A video by Eric Minh Swenson of Phillip K. Smith III’s “Lucid Stead” installation.
Phillip K. Smith III, an artist known for his use of light and reflection in minimalist installations, has been chosen to design and fabricate works for West Hollywood Park.
Smith is one of 13 artists considered by a panel composed of Andrew Campbell, West Hollywood’s cultural affairs administrator; designers working on the park master plan; other city employees and members of the city’s Urban Arts Subcommittee.
The concept that Smith proposed to the panel, dubbed “Parallel Perpendicular,” consists of five freestanding parallel and perpendicular mirrored planes that hover above a pool of water 40 feet in diameter. It will be situated in the “Robertson Commons,” an area of the park fronting Robertson Boulevard .
“By day, these forms reflect the park visitors and the environment as well as the surrounding West Hollywood views,” says a report from the city’s Economic Development Division discussing Smith’s work. “By night, the mirrored surfaces become pure fields of colors upon colors, creating new spaces of color, projection and reflection. ”
The report notes that Smith will work with LPA Inc. and Rios Clementi & Hale, the park’s designers, on other concepts if the pool is not included in the final plans for the park. Smith’s work also may be placed in other areas of the park including the playground area and the proposed Community Center.
Smith received Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Bachelor of Architecture degrees from the Rhode Island School of Design. He is based in Indio and has created more than a dozen major works of public art on display in several California cities as well as Nashville, Kansas City, Oklahoma City and Arlington, Virginia. Among other noted works, in 2013 he debuted “Lucid Stead,” a light installation crafted from a wooden shack in the desert near Joshua Tree.
The West Hollywood City Council on Monday authorized funding of $500,000 for the park art project.
kab1200- you are not correct, traffic engineering services come with expensive price tags. $500,000 probably would not even cover WeHo. Los Angeles has spent $400 million to sync their 4,500 lights.
The next time you’re stuck in WeHo traffic just remember this $500,000 funding for West Hollywood park art could have funded synchronized traffic lights.
Don, that is not true, I bet it costs nothing to synchronize the lights!
Fantastic, can’t wait to see what he comes up with.
Wasted money A park is where you go to relax and play. It doesn’t require “art pieces”. Just more West Hollywood foolishness.