Taking imagination seriously - Janet Echelman
Summary
TLDRArtist Janet Echelman, with no formal training in sculpture, engineering, or architecture, revolutionized the art world by using fishnet to create large, fluid sculptures that move with the wind. From her first self-portrait sculpture in collaboration with fishermen to permanent public installations, she blends traditional craft with modern engineering and technology. Her work transforms urban spaces, inviting interaction and inspiring a sense of wonder, as seen in her projects in Portugal, Philadelphia, and Denver, and her aspirations to bring her art to cities globally.
Takeaways
- 🎨 The artist's journey began with an unexpected encounter with fishnet material, leading to a unique approach to creating volumetric sculptures without heavy materials.
- 🏛️ The artist had no formal training in sculpture, engineering, or architecture but pursued a path of self-taught artistry and innovation.
- 🤝 Collaboration with local fishermen in Mahabalipuram, India, was pivotal in developing the initial concept of using fishnets for sculptures.
- 🌬 The artist's work is characterized by soft, wind-responsive forms that transform with the slightest breeze, creating dynamic patterns.
- 🌐 A pivotal moment in the artist's career was the introduction of their work to urbanist Manuel Solom Morales, leading to a commission for a permanent public art installation in Porto, Portugal.
- 🔍 The search for a durable material suitable for outdoor sculptures led to a two-year quest, resulting in the discovery of a fiber that could withstand environmental challenges while maintaining softness and fluid movement.
- 🛠️ The artist collaborated with an aeronautical engineer, Peter Hele, to design a structure that could move gracefully in the wind and withstand hurricane forces.
- 🔄 The process of adapting traditional handcraft techniques to industrial machinery required the creation of a new language to communicate the artist's vision to machine operators.
- 🏙️ The artist's vision expanded to include creating large-scale sculptures in urban environments, transforming public spaces and giving them a sense of place.
- 🌁 The use of innovative materials like atomized water particles for sculptures allowed for interactive, wind-shaped art that people could move through without getting wet.
- 🌍 The artist aims to create sculptures that represent global interconnectedness, as exemplified by a project commissioned by the Banial of the Americas in Denver, representing the 35 nations of the Western Hemisphere.
Q & A
What material did the artist initially use for her sculptures?
-The artist initially used fishnet, an ordinary material used for centuries, to create her sculptures.
Why did the artist switch from painting to sculpture?
-The artist switched from painting to sculpture when her paints didn't arrive in time for an exhibition in India, and she was inspired by the local fishermen bundling their nets on the beach.
What was the artist's first sculpture made with the fishermen?
-The artist's first sculpture made with the fishermen was a self-portrait titled 'Wide Hips'.
How did the artist's work evolve to involve larger scale installations?
-The artist's work evolved to involve larger scale installations when she collaborated with lace makers in Lithuania and then returned to India to work with fishermen, eventually creating a net of a million and a half hand-tied knots.
What challenge did the artist face when asked to create a permanent piece for Porto, Portugal?
-The artist faced the challenge of finding a fiber that could survive ultraviolet rays, salt, and air pollution while remaining soft enough to move fluidly in the wind, as well as the challenge of engineering a structure that could withstand hurricane winds.
Who is Peter Heil, and how did he contribute to the artist's work?
-Peter Heil is an aeronautical engineer who designed sails for America's Cup racing yachts. He helped the artist tackle the challenges of precise shape and gentle movement for her sculptures.
How did the artist adapt her work to use machine-made lace instead of hand-tied knots?
-The artist developed a relationship with an industrial fishnet factory, learned the variables of their machines, and figured out a way to make lace with them, creating a new language to translate the ancient handcraft into something machine operators could produce.
What is the significance of the sculpture '1.26' and how was it created?
-The sculpture '1.26' represents the 35 nations of the Western Hemisphere and their interconnectedness. It was created by translating data on a tsunami that affected Chile and rippled across the Pacific Ocean, shortening the Earth's day by 1.26 microseconds.
What new material did the artist use to trace the paths of subway trains above ground in real time?
-The artist used tiny atomized water particles to create a dry mist that is shaped by the wind and can be interacted with by people without getting wet.
What is the artist's vision for the future of her sculptures?
-The artist's vision for the future is to create these sculptures at the scale of skyscrapers in cities around the world, where they are most needed, combining traditional craft forms with high-tech materials and engineering.
What impact did the artist's sculpture have on people in Phoenix?
-The artist's sculpture in Phoenix had a profound impact, as it drew people out of their offices, including an attorney who had never been interested in art, to lie down underneath the sculpture and share the rediscovery of wonder.
