Museum of Outdoor Arts News

ICE + Snow= Success

tim — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 17:21:59 +0000

ICE + Snow opened with a bang on December 1, 2006. Greenwood Village Mayor, Nancy Sharpe welcomed the large crowd to the lighting event along with Musuem Director Cynthia Madden Leitner, Funding partner John W. Madden Jr. (John Madden Company) and Artist Lonnie Hanzon. With 40,000 visitors through the month of Decemer, we are already in the works for next years ICE+Snow event.

Go to this link for images of the event.
View Images

Sneak preview…Ice+Snow

tim — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 21:09:16 +0000

It seems like only yesterday that we were perspiring while taking preliminary measurements and re-evaluating layouts under the intense rays of the Colorado summer sunshine. Last week, bundled up in down jackets and amidst scattered patches of snow, the whole crew began installing at Samson Park. The MOA crew, Virgina, Ryan, Tim and I, had a hand in the installation process, namely the Samson Fountain project.

When we arrived, we were surprised to discover that we had to actually engage in some ‘real’ gardening, i.e. pulling up the living flower beds to make way for Lonnie’s electric, sculptural renditions! Working in our mechanical garden, we were relieved to find that our patterns, layout, and electrical connections worked perfectly. The satisfaction of seeing a work of art finally put in place after countless hours and days of work is inexpressible. These feelings will only be surpassed after we see the guaranteed looks of wonder on your faces come opening night, December 3rd.

Lamppost Parade & The Rabbit Sequence

tim — Sat, 14 Oct 2006 18:47:02 +0000

ICE + SNOW

[scrolls for Lamppost Parade]

As leaves begin falling off the trees and the

first frosts highlight the ground, new projects for

Ice + Snow

are still in production at the

Museum of Outdoor Arts.

The picture above shows a component of the installation, called the “Lamppost Parade,” that we recently completed assembling. Steel, scroll-like extensions were created to be fitted into a sleeve/collar that will be attached to existing lampposts in Samson Park. Each steel extension was then decorated with ropelight and an embellishment called billboard pallettes. Billboard pallettes are essentially thin reflectors that create a dazzling prismatic effect when struck by the slightest bit of light.

Here, the scrolls are magically brought to life by the light display in the Madden Gallery. In the drawing, you can see an original sketch by Lonnie, illustrating his preliminary ideas for the design of the lampposts.

When the we visited Samson Park this summer to unearth possibilities and consider limitations, we were frequently visited by an adorable bunny. The bunny’s friendly company soon became a source of creative inspiration–Lonnie cooked up a brand new light element in a matter of days: a rabbit sequence, or a series of still images of rabbits in the form of light boxes. When the ten rabbit images are put in order and are lit up one-by-one, it will appear as if one rabbit is in motion.

Virginia & Ryan assembling the rabbit light boxes.

Close-up of an individual light box; 6 light boxes in the sequence.

Please continue to scroll down for past posts about Ice+Snow!

Also, to learn more about the origins about the installation project, please see the post: Ice+Snow.

Sculpture in Clay Opening Reception

tim — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 20:12:14 +0000

Tonight is the night. We are expecting a great turn out for our latest exhibit “Sculpture in Clay”. After an intense three week installation with ten artists featured we are finally ready to show it off! Please come and check it out. It truly is an amazing exhibit!

-Tim

Samson Fountain in the Works

tim — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 19:14:32 +0000

The Fountain construction…continued

Still a work in progress…the Samson Fountain project has been a much more involved and intricate process than either Tim or I had anticipated! However, I think it will be all the more beautiful for you.

Ella laying out the ‘bouquets’ in their designated beds, and
Tim planting the flowers.

About two weeks ago, we completed attaching EL wire to the copper flower forms. This was just the beginning, however. Now, everything must be electrically connected–a sort of puzzle in itself.

In addition, Lonnie designed new, grass-inspired forms that will enhance and amplify the garden effect. His process is far from static; throughout the project, elements are revised, transformed and even invented.

Due to the exciting new exhibit Sculpture in Clay (opening October 6th) at MOA, Tim and I have not been able to work on Ice + Snow recently. We have been busy installing the new show, as an exhibit of this kind entails a process which is very labor intensive . Much to our delight, we have received back-up forces: Lonnie’s long-term, personal assistant, Virginia, came to join in the fun at Studio 5 in MOA. Not long after, Ryan, joined our super crew too. Recently relocated to Denver, Ryan has worked on previous projects with Lonnie.

Virginia in the midst of laying out our grid–

essentially how we ‘plant’ the flowers.

