catherine widgery

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Catch the Sun, 2007

Designed for playgrounds in New York City as part of the program to introduce scientific phenomena into play, Catch the Sun bends and bounces light and sound.

A large steel tube six feet in diameter and twelve feet long lies on the ground. Its surface is perforated with small holes defining the growth pattern of the nautilus shell. Small beams of light enter into the dark inside through 1, 1/2 and 1/4in. holes. Children love entering a darker space and the curved walls mean that there is the added excitement of a surprising surface that is not flat. From the inside, these spiraling points of light recall the Milky Way illustrating the organizing principles of the physical world that exist in micro and macrocosm.

In addition to this complex pattern of light projected into the interior, there are small, sturdy prisms set in some of the openings. Sunlight enters the prisms, is bent and then projected onto the inner curved surface as colored rainbows. As the sun moves different rainbows appear and disappear in shifting, surprising patterns. There are two light experiences: one is the slow, steady movement of the spiral design and one is the maverick light shift of the prisms. The fact that the design is projected onto a curved surface means that the design itself is distorts in interesting ways.

The children can place their hands in between the beam of light and the floor, 'holding' the light or a small rainbow. The beams of light pick up the dust particles in the air and take on a physical presence, small columns of light. The prisms are designed to be held in brackets that pivot so that during installation we will be able to adjust the angles to be responsive to the sunlight and the interior.

Catch the Sun demonstrates properties of light: different wavelengths that are seen as different colors, angles of refraction and reflection. The movement of the sun is described by the movement of the design within the cylinder, like being inside a sun dial. Sound bounces around within and is distorted by the shape of the space. Children can play the tube like a percussive musical instrument, knocking, scrapping, thumping. The human voice will take on new characteristics.

This work is a shade structure and an experiential environment. The many perforations in the metal allow heat to escape so convection should keep the inside air circulating and cooled.