Client: Ripon College

Overview

Hybrid Collusion, conceived by Rodney Hanson and Michael Ebeling, was designed to give students an overview of the cast iron process and to include them in the project. It is approximately 36″ wide by 120″ high, made of cast iron bolted to a steel skeleton. We designed it to be site specific, exemplifying the whirlwind of knowledge the students gained form a week long workshop.

Goals

Hybrid Collusion was designed with a specific spot in mind, nestled next to the art building at Ripon College sculpture grounds. It was meant to be a commission with a workshop. We wanted to include the students in the process of the media, and designed the sculpture so students could come back and view their contribution in the future. The integration within the space of art academia was key for this piece to work. The entire design was focused on this idea. The swirling effect sandwiched between the two collaborators was significant to the message.

Process

Rodney Hanson and Michael Ebeling collaborated on the conecpt and design of this piece. We wanted to design a sculpture that exemplified our individual styles, while giving space the for professor, Gene Kaine, and each student to have influence on the end result of the sculpture. We built three different sized rectangles so the students could carve into the sand sculptures, giving them an opportunity to work in the negative and reflect their individuality within the form. We then sandwiched those in between our contributions to the sculpture to signify the expansion of understanding the media and design process.

Additional Information

The concept of the sculpture is the signification of expansion of knowledge and understanding through process and media. The relief sculptures were placed in the center to create the effect of a cyclone spinning in a controlled environment, ever expansive, ready to fly into new discovery.