Client: Southern Utah University

Overview

In October 2017, Utah Division of Arts & Museums’ Public Art Program commissioned Gordon for a significant interior art installation for the new Southern Utah University Business Building, which opened in August 2018. The artwork, entitled Canyon Light, is a suspended work that inserts a luminous, colorful component into the refined and creative architectural interior spaces of the new SUU Business Building. The new building provides space for students, professors, and professionals to collaborate and experiment with business ideas, assignments, and projects. Acrylic with Dichroic Film. 24 suspended panels (12 pair), spanning over 19' L X 38″W X 6' 6″H.

Goals

The 42,000-square-foot Southern Utah University Business Building encourages participatory and practical business education with flexible learning spaces for collaboration. The design purpose allows for efficient education for future business leaders. The inspiration for Canyon Light comes from the unique geological formation of the Wall Street Slot Canyon in Bryce Canyon National Park, and its constructed counterpart, the towering buildings lining the narrow streets of lower Manhattan. These soaring canyons, with the slimmest of openings allowing for passage, have the effect of throwing focus on the experience of the journey while wrapping the destination in mystery. Canyon Light evokes the experience of movement with its sequential series of dichroic panel pairs, each with a distinct “canyon slot” profile. Viewers will have an opportunity to journey through the artwork, with its variety of shapes and profiles providing an engaging and constantly transforming experience. Dichroic film applied to the acrylic panels mimics the effects of the filtered and diffuse light in the canyon. Radiating color, reflection and refracted light, each panel has a distinct and unique effect on the interior spaces of the SUU Business Building.

Process

The artwork was installed in connection with the final construction touches to the building. Momentum for the new building started in 2015, when SUU received $7.5 million from the Dixie and Anne Leavitt Foundation, the largest single gift in the school’s history.