Paste 2013

Statement:

Paste is a hybrid digital/physical sculpture incorporating solar power, microprocessor technology, light emitting diodes, and welded steel. It is installed on a historic barge in Boston Harbor, and simulates the experience of a Photoshop selection in the real world.

The first interactive, digital landmark sculpture reflecting the history, geography and innovative creative culture of the region, it will be visible from all of downtown Boston with direct sight lines to ICA and seaport district.

The successful 2012 prototype installation of Paste was 18 feet tall and 24 feet wide. For the 2013 permanent installation, it will be scaled up to 38’ by 65’ wide and fitted with real-time interactive software that synchronizes the sculpture’s LED color to match those on the old Hancock tower in Back Bay Boston. This turns the piece into a functional weather beacon in the harbor and connects a historic Boston landmark with a new Boston landmark, and promoting environmental awareness with it’s organic imagery.

The sculpture investigates the expansion of digital culture in the modern public mind and the intersection of the real and the virtual in public space. It depicts a large-scale physical rendering of a Photoshop selection, or “Marching Ants” emphasized by its animated LED pattern. Whereas the visual experience of a Photoshop selection during the image edit is rather ephemeral, Paste aspires to become a permanent physical public sculpture gracing the Boston skyline as an enhanced digital experience in the real world. Paste is part on an ongoing body of work concerned with the physical manifestation of purely digital experiences, translating universal digital iconographic language into sculpture in the public sphere.

Phase 2 of the project will scale up the successful prototype phase 1 installation of Fall 2012. The finished piece will be larger at 38 feet tall and 65 feet wide, brighter, and constructed of welded steel for permanence.

Bio:

Brian Kane was born in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1965 and currently lives and works in Cambridge, MA. He received a BFA in Painting from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1987, where he currently teaches. His work has shown in many museum and gallery exhibitions, and Kane’s innovative use of real time video sampling techniques was influential to a generation of media artists. He has been a primary collaborator with Emergency Broadcast Network, RadioValve.com and Amorphic Robot Works.

Recent exhibitions and festivals include #11.Art (Museo Nacional do Complexo Cultural da Republica, Brazil), Memery (MASS MoCA), People in Space (Shanghai World Expo), Late at Tate (Tate Museum), Big Chill (U.K.), and a 2010 solo show at Murphy and Dine, New York, NY.

https://briankane.net

Sponsorships:

10 sponsorships available @ $2500
Tax deductible
Environmental awareness
Naming rights
Fabrication Summer 2013
Dedication Party Fall 2013

Budget estimate:

12k – welding
4k – electronics
4k – party, plaque, stuff
5k – exigency

open