Project Name:
in silico et in situ

Year:
2017-ongoing

Media:
3D printed PLA

Project Website:
insitu.benitezvogl.com

Press:
n/a

Short Description:

In silico et in situ takes the art out of the gallery and into the environment by creating site-specific art installations.

in silico et in situ: Bath, OH – LED lit Spider Ring

in silico et in situ: Bath, OH – Turtle Platform

in silico et in situ: Bath, OH – Pollinator Waterers

Long Description:

In 2017, motivated by the rich history of earthworks and more precisely by the writing and sculptures of Jean Arp, the concept of taking art outside of the white cube was of deep interest to us. Experiencing Arp’s “Sculpture to Be Lost in the Forest”, inspired this new vein of making work that is specifically to be placed in nature to engage with an audience outside the context of an traditional art approach. In conversation with our colleagues in the sciences we were able to win the University of Akron field station (UAFS) at Bath nature preserve in Bath, OH as a partner.

The new body of work is called silico et in situ (with computational means, in place): animal habitats in the age of voxels. The land is intricately linked with the artwork, converging in the creation of contemporary techno-voxel sculptures. The work reflects on the theme of discovery, art, fragments and artifact, and comments on our current state of technology and its impact on society and nature, by introducing concepts of digital fabrication (3D printing, digital mold making, CNC) to sculptures housed in nature. 3 different sculpture designs came from the conversations with the biologists: Spider rings, a 3D printed LED ring to house spiders, 3D printed turtle basking platforms and 3D printed sculpture used as pollinator waterers. A new series for in silico et in situ: large scale sculptural bird habitats for Chimney Swifts recently got installed at the University of Akron field station at Bath Nature preserve.