Benjamin Ball and Gaston Nogues are Los Angeles-based architects whose specialty is creating works that subtly interact with the built environment. This stunning installation uses over 21 miles of dyed string that cascades and overlaps as gracious curves in the center of the gallery space. The colors morph from blue to pink to yellow as the string flows from the ceiling toward the floor. At once an aesthetic and technical feat, the seeming simplicity of the gesture was created with the aid of custom software and a specially designed machine. Viewing up close and from afar give different perspectives of the piece, as the individual strands morph from color to color and the shadows criss-cross on the wall and floor. The accompanying sketches and video provide insight into the making of the work, and elaborate on the intricacies of the computer assisted process of making something that appears to be, when all is said and done, highly structured chaos.
Published courtesy of ArtScene ©2009
