ANAMORPHOSIS
A distorted projection or drawing which appears normal when viewed from a particular point
SHIELD’S PARK
The word “SHIELDS” is projected from the viewer to the sculpture following their field of view. The parts of the three dimensional word that intersect with the sculpture are removed. This way only the viewers looking from that viewpoint can see the word clearly.
The sculpture consists of six steel plates that pinwheel around a central axis. Each plate is 10 feet high by about 4 feet wide. The thick steel plates sit on a concrete conical base that is 4 feet high, so the total height of the piece is 14 feet by 8 feet wide.
The sculpture takes the form of a seed, or a date, creating a hopeful piece that looks forward to a new urban low carbon strategy that the community can embrace. Its form is curved, creating no hard edges near to where anyone would go.
We are inspired by the theater of the everyday, of people chatting, sitting around, walking their dog or taking a break, enjoying the park. Creating a piece that comes into focus 6 times as you walk around the park – it’s a great way to augment the experience of the space.
Each viewpoint is marked with the footprints of a pair of shoes. When you stand there, no matter how tall you are, you can see the plain cut-out words against the sky. The words themselves are totemic, words that capture the experience of the place.
The plates are made of aluminum and powder-coated using 6 shades from the city of Indio’s official color palette.
(left) Plan of the park with 6 viewpoints of the single sculpture. The 6 images show what you would see from each viewpoint.
The viewpoints of the sculpture are marked with textured stainless steel footprints.
The 6 plates are bolted to each other and to the concrete base. The pinwheel hides a pocket internally that is not visible from the outside. This is where we would put the necessary connectors – to ensure that they are minimally visible to the public.
