Screen blends imagery of the human hand with production techniques borrowed from glass jewelry making.
The “catenary” is a basic form in nature: a chain suspended from two points will always make this shape. Long necklaces are catenaries. Screen, which is directly behind the storefront glass, is like hundreds of chain necklaces with individual links made of hand profiles made with colored translucent plastic. The chains continually transform the color of sunlight coming into the Teen Center. The work provides privacy for people within the Center from the busy sidewalk while allowing views of the street from within. Hundreds of different hand shapes link together to make up the chains: sometimes the hands have an open palm, sometimes the fingers are stretched outward, sometimes the fingers curl as if to gently hold an object, sometimes the hands grasp. Combining the logic of animation with sculpture, the shape of each individual hand is derived from video footage. Arrayed in sequences, the hands produce the impression of human gestures.
Lead Artists and Designers: Benjamin Ball, Gaston Nogues
Project Management: Jonathan Kitchens, Benjamin Jenett
Project Team: Julieta Gil, James Jones, Ayodh Kamath, Alison Kung, Luciana Martinez, Allison Porterfield, Rachel Shillander, Caroline Smith, Julianne Weiss, Evan Wiskup
Custom Software Development: www.sparcestudio.com