Outlines
🎨 Artistic Innovation with Fishnet Sculpture
The speaker recounts their journey of artistic innovation, beginning with an unexpected encounter with fishnet material. Despite having no formal training in sculpture, engineering, or architecture, they found a new approach to creating large-scale, volumetric forms using fishnet. Their first successful sculpture was a collaborative effort with local fishermen in Mahabalipuram, India, which led to the creation of a self-portrait titled 'Wide Hips.' The speaker was fascinated by the way the soft surfaces of the sculpture responded to the wind, creating ever-changing patterns. They continued to explore craft traditions and collaborate with artisans, eventually working with lace makers in Lithuania and then returning to India to create a massive net sculpture that caught the attention of urbanist Manuel Solà-Morales. This led to a commission to create a permanent piece for Porto, Portugal, which required two years of research and development to find a durable yet soft fiber suitable for the project. The speaker collaborated with an aeronautical engineer and an industrial fishnet factory to bring their vision to life, resulting in a 50,000 square foot lace net sculpture that transformed a previously bland intersection into a place with a sense of identity.
🌟 Sculpting with High-Tech Materials and Engineering
The speaker discusses the evolution of their work, moving from traditional craft forms to incorporating high-tech materials and engineering. They share two new directions in their work: creating a sculpture for the plaza of Historic Philadelphia City Hall using atomized water particles to form a dry mist that can be shaped by the wind and people, and another project for the Banial of the Americas in Denver, representing the interconnectedness of 35 nations. The latter project, titled '1.26,' was inspired by the effects of a Chilean earthquake and tsunami on the Earth's rotation. The speaker replaced traditional steel rings with a soft, fine mesh of a fiber 15 times stronger than steel, allowing the sculpture to be entirely soft and light enough to tie into existing buildings. They faced challenges in creating software to model these complex net forms with gravity but successfully developed new tools for this purpose. The speaker expresses a dream of bringing these sculptures to cities around the world and shares a story of how their art can inspire people to come together and experience wonder.
🏙 The Power of Community and Small Businesses
In the final paragraph, the speaker shifts focus to the power of community and small businesses, using the example of American Express and its membership effect. The narrative highlights the importance of supporting local businesses and the impact they can have on a community. The speaker shares anecdotes of small business owners who create a sense of community and delight, such as a lumber company that turns its warehouse into a community theater or a bridal boutique that helps brides find their perfect dress. The paragraph concludes with a call to action for people to join a movement that supports and revitalizes Main Street, emphasizing the collective power of individuals to make a difference.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Imagination
💡Fishnet
💡Sculpture
💡Collaboration
💡Innovation
💡Engineering
💡Urban Art
💡Material Science
💡Interactivity
💡Cultural Representation
💡Community
Highlights
Introduction of an innovative approach to sculpture using fishnet material.
The artist's background includes no formal study in sculpture, engineering, or architecture.
Rejection from seven art schools led to a self-taught journey in art.
A creative breakthrough occurred during a trip to India, inspired by local fishermen.
The creation of 'wide hips', a self-portrait sculpture made in collaboration with fishermen.
The discovery of the dynamic nature of fishnet sculptures influenced by wind.
Collaboration with artisans to study craft traditions and expand artistic techniques.
Experimentation with lace makers in Lithuania for fine detailing in sculptures.
The ambition to create larger, immersive sculptures that people can experience within.
Commission from urbanist Manuel Solom Morales to create a permanent piece for Porto, Portugal.
The challenge of finding a durable fiber that can withstand environmental factors.
Innovative engineering by Peter Hele to ensure the sculpture's movement and durability.
Adapting industrial fishnet machinery to create large-scale lace sculptures.
Development of a new language to translate handcraft techniques into machine production.
The successful realization of a 50,000 square foot lace net sculpture.
Transformation of a mundane city intersection into a place with a sense of identity.
Aspiration to create sculptures in urban spaces worldwide, enhancing cityscapes.
Introduction of a new sculpture material using atomized water particles for interactive art.
The challenge of representing 35 nations and their interconnectedness in a single sculpture.
Utilization of data from a Chilean earthquake and tsunami to inform sculpture design.
Innovative use of a soft, strong fiber to replace metal armatures in sculpture construction.
The development of custom software to model complex net forms with gravity.
Potential for adapting these concepts to iconic locations like Times Square or the Highline.
The story's conclusion with a personal account of the impact of public art on community engagement.
The power of art to inspire wonder and bring people together, as exemplified by the Phoenix sculpture.
