Client: City of Austin Texas

Location: 700 Riverside Drive, Austin, TX, United States

Completion date: 2014

Artwork budget: $28,500

Project Team

Public Art Agent

Anna Bradley

City of Austin Art in Public Places

Artist

Andrew Bellatti Green

Artist

Adam Pyrek

Overview

This sculpture is comprised of series of steel fins on two concentric circles. The sets of fins begin to rotate and the resting place is determined by rainfall and lake level data. Combined lake levels for are represented by the interior fins; and the exterior fins are represented by rainfall recorded by the adjacent rain gauge. With an increase in rain, the outer ring appears as full. With
less rain, the outer ring appears as empty. As the lake levels rise, the interior fins
appear to swell, and as the lake levels drop the interior fins appear to constrict.

Goals

The project goals for this artwork were to:» Addresses the concept of climate change and its impact on the Central Texas environment, including but not limited to conditions of rain, drought, temperature, water conservation, flora/fauna/human ecosystems, and impact on natural resources;

» Foster engagement between the artwork and the community through social interaction;

» Incorporate new technology or on-site data collection to facilitate public dialogue and/or raise awareness about change in climate and environmental conditions.

Process

The artists on this project collaborated with the Watershed Protection Department and the Parks and Recreation department to create a unique kinetic sculpture that utilized collected data from a nearby rain gauge. Every evening at dusk the sculpture comes to life. Every 12 hours, the adjacent rain gauge reports
back to the Watershed Protection Department via radio transmitters housed inside the base
of the sculpture and, in turn, provide the sculpture with local rainfall data and combined lake
capacities. It is through the
juxtaposition that the audience can begin to understand the constantly
changing conditions of our local climate.