware.
Stelarcian, 2007
Artist and experimental filmmaker Darrin Martin asked me to construct a robotic arm loosely resembling one made by the Australian performance artist Stelarc, who incorporates themes of cyborgization and other human-machine interfaces into his work. The arm was used as a theatrical prop in the experimental short video What if?-a collaboration by Martin and fellow artist Torsten Zenas Burns.
24" x 12" x 5"
Steel, wood, plastic, ABS pipe, sheet metal, latex tubing, vinyl tubing, velcro straps, blood pressure cuff, electronics, electrical fittings, electrical wire, miscellaneous hardware, and foam rubber.
f-Stop Construction, 2007
Artist and choreographer Whitney Peterson asked me to create an animation sequence to be projected behind her original dance production Queen of Hearts, initially performed for the UC Davis Department of Theater and Dance in April of 2007. The performance was an investigation of the human heart as both a chemo-dynamic machine and a locus of emotion, combining animation, acrobatics, dance, art, and music. The projected image was over 20 feet wide.
48" x 36" x 5" constructed wall assemblage, animated using stop motion photography.
Steel, plastic, sheet metal, electrical fittings, lamp wire, light, x-ray image, springs, miscellaneous hardware, oil pastel, soft pastel, charcoal, pencil, ink, spray paint, and collage elements on paper.