Client: Montgomery College

Overview

David Hess designed, fabricated and installed this 13’ tall hanging sculpture composed of twisted steel and hand-blown glass spheres. The piece hangs in a 25’ tall entry way.

Goals

The Project Architects established the location of the piece; hanging from the roof of the atrium of the new Performing Arts Center. I wanted the piece to be thematic in nature. My initial designs were based on the notion of a hanging seed pod. This was symbolic of a performance, suggesting the dissemination and germination of ideas (seeds). Later, I merged this with the notion of a boat. For me this was a way to evoke the journey of an audience watching and following a performance.

Process

My project was selected based on review from a ten person committee lead by Susie Leong, Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County and Chahnaz Mcrae of Montgomery College. The project I proposed was built almost exactly as it had been originally proposed. I coordinated with the project engineer to locate and size structural beams to support the piece.