Sculpture is an exciting and engaging art in that it visually depicts an idea in three dimensions.
Water is all around us and issues of this precious resource are illuminated in the media. But sculpture can be used as an unconventional method to capture these ideas and surprise an audience by sparking discussion.
Last week, artist Buster Simpson visited campus to develop conceptual designs for “info-sculpture” installations with students. Simpson has worked on various infrastructure projects, many of which fuse social and ecological issues into lasting public, artistic works.
This time, the spotlight was on water. This project is a continuation of Water in our World, the two-year University-wide theme that has mobilized the campus and UNC community around the topic of water.
There is a lack of knowledge and disconnect between students and water resources on campus. An event like this forces the public to notice this issue in a more interactive way.
Seniors in an environmental capstone course are developing ideas at seven previously identified sites around campus in order to implement “info-sculptures” that captivate a target audience and reflect the sites’ themes.
Students met with Simpson, hashed out the specifics of their designs and received artistic feedback. Student Joe Passalugo worked on the Big Valley site, behind McIver Residence Hall. Here, a man-made, underground storm drain connects water from the Morehead Planetarium to a reservoir in Battle Park.
The vision is to “daylight” the existing storm drain — essentially digging it up to create a new, above-ground channel going through rockbridges. Projects like these allow people to see the constant flow of water that otherwise goes unnoticed when underground.
Including an interactive pump with a runoff channel would also allow people to visually see the water move.
“We want to keep with the major themes of historic streams and continuous water flow,” Passalugo said.
