Case Studies

[1] Whole Wheat

"Whole Wheat" was commissioned for a new Whole Foods Market flagship store in Washington, DC. The stainless steel stalks begin on the wall close to the main entrance, and grow 25' to the natural-finished steel heads of wheat by the second floor entrance. Individual grains suspended above the stairwell appear to be carried off on the wind.

The company's in-house interior designer came to me with blueprints of the store that was being built. I was shown plans for the stairwell from the rooftop parking in which they wanted a sculpture. After deciding that the piece should both soar over the heads of the customers as well as reach down to eyelevel, I settled upon the idea of large wheat stalks that would properly fill space, create visual interest, convey the ethics of the company, and fit within the art budget.

I went to the project site with the client, and followed up by sending rough sketches by email. Once the basic idea was agreed upon, 3D renderings of the design were presented via web pages set up specifically for the client. This greatly reduced the required number of actual face-to-face meetings, saving the client quite a bit of time and travel expenses. Using the internet made communications instant, releasing the process from costly express mailings.

Even with the tight schedule - I was not contacted about the project until the building was within months of completion - the sculpture was installed well before the opening ceremonies. A few weeks after the opening, the interior designer wrote to me:

"...the scale is perfect - it feels just right. And for strangers, it elicits a gasp. First, they say 'wow, how cool' and then 'how did you get that up there?' I tell them we have an artist that levitates."

[2] Working Together

ASC Industries in North Canton, Ohio desired a sculpture that would celebrate the company's employees. The nine-foot tall sculpture is made up of more than 250 stainless steel "people" joined together to form a large hand, effectively blurring the line between the part and the whole - the workers and the company.

Again, the internet was used heavily to bypass the need for travel. Initial discussions were conducted over the phone, internet presentations were provided, and the sculpture was shipped on time and on budget with packaging that included unpacking and installation instructions. It was determined that their own people could handle the relatively simple installation, saving them from flying me in for that phase of the project.

The client had this to say:

"I was overwhelmed by your design. It is great!!! Much more creative than I ever imagined, your design captured exactly what I wanted to say. It couldn't be more appropriate. Do you always interpret all of your clients thoughts so well?"

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