Thursday 16 February 2012

Marina Bay Sands (Singapore) Art Path


Drift
Six internationally renowned artists contributed works to the Art Path of Marina Bay Sands. The unprecedented collection of art installations was commissioned to integrate seamlessly with Moshe Safdie’s iconic architecture. These 10 art installations create shapes, moods and interior spaces that will provide the public with a unique opportunity to visually and physically experience large-scale artwork at one destination.

The works were designed especially for the unique building, and together they form a path through Marina Bay Sands, extending from the 23-storey atrium in the hotel towers to the exterior of the buildings, weaving back through the destination. This is one of the largest art commissions ever completed as part of an integrated architectural process.

Antony Gormley, Drift
Location: Hotel Tower 1 Atrium
* Drift is a massive three-dimensional stainless steel polyhedral matrix of over 16,100 steel rods and more than 8,320 steel nodes.
* Measuring approximately 40 meters long, 23 meters high and 15 meters wide, Drift is suspended cloudlike in the air between levels 5 and 12 of the atrium of Hotel Tower 1. The structure weighs 14.8 tons.
* The geometry of the art installation was generated using a process specifically developed for Antony Gormley’s sculptures by engineer Tristan Simmonds and involves the packing of spheres around a “seed” body form or shape.
* Due to the scale of the structure, it had to be fabricated off-site and subsequently broken down into 8 horizontal “slices” approximately 3 meters tall to be transported to Marina Bay Sands. Each slice was transported by special container to the site.
* It took 60 workers with different expertise to assemble it in the atrium, from engineers to welders.

Chongbin Zheng, Rising Forest
Rising Forest
Location: Hotel Atrium (interior and exterior)
* Rising Forest is a ceramic sculpture composed of 83 massive, glazed, stoneware ceramic vessels occupying approximately 4,000 square meters in the Hotel Atrium.
* Each vessel weighs 1,200 kilograms and measures 3 meters tall. Every vessel holds a tree, creating a “canopy” of trees across the interior and exterior areas of the Hotel Atrium.
* The vessels are so large that the artist had to build a customized kiln the size of a small building. Ceramics of this size are rarely made and fired in one piece.
* The ceramic pieces were made in Yixing, China, known for its artistry and high-quality ceramics since the 11th century. The clay was mined from a special quarry in the Yellow Dragon mountain and has been aged for five years.
* Each vessel required 15–20 days to complete by hand using the coil construction method.
* Although each vessel is unique, Mr. Zheng and his artisans worked to ensure that the vessels conformed to his design specifications for the sculpture.

James Carpenter, Blue Reflection Façade with Light Entry Passage
Blur Reflection Facade
Location: Upper & Lower Casino Podium Wall (exterior)
* James Carpenter Design Associates Inc.’s art work consists of a series of uniquely composed vertical glass and metal fin-like elements suspended in front of a reflective metal panel façade.
* The artwork is 112 meters long and 17 meters tall and features 80 stainless steel fins and over 200 glass fins.
* The floating fins accentuate the serpentine quality of the façade and capture a sense of the sky within the depth of the façade.
* As visitors pass by, the Blue Reflection Facade changes dynamically creating a visual layering that is luminous and reflective.
* Day and night, the shimmering façade provides viewers with a constantly changing experience of light

Ned Kahn, Wind Arbor
Wind Arbor
Location: Hotel Atrium (exterior)
* Wind Arbor is the largest and most visible piece of Marina Bay Sands’ Art Path. It covers 6,800 square meters, equivalent to the surface area of five-and-a-half Olympic-sized swimming pools.
* The sculpture consists of 260,000 aluminum metal “flappers” covering the entire western façade of the Hotel Atrium facing the Central Business District and encircling the air-conditioning towers at the north end of the property.
* When the flappers move, they reflect light creating a shimmering piece of art.
* It is 15 meters tall at the north end and increases to 55 meters tall at the southern entry.
* The flappers are mounted on hinges and hung from steel cable so they are free to move independently in reaction to wind movements.

Ned Kahn, Rain Oculus
Rain Oculus
Location: Waterfront Promenade / Retail Mall
* Rain Oculus is a large acrylic and stainless steel structure located at the intersection of the retail mall and the waterfront promenade.
* It will create a whirlpool motion above the promenade level with the water falling two storeys through a hole in the center of the Oculus, creating a dynamic water skylight feature at the heart of the retail mall.
* It consists of a 22 meter diameter acrylic bowl mounted on top of a tubular stainless steel superstructure, which forms a “basket” to support the acrylic panels.
* The combined weight of the acrylic Oculus and steel superstructure is 90 tons.
* Water flows at 6,000 gallons per minute through the Oculus and the maximum weight of water it can hold is 200 tons. The water is the art medium creating the sculptural effect in this installation.

Ned Kahn, Tipping Wall
Tipping Wall
Location: Hotel Tower 3
* Tipping Wall, located at the cooling tower adjacent to the southern end of the hotel, features 7,000 mechanical polycarbonate tipping water channels on a large glass reinforced concrete wall about the size of a basketball court.
* Water running down the glass reinforced concrete wall will splash out and animate the white tipping channels, which will be supported by stainless steel pins. As each channel fills with water, it will tip left or right like a seesaw and spill water into either of the two channels below it.
* Water will be recovered at the catchment area below the tippers and re-circulated to the distribution trough.

Sol LeWitt, Wall Drawing #917, Arcs and Circles, 1999
Location: Hotel Tower 1 Reception

Sol LeWitt, Wall Drawing #915, Arcs, Circle and Irregular bands, 1999
Wall Drawing #917
Location: Underground pedestrian network connecting Marina Bay Sands to Bayfront MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) station
* Sol LeWitt’s (1928-2007) wall drawings redefined traditional concepts about discreet works of art. His innovation was two-fold: that the idea was the artwork, and that someone other than the artist could execute the work and it would still be a work by the artist.
* Wall drawings painstakingly follow Mr. LeWitt’s directions, and while a drawing may be installed many times it may vary only slightly in size and never in format. Each drawing is accompanied by directions and a signed certificate which authenticates the work.
* The wall drawings are handmade and because they are very elaborate, require the execution and supervision of LeWitt-trained artists.
* The bold, colorful geometric design that comprises Wall Drawing #917, Arcs and Circles was drawn by two artists from the Lewitt Estate, Takeshi Arita and Gabriel Hurier, who worked with LeWitt for many years before he died. They were assisted by a select group of four local artists chosen through the Singapore Tyler Print Institute.
* Wall Drawing #917, Arcs and Circles, 1999, measures 4.34 by 20.32 meters.
* Wall Drawing #915, Arcs, Circle and Irregular Bands, 1999, will measure 3.96 by 16.76 meters and is
expected to be completed later this year.

Zhan Wang, Artificial Rock #71 and #86, 2010
Location: Garden Bay Bridge
* Artificial Rock #71 and #86 are abstract sculptures inspired by The Scholar’s Rock, which has long been held in high regard by the educated and upper class in China for its complexity and beauty.
* For generations in China, The Scholar’s Rock held a place of honor in gardens and courtyards throughout the country.
* Zhan Wang’s Artificial Rocks are highly reflective to symbolically represent China’s rapid changes.
* As gardens and places of quiet contemplation make way for modern skyscrapers, Zhan Wang’s Artificial Rocks with their shiny surfaces reflect what is around them and, through these mirror-like surfaces, reflect the ever-changing view of China’s modernization.
* Artificial Rock #71 measures 62.5 X 74 X 38 inches.
*Artificial Rock #86 measures 90.5 X 70.75 X 31.5 inches.

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