Visualizing Our Climate on Friday 9/28, 3:00PM, in Center for the Arts 2032
Climate has three definitions: the long-term prevailing weather conditions of an area; a region having a particular kind of climate; and a prevailing ethos, trend, attitude, or current of feeling. Climate was the conceptual basis for four significant works that embody the two main avenues of my studio-based research and experimental production. Three of the works are site-specific installations. Each employed the use of physical scale, a variety of materials and processes, and a shift of methodology considering impermanence as a factor.
A major permanent project, Transference, was installed at the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy at Rutgers University in New Jersey. Using traditional methods and teamwork in the hot glass studio, we pulled 500 twisting, curved pieces of textured clear cane. The glass was suspended in a complex interwoven spiral over the course of a month and illuminated with LEDs that light up in an ever-changing pattern based in machine learning. Drone Prix, a large-scale work installed in the Baltimore Harbor for the 2018 Light City Festival, functioned as a temporary racecourse, created specifically for drone flight and machine vision. Off the Rails combines 3D printing with illuminated glass to create architectural forms, the beginning of a new structural approach to building tall forms with an inherently fragile material. Virga will be installed this November at Utah Valley University’s new Performing Arts Center. The permanent work will be a cloud of glass created from 1800 individual illuminated pieces. Employing environmental data from local high elevation weather stations, this work will recreate and extend the magic of each nightly sunset.
The sabbatical was a time to foster my imagination and explore ideation through drawing and sketching; the pieces conceived and produced during this time established the groundwork for future creative endeavors and helped me to maintain sustainability within my arts practice.
Jenn Figg (Department of Art + Design), sabbatical presentation on Friday 9/28, 3:00PM, in Center for the Arts 2032
