Large, Multi-floor Art Pieces
Rob Ley:
This piece began with affection towards books as tangible bearers of information and entertainment. The book, as a physical object, is often described in quite reverent and even romantic terms by those who love literature and the written word. There is a tactile beauty to how a book is made, held, and read. Conceptually, the artwork is a construct of thin layers, similar to the many layers of pages that comprise a book.
The nested circular elements of the piece are inspired by the cut-out indentations of vintage dictionaries and other reference books, used an early method for “hyper linking” to specific chapters or categories within. As one examines books and their history, a question arises; how do we reconcile the beautiful physical nature of a book, in a future that heads swiftly towards digital and intangible containers of information? For this piece, I explored the overlap between the historical qualities of book pages with the methods and means of modern information consumption. What do the books we can hold and digital data have in common?
Layering represents an approach and a quality common to many forms of media. Just as a book may be comprised of hundreds of pages, digital media may also be formed in layers of instrumentation, visuals, and effects. Imagine the production of a classical symphony or jazz piece with various wood, wind, and brass instruments playing together, or the creation of a film, which is built up from a multitude of visual layers and effects. Layering, in a multitude of ways, became the basis of this work. The piece is composed of laminated acrylic in alternating layers of blue, yellow and white. Three separate pieces connect all floors of the library’s atrium lobby and read as a singular, continuous sculpture when viewed from afar. - Rob Ley
Kana Tanaka:
Inspired by the concept of Net Zero energy building design and the heritage trees in the plaza, the new suspended sculpture for the Atrium, Crystals, will capture and reflect the feeling of looking up the very tall trees… the branches reaching up to the sky… collecting energy from sunlight and rainwater… and bringing that feeling inside the atrium. The detail of the sculpture embraces the historical aspect of the Hayward—Salt industry from the 1850s to 1980s. The fact that salt was harvested using the sun—or solar energy and the “Archimedes screw pump” which used “wind” as an energy source. This is reflected by using the “salt crystals” to utilize in the new suspended sculpture.
Lordy Rodriquez:
I use the visual language of cartography to explore the identity politics of a place; the people that live there and those that visit. Purposefully misrepresenting the information we expect from a map, the visual elements that dominate the map become the main focus for the audience. Those visual elements usually come from cultural identifiers that may be found in the place being mapped. So instead of an accurate depiction of the layout of a place, my "maps" become cultural portraits comprised of the colors, shapes, patterns, and text we may find in the actual place. - Lordy Rodriquez
We Are Matic:
THE RINGS is an interactive installation where community brings the history and spirit of Hayward to life. Two large-scale displays dynamically respond to individuals’ presence and proximity revealing real-time and archived visual information about the library and city. The historic trees at the Hayward heritage plaza have witnessed the growth of the City of Hayward. Taking inspiration from these significant trees, the digital piece represents the library and the city as a living organism. The installation encourages people to be an influence in this growth, which is represented through the algorithmic tree rings.
Matt Gil:
Puzzle Piece is a landmark for the West Entry to greet people in a colorful and whimsical manner. The lyrical and organic nature of the piece is welcoming and plays off the horizontal and vertical lines in and around the area. The interlocking puzzle-like negative spaces create a feeling of connection based on the volume around the piece. The side view is completely different from the face. It is visually exciting to walk from left to right and have a different view and contemplative experience. This is symbolic of the experience one has when using the library. You enter with one level of knowledge and exit with another, often solving the missing pieces to the puzzles of life.