Getting close, but still a ways to go.

Don’t miss Sculpture in Clay!

Samson Fountain Project

tim — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 16:00:43 +0000

This week Ella and I spent hours constructing the electroluminescent flowers for Samson Fountain. And we’ve still got a ways to go…

Samson Fountain

–As summer turns to fall and fall into winter, common garden flowers will be

replaced by something that you won’t want to miss!–

Ice + Snow Flowers

An electric ‘garden’ of Lonnie’s design will replace the flowers you see now around Samson Fountain, located directly inside the main entrance to Samson Park. The vision is to create a breath of life in the dead of winter, using simple strands of light wound around copper wire. Earlier this summer, we bent the copper wire into shapes that are loose renditions of flowers, but could be more aptly described as pure, flowing, organic forms. Electroluminescent (or EL wire) lighting is applied to the copper structure using zip-ties to create a sculptural glowing effect that your eyes will be glued to. Click here to learn more about EL wire.

“Shrub”

Detail of what we like to call the “amoeba” flower

Tim and Ella hard at work in Studio 5…We use a giant, life-sized pattern of the fountain to keep everything straight. The flowers are separated into beds much like a real garden–only without the weeds or bugs. We got it good here at MOA.

tim — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 16:00:16 +0000

Inaugural Ice+Snow Blog

tim — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 21:13:11 +0000

Welcome to our blog, from an insider’s point of view. Be sure to check in often. We’ll keep you up-to-date.

Tim Vacca Ella Levy

Since the beginning of the summer, Tim and I have been working on the exhilarating new project, Ice+Snow, dreamt up by our notoriously creative ‘master-in-chief’, Lonnie Hanzon. We work for the Museum of Outdoor Arts which commissioned Lonnie to create this amazing public-art project, the likes of which we never could have thought possible. I guess it would be best if you had a little background information to more fully understand what it is we do here.

About Lonnie Hanzon:

“Artist, inventor, philosopher and showman, Lonnie Hanzon has gained international acclaim for his over-the-top, incredibly detailed works of art. Comfortable with any material, from sugar to steel to sequins, Hanzon is a design daredevil in the true DaVinci spirit: multi-disciplined, cross-trained, and absolutely fearless.”

“I am certainly opposed to minimalism, which I suppose makes me a maximalist.”

“With an astute sense of visual dramatics and a clear understanding of the classic rules of storytelling, Hanzon has amazed crowds around the globe with his highly original works. In addition to several national television specials on HGTV and Food Network, he has worked in Hong Kong, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Denver and Dallas.” For several years, he also has been commissioned by Neiman Marcus to design and build spectacular reinterpretations of the traditional Christmas tree for their flagship store’s Palladium Window in Dallas, Texas. He’s working on one now! Check out his website for more info.

About Ice+Snow:

The Museum of Outdoor Arts, always striving to make art a part of everyday life, sought to reach beyond the walls of the museum to the global community in a fresh way. So, Cynthia Madden Leitner, MOA president, developed the museum’s inaugural Professional Design & Build public art installation program. She then commissioned Lonnie Hanzon to design a site-specific, public art piece: ICE + SNOW.

All we can say is that you will NEVER have a holiday light experience like this.

ICE + SNOW has evolved into a destination-based, multi-layered holiday experience perfect for any age, belief system, or skeptical eye. Without a doubt in our minds, this installation will be a truly revolutionary aesthetic experience. The project also promises to be progressive in terms of our generation’s technological trends and artistic outlets utilizing such alternative media as: podcasts, films, and suggested music lists which will all be available online.

The twelve-acre public art installation will take place in Samson Park and Fiddler’s Green Circle (you’ve seen sweet concerts at Coors Amphitheatre right?) in Greenwood Village from December 3, 2006 through December 31, 2007.

More than the usual ‘walk-through’ guide, the podcast will include Hanzon’s suggested music listening list (!) to accompany the artwork as well as an in-depth commentary by the artist himself about the making, meaning, and mystery behind each element in the Samson Park installation.

Greenwood Plaza will be transformed by original elements, both sculptural and light-based, of Hanzon’s imaginative design. With a grand opening performance on December 3rd enhanced by costumed characters created by the artist, as well as the magic of an old time European Village and Carriage Rides through the Alice in Wonderland Sculpture series, ICE + SNOW promises to be a once-in-a-lifetime environmental art experience.