Transcripts
[Music]
[Music]
[Applause]
this story is about taking imagination
seriously 14 years ago I first
encountered this ordinary material
fishnet used the same way for
centuries today
I'm using it to create permanent
billowing voluptuous forms the scale of
hard edged buildings in cities around
the
world I was an unlikely person to be
doing this I never studied sculpture
engineering or architecture in fact
after college I applied to seven art
schools and was rejected by all
seven I went off on my own to become an
artist and I painted for 10 years
when I was offered a fbite to
India promising to give exhibitions of
paintings I shipped my paints and
arrived in mahabali purum the deadline
for the show arrived my paints
didn't I had to do something this
fishing Village was famous for sculpture
so I tried bronze casting but to make
large forms was too heavy and expensive
I went for a walk on the beach watching
the fishermen bundle their Nets into
Mounds on the sand I'd seen it every day
but this time I saw it differently a new
approach to sculpture a way to make
volumetric form without heavy solid
materials my first satisfying sculpture
was made in collaboration with these
fisherman it's a self-portrait titled
wide
hips we hoisted them on poles to
photograph I discovered their soft
surfaces revealed every Ripple of wind
in constantly changing patterns I was
mesmerized I continued studying craft
traditions and collaborating with
Artisans next in Lithuania with lace
makers I liked the fine detail it gave
my work but I wanted to make them larger
to shift from being an object you look
at to something you could get lost in
returning to India to work with those
fishermen we made a net of a million and
a half handtied
knots installed briefly in Madrid
thousands of people saw it and one of
them was the urbanist Manuel solom
Morales who was redesigning the
Waterfront in Porto
Portugal he asked if I could build this
as a permanent piece for the city I
didn't know if I could do that and
preserve my art
durable engineered permanent those are
in opposition to idiosyncratic delicate
and
ephemeral for two years I searched for a
fiber that could survive ultraviolet
rays Salt Air Pollution and at the same
time remained soft enough to move
fluidly in the wind we needed something
to hold the net up out there in the
middle of the traffic circle so we
raised this 45,000 lb steel
ring we had to engineer it to move
gracefully in an average Breeze and
survive in Hurricane winds but there was
no engineering software to model
something porous and
moving I found a brilliant aeronautical
engineer who designed sales for
America's Cup racing Yachts named Peter
heel he helped me tackle the twin
challenges of precise
shape and gentle
movement I couldn't build this the way I
knew because hand tied knots weren't
going to withstand a hurricane so I
developed a relationship with an
industrial fishnet Factory learned the
variables of their machines and figured
out a way to make lace with
them there was no language to translate
this ancient idiosyncratic handcraft
into something machine operators could
produce so we had to create one 3 years
and two children
later we raised this 50,000 square foot
lace net it was hard to believe that
what I had imagined was now built
permanent and had lost nothing in
Translation this intersection had been
Bland and Anonymous now it had a sense
of
place I walked underneath it for the
first time
as I watched the wind's choreography
unfold I felt sheltered and at the same
time connected to Limitless Sky my life
was not going to be the
[Music]
same I want to create these oases of
sculpture in spaces of cities around the
world I'm going to share two directions
that are knew in my
work Historic Philadelphia city hall its
Plaza I felt needed a material for
sculpture that was lighter than netting
so we experimented with tiny atomized
water particles to create a dry Mist
that is shaped by the wind and in
testing discovered it can be shaped by
people who can interact and move through
it without getting wet I'm using this
sculpture material to trace the paths of
subway trains above ground in real
time like an x-ray of the city's
circulatory system
unfolding next challenge the banial of
the Americas in Denver asked could I
represent the 35 nations of the Western
Hemisphere and their interconnectedness
in a
sculpture I didn't know where to begin
but I said yes I read about the recent
earthquake in
Chile and the tsunami that rippled
across the entire Pacific Ocean it
shifted the earth's tectonic plates sped
up the planet's rotation and literally
shortened the length of the day so I
contacted Noah and I asked if they'd
share their data on the tsunami and
translated it into
this it's title 1.26 refers to the
number of microseconds that the Earth's
day was
shortened I couldn't build this with a
steel ring the way I knew its shape was
too complex now so I replaced the metal
Armature with a soft fine mesh of a
fiber 15 times stronger than
steel the sculpture could now be
entirely soft which made it so light it
could tie into existing
buildings literally becoming part of the
fabric of the city there was no software
that could extrude these complex net
forms and model them with gravity so we
had to create
it then I got a call from New York
City asking if I could adapt these
Concepts to Time Square or the
Highline this new soft structural method
enables me to model these and build
these sculptures at the scale of skysc
scrapers they don't have funding yet but
I dream now of bringing these to cities
around the world where they're most
needed 14 years ago I search for
beauty in the traditional things in
craft
forms now I combine them with high-tech
materials and
Engineering to create volup billowing
forms the scale of
buildings my artistic Horizons continue
to grow I leave you with this story I
got a call from a friend in
Phoenix an attorney in the office who'd
never been interested in art never
visited the local Art
Museum dragged everyone she could from
the building and got them outside to lie
down underneath the sculpture there they
were in their business suits lying in
the grass noticing the the changing
patterns of wind beside people they
didn't know sharing the rediscovery of
Wonder thank
you thank you thank you thank
you thank
you thank
you they have Nam games like idle time
books and panther coffee with free
enterprise puns like Hue and cry and
smash records and one Saturday a year
small businesses remind a nation of the
benefits of shopping small like the way
David Kaplan at Shell Lumber shows you
how to use a chopsaw then invites you
back when the warehouse becomes the
community theater or the way Camille
rustler of Ever After travels the
journey from despair to Bliss with every
bride to be absolutely stunning on just
one day 100 million of us joined a
movement and Main Street found its might
again and Main Street found its fight
again and we the locals found Delight
again that's the power of all of us
that's the power of all of That's The
Power of all of us that's the membership
effect of American
Express and
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