Compiled
by Pari Syal
Photography:
Courtesy Ball-Nogues
Studio
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| Air Garden © Joshua White Stud Wall © Ball-Nogues |
Ball-Nogues Studio designs two public art installations – Air Garden and
Stud Wall - that are as simple in their
message as they are complex in their compositions…
Art ushers in a new dimension – to thought
and consequent action. Its ephimeral
quality adds an insight, which if interpreted correctly, can effect valuable
transformations. Known for operating
in a territory between architecture, art, and industrial design, Benjamin Ball
and Gaston Nogues’ work is always informed by the exploration of craft; the aim
being to create environments that enhance sensation, generate spectacle and
invite physical engagement.
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| Air Garden ©
Joshua White |
In the Air Garden at the Los Angeles airport, there is no distinct
beginning or end; inside or outside; back or front. It is both an object and an
atmosphere. Its appearance is not static as it is predicated on changing
quality of light in the north light well at any hour of the day. It is a serene moment – a pause - amidst the
hectic action and movement within the airport.
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| Air Garden © Scott Mayoral |
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| Air Garden © Joshua White |
Composed of gestural
volumes of colour hovering within an immense array of catenaries, these voluminous
brush strokes on a translucent three-dimensional canvas dissolve into washes of
colour; then snap back into clear strokes with one’s changing
perspective. The reflective qualities of the bead chain, that forms the
catenaries, creates a sense of vastness through the play of light in
space. Each one is a miniature convex
mirror, capturing light from all corners of the space as well as from the
adjacent balls. The project evokes a
sense of immensity through this reflective dance of colour and light.
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| Stud Wall © Ball-Noques |
The other
installation – the Stud
Wall anoints the new courtyard of Huxley Apartments, adjacent to the sidewalk
on la Brea Avenue – a prominent north-south thoroughfare in Los Angeles. Taking
a cue from their previous work
entitled Cradle in Santa Monica and leather biker jackets that owners generally
customize with assortments of studs, spikes and other ornaments, Ball Nogues
created a layer of studs as if superimposed over a jacket-like substrate – a crumpled
surface of the installation, imbuing a unique geometry over that of the ¼”
stainless steel plates into which they are inserted. The studs also serve a structural purpose –
by providing extra weight to the structure.
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| Stud Wall © Ball-Noques |
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| Stud Wall © Ball-Noques |
“Contemporary design abhors weight. It is customary for designers to view lightness as an ideal quality. That this project was a kind of hovering surface, subject to uplift caused by wind loads, demanded that it be as heavy as possible. So, we added the studs to increase its weight to nearly 4000 pounds,” explain Ball-Nogues.
Both
installations may be perceived as episodes forming an inconclusive riddle
without a definitive resolution; but the fact remains that both installations
participate on a deeper, more thoughtful platform, inherently linked to the
trajectory of one’s journey through life.
Technical Information:
Air Garden:
Materials: Stainless Steel ball chain, enamel paint,
cable, custom hardware
Total Weight:
Approximately 6000 lbs.
Total Length of Chain: Approximately 450,000 linear
feet
Stud Wall
Materials:
Stainless Steel, cable, custom hardware
Total Weight:
Approximately 3600 lbs.
Total Number
of Catenaries: 7092
Total Number
of Chain Segments: 107,766
Colours:
Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Clear
These projects are good. Worth reading it.
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