Circling Spire was created to provide contrast and counterpoint to the 4th District Court Building which artfully symbolizes the long tradition of the Judiciary – the indispensable and co-equal third branch of our government. The sculpture was originally created as a 3D computer drawing illustrating the spiral topology of rotating atmospheric weather events such as tornadoes or cyclones. Because the concept would be prohibitive to fabricate as a continuous surface I sliced the surface into parallel planes, much like elevation contours on a terrain map. This not only allowed the complex geometry to be efficiently constructed on a large scale from computer cut plates but also created two contrasting planes of view- one looking through the parallel plates and another looking at surface topography of the stacked plates. I have integrated dynamic lighting from 5 computer controlled spotlights flush to the plaza deck which will mix color and other effects across the reflective planes of the sculpture to create what I hope will be an other worldly experience, especially during evening hours.
View more from the Utah Public Art Program here: https://artsandmuseums.utah.gov/public-art-collection/