Client: Mayo Civic Center

Location: Rochester, MN, United States

Completion date: 2018

Artwork budget: $310,000

Project Team

Other

Soren Lyngso Knudsen

Vectra Copenhagen, DK

Industry Resource

Hans Early-Nelsen

Primitive Precision Metalcraft

Architect

Jon Neubauer, | CPMI |

APMI Architecture

Client

Eric Torgerson, Project Manager

Mayo Civic Center

Public Art Agent

Ben Owen

Minnesota State Arts Board

Overview

Description: This artwork was created to distract the purposeful visitors to the Civic Center’s programmed events for a few seconds, to offer them to freely express their thoughts and feelings into the sculpture via an input kiosk at second floor looking out onto the front plaza sculpture. Their every input word helps evolve the lights and music from the artwork. A collaborative symphony across time, social, and interest barriers.
Site: Mayo Civic Center, Rochester MN.
Dimension: Varied, indoor and outdoor sites.
Commissioned by: Mayo Civic Center Arts Commission.
Medium: Multi-Media.

Goals

To turn the purposeful visitors of very diverse interest groups to become collaborators of a communal light and choir symphony across time and special interests barriers. The artwork invites everyone to express their personal thoughts and feelings via an input kiosk on the first floor overlooking the sculpture below in the front plaza, their every word in processed by the artwork's custom software to drive the symphony in real time.

Process

Siting design was crucial with both with the architect and landscape architect's openness to extend a second site on the first floor lobby. The Mayo Maintenance Crew's inputs were out guide to modify some details of the artwork design to avoid unnecessary damage to the artwork. Both the installation team and assembly crew were able to complete their tasks by working around the unpredictable day to day weather conditions of Winter. And Vectra schedule was not unit late Spring that followed.

Additional Information

The unexpected outcome is that it turns out that Winter is the most spectacular season for the public to witness the artwork from a close birds eye view of sculpture's light reflecting on the snow paved plaza and creating unusual glow in the area.