Merge

This weekend I had the opportunity to go to an Engineers Without Borders Conference at the University of Connecticut in Mansfield. They held most of the talks and skill labs in Oak Hall which  is where I came across this installment. 

This sculpture, called Merge, was created by Sharon Louden to be an organic, flowing river of aluminum and installed on the first and second floors of the lobby at the main entrance of Oak Hall; Oak Hall is a LEED certified building, meaning that it was designed to be environmentally friendly, so it is only fitting that Merge is the first thing seen when you walk in. 

The light from the many surrounding windows bounces off the rippling facets of the metal to mimic the natural state of a flowing river. The part that is placed flat on the ceiling, directly above the viewer, is an unbroken sheet of shiny aluminum that allows the person standing below it to see their own distorted reflection as if they were looking at themselves through a layer of water. 

This is an example of site specific art that was able to be relevant to the place for which it was designed and able to be eye-catching and mesmerizing to all that take the time to look up to admire it.