Client: City of El Paso
Location: El Paso, TX, United States
Completion date: 2015
Artwork budget: $400,000
Project Team
Artist
Matthew Geller
Hutabut LLC
Industry Resource
Andrew Vrana
Metalab
Landscape Architect
Trent Okumura
SWA Group
Client
Ben E. Fyffe
El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs Department (MCAD)
Industry Resource
Mike Davis
CloudBurst Misting Systems
Industry Resource
Clint Allen
New Aspect Design
Overview
Chroma Booster sits at the focal point of the new pedestrian plaza between the Chihuahua’s Triple-A Baseball Stadium and the Music and Convention Centers. The 55-foot-tall painted steel fountain, which includes mist, water, and light, celebrates the controlled chaos of the industrial infrastructure that both surrounds the site and dots the Texas landscape. The mist, which invites people to be engulfed in its cool, moist air, is in a constant state of flux, sensitive to the slightest changes in wind, temperature, and humidity. User-controlled push-button valves at the base of the sculpture operate a foot-cooling water nozzle, and three overhead showerheads allow visitors to douse themselves with a refreshing shower. At night, lights illuminate the stainless steel collars and the wafting clouds of mist.
2016 Year in Review, Public Art Network, Americans for the Arts
2017 IES Illumination Award of Merit
Pedestrian plaza between the El Paso Chihuahua’s Baseball Stadium and the Music and Convention Centers
55’ x 8’ x 8’ (variable)
Painted steel, stainless steel, mist, water, programmed LEDs
Goals
The City of El Paso requested an iconic focal point with mist and water features.
Process
Geller’s process always begins with stakeholder and community engagement which could include learning about the area's history, gaining insight into the community’s vision for the site, and brainstorming about what would enrich and bring together their diverse community.
Metalab provided project management, design development, and fabrication oversite services.
Additionally, Metalab coordinated with the landscape architects (SWA Los Angeles) and site work contractors for in-ground infrastructural components..
Lance Gandy (Gandy Lighting Design) designed the lighting system, and Clint Allen (New Aspect Design) programmed the lighting show.
Additional Information
In his public art practice, Matthew Geller’s participatory sculptures become one of the building blocks that make a space a destination. As such, the work activates the site and promotes interaction among visitors, often creating intimate moments in a singularly public space. Part of his work’s success is that it is physically experiential: viewers understand that there is a place for themselves in it. His sculptures enable moments of respite and delight, befitting the site's functional and visual context. He purposefully uses materials from the everyday environment creating a level of connection to the familiar while highlighting elements of awe and beguilement. The idea is to surprise while fostering the sense of an inclusive community around an unlikely object or location, creating a micro public square or landmark. By considering behavioral design and incorporating dynamic elements activated by people and changes in the weather, the resulting work is in constant flux. Ultimately, the artwork’s goal will be to engender a sense of wonder, enhancing the community and visitor experience.