Client: Walnut Capital

Overview

I was commissioned by Walnut Capitial to have an artist residency in 2 local elementary schools, Urban Academy and Lincoln Pre-K – 5, that are in the Larimer neighborhood of Pittsburgh to inspire artwork for their Bakery Square property. In Fall 2021, I held multiple light-painting workshops with Lincoln 5th graders and Urban Academy 4th graders where the students were able to create silhouette portraits of each other while also drawing with light using my real-time projection system. The video footage that the students created with me was used to create a video projection for Bakery Square that played projected in set of an empty storefront window treated with a special projection film to act as a screen. Two sets of 198″ x 105″ dye sublimation ChromaLuxe EXT Metalprints were arranged on the facade of the newest restaurant building at Bakery Square and were unveiled in mid-December 2021. The work is on display through June 8, 2022, when it will come down for the next artist.

Goals

To be inspired by artist interaction with elementary school students in two local elementary schools in the creation of new work to be displayed on the facade of the newest restaurant building in Walnut Capital's Bakery Square development in Pittsburgh, PA. The work had to fit within two facade areas that are designated for artwork and needed to withstand 6 months outdoors over a Pennsylvania winter.

Process

Inspired by the light-painting residencies held with two classes of 5th graders at Lincoln Elementary School and a class of 4th graders at Urban Academy in the Larimer neighborhood of Pittsburgh, the students created real-time silhouette portraits of each other while also using hand-held LEDs to make drawings. Originally installed as a temporary public art piece (December 2021 - June 2022) as a part of the BKSQ Refresh at Bakery Square, in Pittsburgh with an adjacent evening projection video piece: https://youtu.be/DAkOq3CynSc