COMMISSIONS:
Private: San Antonio, TX Interior architectural screen (1998-2000)
Public : Finalist, New Northrup Hall Lobby: Frieze & Waterfall
Frieze
Accepted for Commission
Anticipated completion date: Fall 2003
Material: Limestone
Dimension: 30’ x 2’ x 3"
The concept for the frieze is based on the world’s writing systems. Humankind has defined and recorded its history through the organized use of written symbols. The cultural diversity of written languages signifies the collective need to find purpose and meaning in one’s experience of the world and to communicate that experience to a wider audience. The recording of both the personal and shared experience has thus been preserved across time and space through the development of intricate, mark making systems. I have utilized these symbols as an aesthetic device that is at once beautiful while reflecting on their historic significance in the articulation of the world’s languages. Thus, the frieze will be inclusive of all the students who have come to study at Trinity University as well as the faculty who have made it their life’s passion to teach. A key to the limestone frieze will be installed so that the viewer can identify the symbol, its meaning and the time period from which it came.
Waterfall
Not Accepted for Commission
The concept for the waterfall is based on an aesthetic of contemplation and beauty. The smooth surfaces of the blown glass cones gentle redirect the water, allowing it to pool momentarily on the slightly concave surfaces before continuing its journey down the twenty-five foot facade. The subtle color and quality of LED illumination technology provides a wide range of lighting possibilities necessary to give the waterfall and the frieze a dramatic or ephemeral presence in low light conditions and at night. The waterfall is continuously transformed throughout the day by the quality of light on the glass and water, creating sparkling and reflective surfaces that project outward into the foyer.
Conclusion
The frieze and the waterfall function as a welcoming entrance to Trinity University. They convey two important aspects of human experience. The first is the dissemination of ideas through the use of written language and the second is the ability to contemplate the phenomena of aesthetic beauty in everyday experience.