This page is intended for information and discussion regarding this project proposal. As our team continues to contribute and brainstorm, we will be updating the page.
Please email
with any questions or comments.
Outline of Morphogenesis program
for Mid-Ocean Studio installations
Of Site-Specific Sculpture
(Draft 06/23/2006 - In Progress)
We intend to develop the concept of a site-specific sculpture by inputting meteorological data gathered from a site into a 3D model of the natural forces acting on that location. Over a history of 40 major public sculpture projects we have developed a structural component kit of fittings, tools, rods etc. that enable us to assemble an infinitely variable matrix of geometric space.
It is our intent to mount a series of expeditions to 3 sites of extremely different climatic conditions and construct on site a sculpture that is a structural document of the prevailing environmental and climatic conditions. These biomimetic forms would become an icon of the environmental health and dynamic meteorological character of the site.
Within the framework of the structure we embed LED's and solar cells to provide power for internet access and nocturnal illumination.
The on-site construction of each of these structures would take no more than 10 days.
It is anticipated that the structures will be 16'-20' tall.
(click on images for a larger rendering)
A model generated from initial 32-point hemispherical shape, based on weather data of 2/7/ 2006
From Station 44018 - SE Cape Cod 30NM East of Nantucket, MA
(Buoy at 41°15'30" N 69°17'40" W)
On the 24 hour period that was 2/7/06, the wind off Cape Cod was steady from the West, temperatures dropped 2-3 deg. C below ideal norm, and the solar radiation was relatively normal.
The Team
ART
Mid-Ocean Studio
Brower Hatcher, Artist
Karl Aspelund, Designer
SCIENCE
Dr. Andrew Willis
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering
University of
North Carolina at Charlotte
~
Dr. Frederic Leymarie
Professor
Dept. of Computing, Goldsmiths College,
University of London, UK
~
Dr. Brian J. Etherton
Assistant Professor
Department of Geography and
Earth Sciences
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
~
Andrew Glucksman, M.S.
Soil Science
FILM
(Media Company)
Description of structure's growth and development
The development of our structure involves using input data from the sites. This data is currently meteorological, i.e. solar radiation and position, wind speed and direction, and temperature.
We will add precipitation measurements to this data and once the locations are identified, it is our intention to include input from soil analysis.
The structure, which begins with a simple dome shape of 32 points, grows a certain length in each time segment ("click"); creating a new dome-layer at a given distance from the previous generation, analogous to the development of tree-trunks, seashells or horn.
The direction and rate of growth is influenced by the weather data, with the wind and sun serving as forces of deflection and attraction respectively and temperature and rainfall ratios contributing as accelerators or inhibitors to the growth.
The structure therefore become a codification of the environmental conditions, rendering visible the forces at play in that period.
These works give shape to several areas of science. Most obviously implying meteorology and the mathematics of cellular growth and generation. The works should also serve as a focus for thinking as discussion of ecological issues and of humanities relationship with the environment.
The locations for the artwork will depend on the eventual budgets and logistics, but our current ideas basically call for three sites in different climates.
The highlands of Iceland, a city in Northern or Central England (Manchester? Birmingham?), and an Arizona desert (near Scottsdale?) are currently in our sights as a good selection.
Potential For Public Interactivity
We have selected two remote and one urban setting for the project. We would intend to stay in touch with our base via satellite phones, and have a live streaming internet webcam link.
The sociology of exposure to the project is an important component , and we would engage with regional media to represent the project in advance.
The unusualness of the work, it nature as an artifact revealing the environment and sustainability of the site, should create considerable interest. In addition to local rumor, hearsay, mystery, and curiosity, it is anticipated that people in general will want to bear witness to the construction of an artifact that is a depiction of the environmental forces that they live with. Tourism is a manifestation of organized curiosity and we would work with local tour operators to bring groups to the site.
The Mid Ocean Studio Inc. is a US corporation incorporated in the state of RI for the past 5 years. We have a professional accounting firm and a business manager to keep books and handle funds. We typically manage 8-10 projects annually, with gross receipts in the region of $850.000 - $1,000,000 (500-600.000 GBP)
In addition to our business manager, we have a two designers, a studio manager, and a fabrication crew of five. (Studio Staff)
One possible location: Kárahnjúkar in Eastern Iceland -the future site of a Hydro-Electric dam
~
The Sonoran Desert, Arizona
Another possible location
The steadiness of the wind is clearly reflected in the structure
The direction of the growth vector is the same as the initial polar vector until deflected. It then becomes the direction of the last deflected vector a.s.f.
The smaller, internal deflections are caused by a combination of the solar attraction and shifts in temperature.
(Arrow points to North)
Currently uses the average of the temperature over the given growth period.
[N, NNW, WNW, W...]
06/23/2006