“Pod.Field” presented by Ludwig

Symposium:


Presentation Title:
  • Pod.Field

Presenter(s):


Abstract:

  • Pod.Field is an aural, sculptural environment made from laser-­‐cut plywood and felt. When an individual enters Pod.Field, s/he sees several skeletal, beehive-­‐shaped forms. Each shape has two long, red flexible feelers, and each feeler has a pod-­‐like form attached to its end.
    The audience is invited to push these stalks aside in order to wind their way through the implied pathways of the exhibit. As they brush the fiberglass rods away, the pods bounce and dance freely, triggering attached bamboo chimes to produce clacking, insect-­‐like sounds. The more people move in the space, the more it fills with natural, clacking sounds. As the entire space becomes activated, people are engulfed in a rising sonic environment that feels alive.
    This nature-­‐inspired artwork can be read as an exaggerated representation of sensing. As the feelers are triggered, the bodies are “turned on.” When the system is activated as a whole, the bodies symbolically communicate as a community. This visual and sensory system is meant to remind audiences that the body is always sensing the environment while the ecosystem is always responding to the body’s presence. Everyone exists as an individual and as a component of a vast, elaborate organism. This new work was created for a solo exhibition at BOX 13 ArtSpace in Houston, TX in May / June of 2014. I also exhibited it at the Maker Faire Milwaukee in September of 2014, where over one thousand people interacted with the work over two days.
    The central forms in Pod.Field are built with slot-­‐fit construction, and can be disassembled and flat packed for shipping. They can be assembled and installed in one day, by one or two people, using a laser-­‐cut scaffolding that assists by holding the horizontal pieces in place. In this way, Pod.Field is very modular, portable and inexpensive to travel.

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