“Asteroid Landed Softly” is a sundial and suggests the image of Southern Utah’s landscape. Many old European plazas have a clock tower to act as a landmark of the city. This piece carries the some tradition in which time is on element of space.

The sundial works in the following manner – through a slit in the tower a beam of sunlight is cost on the plaza floor. The beam acts as an arm of a clock, and hour (nine to two o’clock); every fifteen, twenty and thirty minutes are marked by stainless steel tubes. The hours are indicated by double tubes on which a prism is attached so that when sun beam falls on it, a small batch of colors is cast on the plaza. On the inclined granite slabs are engraved months of a year. When the top end of the sun beam touches the engravings, it marks the month. The farthest tip of the slab indicates the winter solstice while the middle end indicates the spring and autumn equinoxes, and the closest bottom tip marks the summer solstice. The slabs also show dates of Pioneer Day and Utah’s Statehood.

The sundial time, which is called “natural time” is based on the principle that noon is determined when the sun crosses the meridian (or the true south) of the particular location. Our watch, on the other hand, is based on a system called “real time” where the time zones start in Greenich, England. This system is basically human made convention. The natural time and real time coincides only at a longitudinal line where a time zone changes. Within times zones there are differences between the natural and real times. In addition we have daylight savings time, thus at some locations the difference between the two systems is nearly two hours. This piece tries to demonstrate this discrepancy or gap between the two systems and points to the question of what is natural and what is real. (A Roman is said to have complained, ”Let the gods damn the first man who invented the hours, the first man who set a sundial in this city! For our misfortune, he has chopped up the day into slices).

The magnificent Southern Utah landscape is a wonder of natural forces creating in many parts most unnatural rock formations. Many boulders are perched up in the air in the most precarious positions, such as Balanced Rock. This piece tries to capture the image of the Southern Utah with its use of red sandstone rock superimposed with the method of the surrealism painting of Rene Magritte. The rock, which might be a visitor or an asteroid from outer space, is balanced on a tower clad by reflective glass. Images of downtown buildings, sky and clouds are reflected on the glass and become a part of the sculpture. The lower portion of the tower is clad with raw copper sheets whose color will continue to change over many years. The working of a sundial is based on the rotation of the earth, and through this sundial and its movement of the sun beam, we can literally see and feel, the rotation of the earth. This rotation suggests an idea of wheel, thus various images of wheels borrowed from different cultures are depicted in the pattern of the pavement for the base of the sundial. They include icons of Judeo-Greek zodiacs, Native American’s medicine wheel, Ying-Yang of the Chinese, and twisting patterns of wind and water (and perhaps of galaxies).

Matsubayashi “hopes this sundial with its floating rock will trigger the observer’s mind to the basic scientific curiosity and artistic imagination in their most innocent beginning and to wonder about the mystery of natural forces, to ponder what is nature and reality, what is time and space. Or perhaps one can simply kill time by standing in front of it. Today many of us are being chased by time.”

This project was part of the Block 57 development / The Gallivan Center.

Utah glass artist, Douglas Soelberg, created this colorful curtain wall to be incorporated into the front the the Justice Courts Building. The work brings movement and color to the façade of the building, engaging passersby and welcoming employees and those who have business in the Justice Courts.

 

“Dennis Smith is as much a philosopher as he is an artist. His work is a window into who he is and his views on life. His impressionistic style captures his exuberance for life and embodies his passion for transcendence—expressed through the spontaneity of children, reflections of the past, and hopes for the future.

“At the core of Dennis’ work is the spirit of the human soul. We often see this represented through the innocence of childhood. To Dennis, the child is a metaphor for life. Children’s lives, as they explore the world around them, parallel our lives as adults as we discover our identity in this universe. Each piece by Dennis Smith captures this spirit, still vibrant and alive, frozen in the moment of discovery.”

Courtesy of artist’s website.

Christensen and Sucec, accomplished in their own work and as a team, were challenged by the architect to address the large volume lobby of this addition to the Steiner Aquatic Center. They chose to use the qualities of glass and brilliant color, providing a distinctive and powerful character to the entry of this sports facility.

This public art project reinforces the significance of and accentures the vibrant residential/business corridor of 1300 South that joins the adjacent neighborhoods of Yalecrest and Westmoreland Place in Salt Lake City. Christensen took into consideration the architecture, character, and landscape elements of the neighborhoods and to that end, created a series of bas relief cast bronze benches, designed in the “Arts and Crafts” style, that reflect the beautiful trees lining the streets. Each bench backrest highlights a different tree type found in the neighborhoods – Sycamore, Ash, Elm, Maple – using leaves, branches, and seeds to create the designs for the cutout relief panels. The top rail of each backrest is inscribed with a quote referencing the qualities of the specific tree.

Day Emil Christensen is a sculptor and mixed media artist. He has been commissioned for numerous public art works in Utah. He graduated from Brigham Young University with a BA in Art and Design and a Master in Landscape Architecture from Harvard Graduate School of Design. In 2008, Christensen was awarded a grant from the Utah Arts Council as part of the Individual Artists Services Grants program. He currently resides in Highland, Utah.