Physical Description:

The piece is to be representative of a large starfish like creature. With eight large legs that span sixty feet in diameter and a peek height of twenty two feet the creature will act as: a) gathering place, b) sun shield, c) concert arena and/or whatever else the BRC finds use for. Between each of legs is a membrane of fabric like the skin between our fingers. The legs will join at a nine-foot disc, and on this disc a twelve-fingered clawed mouth to this creature is located. The claw achieves kinetic action through stepper motors, linear actuators, controllers, and various sensors. All the sculptural components of this piece are fabricated from vacuum-formed white abs plastic and these shells clad over an infrastructure of steel and plywood. The piece is then tensioned down with 1/4" steel cables, bull pricks and rigging. In the realm of sound when the creature is hungry or upset it will unleash shrills to warn those in ‘her’ presence.

Dimensions: 60'diameter x 22' high


Philosophical Statement:

The life that is present in this world humbles and amazes me. The design that is involved in the creation of some of our smallest and most important life forms inspires me, and I attempt to show their power in my work. To capture the beauty, danger, and disappointment of these organic forms in a colossal way is just the surface; the art while being alive and able to process its surroundings would be responsive and engaging to those in ‘her’ path. The desired result would be that viewers walk away with a sense of the power that nature, science, and community can have in this world.

The piece is truly meant as a destination of mystery requiring physical interaction and social collaboration to function to its fullest. The sculpture moves through a beautiful geometrically designed system similar to many life forms (particularly flowers and insects) and creates mesmerizing patterns of light and motion. As participants engage the work their positions under her, sounds, and motions will cause her to respond with different motion, light and sound that represent her visceral state. This dream of mine to create a large beautiful, kinetic object that will cause people to pause and consider their actions for even a moment is just one of what I consider many amazing possibilities it could have. Furthermore, I hope that it is intuitive and people soon realize that it is not only how they are with this object but each other. The sculpture is in essence an experiment on how people interact not only with art but each other. This piece is also an opportunity to create a sculpture in collaboration with the amazing BRC artists that reconnected me to my art 7 years ago, and truly give something back. All my work has only been growing in complexity and this represents the most elaborate work to date.

Project Budget:

My petition is for $20,000 and possibly some tickets to secure crew attendance. For a complete budget breakdown (for which fundraising has already begun) please see last page of this document.


Crew:

The installation crew to assemble the piece will consist of 8 people:

- Forman
- Gradall operator
- Riggers (2)
- Assemblers (4)

The support crew will be 2 people three times a day to check operations, and maintain the piece if necessary. Their duties will include: ensuring operation, area safe keeping, power supply assessment and rubbish removal.

The breakdown crew will be 6 people. The piece will take 2 days to strike completely. One day is to breakdown the sculpture and its components. The second day is to load the art and clean the grounds thoroughly. This team will be made up of experienced burners and great attention will be given to assure that no trace of this object is left behind.