PRISM: Winter Lights at Woodruff Park
Woodruff Park - Atlanta GA
December 7, 2019 - february 29, 2020
A 3-month show of vibrant, light-based sculpture by 10 local and national artists curated by Dashboard, and presented by Atlanta Downtown Improvement District.
Featured Artists: Megan Mosholder, Sara Santamaria, David Baerwalde & Alex Martinez, Jason Peters, Bradley Bowers, Gavin Bernard, Dana Haugaard, Alicia Renee Ball, and Sara Jimenez.
event Press
Downtown’s new arts district is lit - Atlanta Business Chronicle
PRISM: Winter Lights Brings Art To Woodruff Park - City Lights WABE
PRISM: Who makes public art at Woodruff Park? - AJC
Exhibition Guide
Southside
Davidstern (Star of David), Megan Mosholder
The Star of David is referred to as the Shield of David in Hebrew and is considered to be a protective symbol. I chose the German translation of this word as a way to reference WWII, the Holocaust and the Nazis in an effort to expose the distressing rise of white supremacy in our country. This installation serves as a glowing beacon of protection while also providing space to contemplate what it means to be “woke’ or aware and actively attentive to important facts and issues, especially issues of racial and social injustice.
where x and y slip, Sara Jimenez
I am interested in the concept of 'the grid', how it is used to create and plan for space, and how it is designed to benefit some and exclude others. Initial inspiration came from visiting the park which is surrounded by vertical grids - cement and concrete buildings owned by big businesses and corporations. Simultaneously the park is a temporary resting ground for those without homes. This piece is inspired by the complicated and problematic system of urban expansion of downtown Atlanta and the effect on marginalized bodies. For example, in 2017, the Peachtree and Pine Shelter was closed down after a settlement was reached. There were lawsuits between the Metro Atlanta Task Force, an advocacy organization that helped create the shelter, and city officials, downtown businesses, and Emory University, of conspiring to take away the shelters funding. In 2019 Emory University bought the shelter and has yet to announce what it will become.
Esthetikos: Macaw, Alicia Renee Ball
My installation piece for PRISM at Woodruff Park was inspired by my jewelry making hobby, love for abstract art, and interest in non-verbal communication through totemic symbology. I scaled up my jewelry designs to function as decorative mobiles, creating them by laser-cutting cast acrylic sheets in an array of cosmic and dichroic colors. I created strands of holographic cones with hanging symbols to accent my totemic pieces, and to act as non-traditional holiday tree ornaments.
Macaw's totemic message: Be bold, Be Unapologetically You.
Siteless, Sara Santamaria
Siteless explores the question of place belonging in a mobile world. The experience of somehow existing in between places while navigating the invisible boundaries of cross-cultural identities. The mesh material acts as an imperceptible barrier. It creates spacial emptiness and a disorienting/blurring perspective that evokes the disjointed experience of being both present and absent at the same time.
Invasive, Gavin Bernard
With this work I’m thinking about trees and power lines intersecting, a common sight in the environment. Power lines have the right of way and trees are cut back or down to accommodate their path. Im using the organic structure of 2 trees in my designated area to design new linear pathways with the strand lights. I’m interested in using the lights and pvc pipes to discover and accentuate the tree’s natural geometry.
Prism, David Baerwalde & Alex Martinez
Frequent collaborators David Baerwalde and Alex Martinez present their newest iteration of outdoor sculpture with Crystal and Prism.
These installations are part of a continuing exploration of imagery that was inspired in part by the discovery in 2000 of giant subterranean crystals in Naica, Mexico
All images by David Batterman
northside
Untitled, Jason Peters
Jason Peters uses ubiquitous industrial and plastic materials to have us consider the sustainability of our material world. He makes large light-based art with what is at hand, not what is needed.
Crystal, David Baerwalde & Alex Martinez
Frequent collaborators David Baerwalde and Alex Martinez present their newest iteration of outdoor sculpture with Crystal and Prism.
These installations are part of a continuing exploration of imagery that was inspired in part by the discovery in 2000 of giant subterranean crystals in Naica, Mexico
Go up, gather by the river, Bradley Bowers
Go Up, gather by the river, plays on the timeless mysticism of constellations in the sky. Go Up, gather by the river, activates and transforms the fountain rotunda and its surrounding trees into a riverside clearing nestled in some imagined forest.
Light-Park-Modulator, Dana Haugaard
The Light-Park-Modulator alters and adapts surfaces of the park according to the interference of light passing though two similar but askew screens, animating the surroundings through moving beams of light. The light shines on both the park and everyone in it, unifying all the layers of the environment and its inhabitants.
All images by David Batterman
PRISM Digital Signs
In partnership with Dash, Arts and Entertainment Atlanta participated in PRISM by showcasing complementary animation artwork created by ZooasZoo and Sebastian Monroy on newly-installed digital signs at 235 Peachtree Street and 101 Marietta Street. The animation represents a frozen wonderland made of tears of joy and sadness turning into crystallized ice
PRISM: Winter Lights at Woodruff Park is made possible through the generosity of Delta Air Lines and NCR. Additional support has been provided by the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District, the City of Atlanta Department of Parks and Recreation, and tvsdesign.