Sculptures by Harry Marinsky in the Alice
in Wonderland Walking Tour (Greenwood Plaza)

And finally…about us:

Tim Vacca (Lead Artist Assistant):

I am from Littleton, Colorado. I never thought seriously about art until I was a sophomore in high school. It was then that I enrolled in my first photography class. It was love at first class. I continued with photography all through high school.

My first sight of MOA came when I submitted my photography portfolio for the 2001 Scholastic Art Awards exhibition. To my surprise, my portfolio was selected to be sent to nationals. It was because of this exhibit that I was finally starting to think that perhaps I should pursue the arts. After high school I went into college still skeptical about making a career out of art and enrolled with an open option major at the University of Colorado at Boulder. After my first semester I had finally decided that if I was going to be at the school for 4 years I might as well major in something that I like. It was then that I decided to declare Fine Arts-Studio Arts my major. My emphasis was photography and digital art. I was also fortunate enough to participate in a certificate program known as Technology, Arts and Media (TAM). This program taught me a more technological side to the arts. Working in retail at the time, I was ready to start learning about the working art world. It was then that the opportunity to become an artist assistant at MOA’s summer art camp was presented to me. I took the job and loved it! The following summer I started with the assistant job again and was then invited to stay as a part time administrative assistant through my last year of school. Graduation came and I was taken under the wing of MOA as a full time staff member. I am extremely fortunate to be able to say I have one of the greatest jobs in the art world!

Ella Levy (Intern):

I was born and raised in Dallas, Texas but am proud to call Colorado my home now. I adore painting, music, river-trips, and anything that gets me back to nature.

Art has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. My father, an architect who creates artwork in three-dimensional forms and structures, infused my life with a keen aesthetic appreciation from an early age. My experience in art progressed from finger painting at 3 to multiple juried art competitions in high school and was honored with a Scholastic Art Scholarship upon graduation.

I fell in love with the mountains about 8 years ago when I did a mountaineering trip, and just couldn’t stay away. I decided to go to the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2001, majoring in Fine Arts-Studio Arts with an emphasis in drawing and painting. I’ve been in a couple small exhibitions, but hope to shoot higher in the next couple years! Last summer, I was privileged to receive an internship with Design & Build, MOA’s outstanding opportunity for college students to create a public art performance of their own. Now I’ve graduated from CU (as of May 2006), taken an intensive Advertising Certificate Course through CU’s J-school and won’t lie, am more than a little scared about what to do with my life. The ICE + SNOW internship couldn’t have been offered to me at a better time: a soft place to fall, engaging myself in a creative activity with creative people, and expanding my knowledge of new media.

Interesting tidbit: Tim and I go way back. We met freshman year in the dorms at CU Boulder!

Ice + Snow

tim — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 19:16:10 +0000

The Museum of Outdoor Arts is pleased to announce, ICE + SNOW, its inaugural Professional Design & Build public art installation extending beyond the walls of the museum to the global community.

Internationally renowned public artist, Lonnie Hanzon, is collaborating with MOA to create a destination-based, multi-layered holiday experience for the citizens of Colorado. This revolutionary aesthetic experience also invites the global community to participate through such alternative media as podcast, films, and suggested music lists all available online.

The twelve-acre public art installation will take place in Samson Park and Fiddler’s Green Circle in Greenwood Village from November 15, 2006 through January 8, 2007. More than the usual ‘walk-through’ guide, the podcast will include Hanzon’s suggested music listening list to accompany the artwork as well as an in-depth commentary by the artist himself about the making, meaning, and mystery behind each element in both the Alice in Wonderland Walking Tour and Samson Park installation.

Greenwood Plaza, a synthesis of landscape, architecture, and art, will be transformed by site-specific, original elements of Hanzon’s imaginative design. With a grand opening performance (date and time to be decided) enhanced by costumed characters created by the artist, as well as the magic of an old time European Village and Carriage Rides through the Alice in Wonderland Sculpture series, ICE + SNOW promises to be a once-in-a-lifetime environmental art experience. We hope you will join us for the first of many Professional Design and Build public art installations that will take place in the future.

Have some fun making your own snowflake before the show!

Contact us for more information

Design & Build Internship

tim — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 02:30:37 +0000

The Design and Build™ Internship is a 6-8 week paid summer internship for high school seniors, college students and recent college graduates ages 17-24. The internship integrates Visual Art, Dance, Architecture, Film, Music, Engineering and Sculpture to create a collaborative performance with David Taylor Dance Theatre and Up Close and Musical, with members of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. Every spring there is a call for applicants from schools inside and outside Colorado. Students work with professional artists to assist them in actualizing their collaborative project.

Click here for more information.