As it turns out, the interesting piece of art next to Powell Hall is a student project. I arrived at Grand and Grandell Saturday evening to find that not only have they put up a large poster to explain the piece, but also a packet of fliers. As a student project, professional standards of craftsmanship don't apply. The important thing about the project is the students' ability to experience the interrelationships between ideas, form, light, and color; which the piece certainly allowed them to do.
The piece is part of The Community Light Project, funded by the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts, Grand Center, and the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University. It was created by Sebastian Hungerer and Rainer Kehres in collaboration with students from Cole Elementary, Loyala Academy, Cardinal Ritter Prep, and Metro High. The green masts visible in the photo in the original ash tray post are wind generators left from the previous installation, 'E-scaping the Grid' by Michael Oliveri. The generators illuminate a hexagonal grid of LED's that you can see in the background of my photo.
The Pulitzer also sponsored a fascinating Kehres-Hungerer work in the burnt out church at Spring and Grandell Square entitled 'Chorus'. The artists assembled lamps from the people of St. Louis and used them to create an illuminated roof for the gutted shell. I admire how they expressed the architectural form of the building while creating a compelling and colorful work of art; an ironic statement on the condition of America's inner cities, and hopefully an optimistic wish for their revitalization. Unfortunately, I was unable to find any biographical information on the artists; they seem to only have a web presence thru arts reviews and the Pulitzer Foundation.
No comments:
Post a Comment