Coastal Engineering is pleased to participate in the design of a large-scale public installation, "Silver Current", to be revealed at New Bedford’s Custom House Square on Saturday, June 29, 4-6pm.
The Massachusetts Design Art and Technology Institute (DATMA) is kicking off its summer events with a large-scale public art installation by Patrick Shearn of Poetic Kinetics. A flying mylar "skynet" sculpture, Silver Current, will be on view in New Bedford’s Custom House Square July through September. Come see it revealed on Saturday, June 29 from 4:00 – 6:00pm! This free public event will feature special guests including Patrick Shearn himself, live music by Hatchville Highlander and The Flying Dutchmen, words of Patricia Gomes (Poet Laureate of NB), popcorn, lemonade, and goodies for the youngsters. Coastal Engineering is proud to support contemporary art by designing the foundation for this spectacular installation, which celebrates New Bedford’s emerging leadership in wind energy as part of Summer Winds 2019 event series.
Silver Current is a kinetic sculpture comprised of approximately 4,197 linear feet of rope, 18 handtied technical knots, and approximately 40,300 streamers of holographic silver film on a monofilament net, forming an iridescent wind wave form above the expansive lawn of Custom House Square. Harnessing available wind, the artwork will span 6,500 sq ft. and will rise up to 55 feet in the air and gently cascade down to 21 feet, undulating in a display that is both striking from a distance and intimately immersive up close. Given Silver Current’s ultra-lightweight suspended materiality, the work gives shape to the site-specific wind patterns and propels a kinetic performance that makes for a dynamic, ever-changing viewing experience. The artwork will seem to float, as if by magic, in midair, offering a spectacular shimmering display of contemporary art innovation and visual indulgence to visitors, who will be encouraged to spend time witnessing the ebb and flow of the installation’s perpetual and mesmerizing movement.
Artist Patrick Shearn is world renowned for his larger-than-life animated sculptures called "skynets". Silver Current is the latest kinetic art installation of the Skynet Series, designed to evoke the natural phenomena of swarming found in the synchronized movements of flocks of birds, schools of fish or insects in nature. These works have been featured in select cities around the globe including Los Angeles (California/United States), Melbourne (Australia), Berlin (Germany), Lisbon (Portugal) and St. Petersburg (Russia), as well as major events like Coachella, Burning Man, Sundance Film Festival and Electric Daisy Carnival. See the full series at http://www.poetickinetics.com/
