Detritus Orb
2012
Winning proposal for the On the Floor: Ideas Competition held by the Commission on Public Art, Louisville, Kentucky.
5 teams of consisting of artists, makers, publishers, and architects were challenged to create a proposal for a public art work along the Louisville Loop.
Two sites were assigned: Caperton Swamp & the Manslick Road Loop Trailhead.
I was given Caperton Swamp, a hypothetical budget of $150,000.
The 5 groups gave their presentations in Metro Hall to the public and 3 selected judges.
My project, Detritus Orb was awarded the winning proposal.
This project was never realized since this competition was just an example for how the city's Commission on Public Art would select project in the future.
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The project proposal was in response to the immense amount of litter and debris on site. There was also an effort by the city to clear the invasive honey suckle, and limbs were cut and piled all over the park floor.
The idea was to gather the debris from all human interactions with the park into a large sphere and suspend it in the canopy of trees that grow out of the center of the swamp. The path that circles the swamp would act as the sphere's orbit, drawing people in.
The detritus orb would also be internally lit. The bright lights would be powered by the swamp itself using an hydro-electric cell. The concept was to imply that the debris was drawn into the center of the park by the swamp itself, powered by the swamp and even drawing in the park goers attention.