Client: Lucile Packard Children's Hospital

Overview

Accessibility and sophistication while making art you love. This project was for Lucile Packard’s big project; a highly socially conscious children’s hospital. My client wanted to visually reference the LOGO which is quite playful and child like. It is a simplified image of a child leaping for joy that represents the hospital’s main purpose; to heal very ill children and restore that joy.
My vision was to loosely refer to the logo without losing site of my work’s direction. And this is Stanford. To my thinking sophistication need to have a voice in the sculpture. Vault is a kinetic work and references the joyous leap gently curved moving and ascending elements. And it is painted “Stanford Red”. Yeah, it’s a color.

Goals

To create an iconic sculpture at the entry with enough physical presence to hold it's ground with a very large building, yet conveyed lightness and hope. Vault was to be painted Stanford Red, and red lacks resistance to UV light. I spent a bit of time researching types of paint and decided on a two part system that is broadly used on commercial aircraft. Planes are really tested by the elements, so seemed a good choice.
At a bit over a thousand dollars a gallon, it was still worth it.

Process

Deciding on the final design was a delicate procedure which included the commissioning agent, Aesthetics Inc., family of Lucile Packard, an art committee and me. We arrived at the general concept and approved the maquette after sending it back and forth several times. Eventually the Packard family choose to also purchase the maquette. Installing was the biggest concern. This is a large sculpture at 26 feet tall, it's painted and fragile, needs to be assembled and then protected for months as the landscape slowly progressed.
We did get the installation done in one day, but it was a push.

Vault is a successful negotiation that delivered a piece of serious art that still reflects the purpose of this hospital. I am pleased that I could work with the architects, committee members, Aesthetics Inc., and all of my fabricators and painters. I got to make a sculpture that fits with my body of work and serves the needs of Lucile Packard's family and her hospital. Success.