Basic Description
Net Work is an interactive metal and fluorescent light sculpture that will cover a footprint of approximately 10'x11', and will stand 8-9' tall. Net Work consists of an aluminum rail skeleton to which warm and cool white fluorescent tube lighting is affixed, creating a three dimensional network of light that changes form when viewed from different angles. Visitors control Net Work's state with hands-on participation as they attempt to solve a puzzle hidden within the states of the sculpture. Eventually, the net work of many collaborators leads to success and reward.
The basic structure of Net Work, viewed during the day
Net Work at night
Experiencing Net Work
During the day, the sculpture seems static, but the changing angle of the sun creates ever-changing play between the complex form and its projected shadows on the ground. At night, the sculpture comes alive, and operates on several different scales at several different distances.
From far away, one sees Net Work as a blinking beacon in the darkness. The pattern of intensities seems to have some complex system behind it, or is it simply random? Upon closer approach, Net Work resolves into multiple, branching pathways of light, overlaid on each other in various planes. Suddenly, some branches suddenly darken and another few simultaneously turn on. Then it happens again, and again, in different patterns that never seem to repeat themselves.
Once a visitor comes even closer, it becomes apparent that the planes are projections of three dimensional pathways that snake through each other, connecting and disconnecting in space. And in fact, an operator stands as the base of the sculpture. This person is the intelligence that controls the state of the sculpture, operating it in some way. The new visitor walks up to the first, and sees a console outfitted with large levers. Each time the operator throws a switch, some lights go off, and others go on. There is some pattern to the changes, but it is difficult to solve. The visitors talk about the system that might be behind this mystery. They enjoy the results of their actions. They throw switches together for a while, and then the first visitor leaves. The second plays for a while, and then leaves as well, with the sculpture now in a new state.
Many visitors later, either by accident or through reasoning, either alone or with friends, after argument and debate, planning, or random action, someone throws a switch that gets all of the lights on at once. The sculpture begins to take actions on its own. A seemingly dormant plane of lights toward the bottom of the sculpture provides a show in many colors. The visitors step back, smiling at their success, as the sculpture returns to an inscrutable state of partial activation once again.
What's going on - Technical Details
Spoil the surprise by clicking here.
Top View of Net Work
Front View of Net Work
Side View of Net Work
And Why
In the midst of an election year, with the country in the throes of the primary race, I find myself physically nervous over making a decision between the candidates that remain. How will my choice influence the possibilities that will remain come the general election at the end of the year? What if I make the wrong choice? Does my input actually affect anything at all? Has the media and corporate world decided on our options for us already? I would have preferred someone else no longer running; are my views too much in the minority to be represented by a candidate who can win a majority of the vote? Should I talk to others and form an opinion based on their input or come to my own conclusion?
In thinking about the American Dream, I think about the excitement and fear engendered by attempting to build a society of participation without loss of individualism. How does a nation created of Alexis deTocqueville's rugged individualists form consensus and take action? How can the People govern themselves while still remaining persons? The system within which we live, act, and vote cannot help but give rise to these questions, which is, I suppose, both good and bad. We live in strange place, in which we are inspired by common causes to form coalitions in order to influence a system that operates according to rules and forces well beyond our control. Do we have only an illusion of participation? But, then again, isn't that the way we thought we wanted it’Ķ
The participatory nature of our nation, and the shifting balance between the power of the individual and the power of the system makes itself apparent on many scales. Individual actions directly affect the experience of others; the actions of small groups can push the path of the entire nation in a new direction, for better or for worse, but it takes collaboration, people working together, to make forward progress. Each contribution can push things backward as easily as move them forward, but the buildup of actions at one level can eventually lead to change at the next ’Äì the Net Work of many individuals builds toward change in our complicated society. We each have access to the levers that control the system, and theoretically can move things in a direction we want them to go. Yet the actual mechanism underlying the system is hidden from us. We can only guess at how it works, and hope that by working together we can achieve success despite the power of forces we cannot see and connections we cannot influence. We may at any turn be confounded and pushed back to the beginning as those forces steer our society toward a path along which they have already programmed things to go, regardless of what any one of us may wish.
Net Work is the result of an attempt to physicalize these thoughts, questions, prides, and fears in a subtle enough manner that they remain open to interpretation. Simply by being built and made available in a year with this theme on the visitors' minds, Net Work can inspire thought and debate over the American Dream without pushing an agenda.
Click here to see the diagrams grouped on a page.
Click here to follow the progress of the project.