1.26, July 2010
Biennial of the Americas
Suspended between the Greek Theater and the Denver Art Museum
Civic Center Park, Denver, Colorado
Fact Sheet
Project Sheet
Press Release
IMAGES
Photos: Janet Echelman
Watercolors: Courtesy Janet Echelman, Inc.
VIDEO
1.26 Teaser Trailer - Janet Echelman from Zerosun Pictures on Vimeo.
Description
Janet Echelman Sculpture Premieres for Biennial of the Americas
“1.26” Sculpture Project at the Biennial of the Americas
July 6-August 6, 2010
Illumination hours: 9pm-6am
Denver Art Museum and Denver Civic Center Park
100 West 14th Ave. Pkwy.
Denver, Colorado
Janet Echelman’s 230-foot-long aerial sculpture “1.26” suspends from the roof of the 7-story Denver Art Museum above downtown street traffic to commemorate the inaugural Biennial of the Americas.
The City of Denver asked the artist to create a monumental yet temporary work exploring the theme of the interconnectedness of the 35 nations that make up the Western Hemisphere. She drew inspiration from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s announcement that the February 2010 Chile earthquake shortened the length of the earth’s day by 1.26 microseconds by slightly redistributing the earth’s mass. Exploring further, Echelman drew on a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) simulation of the earthquake’s ensuing tsunami, using the 3-dimensional form of the tsunami’s amplitude rippling across the Pacific as the basis for her sculptural form.
The temporary nature of the Biennial and its accelerated timeline precluded the artist’s use of a permanent steel armature, as employed in the artist’s previous monumental permanent commissions. Instead, “1.26” pioneers a tensile support matrix of Spectra® fiber, a material 15 times stronger than steel by weight. This low-impact, super-lightweight design made it possible to temporarily attach the sculpture directly to the façade of the Denver Art Museum, and this structural system opens up a new trajectory for the artist’s work in urban airspace.
Because this monumental sculpture is made entirely of soft materials, it is animated by the wind. Its fluidly moving form contrasts with the rigid surfaces of the surrounding urban architecture. At night, colored lighting transforms the work into a floating, luminous form while darkness conceals the support cables.
“1.26” was commissioned by the Denver Office of Cultural Affairs Public Art Program for the inaugural Biennial of the Americas and realized through the artist’s collaboration with a team of award winning engineers, architects, artists, fabricators, and installers.
A book about “1.26” includes an essay by Sanford Kwinter, Professor of Architectural Theory and Criticism at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, cofounder of the journal Zone and Zone Books, and author of Architectures of Time: Towards a Theory of the Event in Modernist Culture.Materials
Spectra® Fiber, high-tenacity polyester fiber, and lighting.
Size
Dimensions of net: 230 ft. length x 63 ft. width x 30 ft. depth Suspended approx. 93 ft. in the air
Credits
Sponsoring Agency: Denver Office of Cultural Affairs
City Project Coordinator: Kendall Peterson, DOCA; Chris Jahn, Fuse Studio Architects
Artist: Janet Echelman, Janet Echelman, Inc.
Art Project Manager: Mark Drummond Davis, Janet Echelman, Inc.
Engineer of Record: Charles Keyes, Shane McCormick, Martin/Martin Consulting Engineers
Design Engineer: Peter Heppel, Peter Heppel Associates
NASA Scientist: Richard Gross, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
NOAA Scientist: Christopher Moore, Center for Tsunami Research
Installation Management: Mike Mancarella, Junoworks
Lighting Designer: Joseph Gann, Richter Scale Productions
Donor of Spectra® Fiber: Honeywell
Book Designer: Peter Bergman
Book Essay Author: Sanford Kwinter
LOCATION
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