Client: Granoff Center for Creative Arts, Brown University

Overview

Dispersion is a site-specific sculpture that explores Proust’s notion of involuntary memory, but via light rather than scent. I contend that our experience of light, just like aroma, can trigger memory and nostalgia.
The sixteen foot high by thirty-two foot long by 13 feet deep Dispersion is comprised of 682 individual glass components drilled and tied onto a steel cable system.

Goals

I have long been a student of light’s behavior. Dispersion considers Abbe value, the amount of light that is dispersed, or bent, after it passes through something transparent (in this case, the gallery window then the sculpture). In Color Field painting light reflects from the deep pigment of the paint. When you encounter Dispersion, you are actually inside the light. It truly can prompt memories that are beneath our conscious minds. . The sculpture spans floor to ceiling in a dramatic arc. Sited adjacent to a wall of windows, the cascading artwork bends and projects light, filtering color, altering pattern, and redefining space through its presence.

Process

I devised the scheme of hardware and cables supporting the suspended wall of glass and had it certified by Odeh Engineering of North Providence, RI. The technique is simple and allows endless variations to accommodate different architectural site plans.

Additional Information

I was surprised at just how rich the amber light was when standing underneath the piece.It exceeded my expectations.