Client: Music Center at Strathmore Arts Center

Overview

Selected through a national juried competition as the signature work of art in front of the $100 million Music Center at Strathmore Arts Center, near Washington DC. In this work the sonata form of musical composition has been utilized as a guiding principle underlying a visual improvisation in bronze. The dynamic tension between the pure integrity of tetrahedral geometry and the intuitive / creative process combine in bringing life to the work. Viewed from certain angles the sculpture seems to grow out of the base, the upward motion righting itself to gravity as it reaches the top.

Goals

My design approach is based upon a deep respect for the natural world. Employing principles found in Nature gives the work a visual structure that resonates familiarity, sensed by anyone who has walked through a forest or observed how water carves stone over time. Nature is not used as a subject matter but as a source for a kind of creative play with formal ideas. Employing a strong spatial design allows sculptural forms to be grasped quickly on a large scale, while detailed composition sustains interest over repeated viewings. As a child I was deeply moved by art I came across in public outdoor settings; I find inspiration in the possibility that art holds to renew people’s ability to see.

Process

Starting with research that includes site, cultural context & stakeholder’s concerns, what emerges is a unique understanding: the essence or “soul” of the project. This acts as the guiding light for the design process. Further concept development generated out of this sense of place includes careful consideration of the artistic, metaphoric, and technical issues unique to the project.