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COLORFIELD is an interactive kinetic sculpture on an architectural scale. Vertical poles of varying heights encircle an open field. Poles of equal height are situated across from one another on the field's perimeter. Taut steel cables run across the field, from the top of a pole to the top of its partner. The cables form a crisscrossing network above the field where translucent colored panels are suspended. Each panel can travel back and forth along the entire span between two poles. A rope and pulley system controlled from the base of a pole propels the panel above it. Multiple participants can simultaneously control various panels, allowing for complex and unexpected movements and arrangements.
COLORFIELD transforms the sky and ground into an enormous canvas, with the public participating as painters. Those positioned within the perimeter of the work are able to watch swaths of vibrant color sweep across the sky and through the network of crisscrossing cables, as hued shadows roll over the ground. The 'painters' can mix colors by overlapping the translucent panels, and create new positive and negative spaces through various arrangements of the panels. With its spatial variety, mutable color combinations, and elegant design, the work engages the public in an act of collective composition.
COLORFIELD was built by the Madagascar Institute, and designed by Mike Ross and Nicole Whelan. On October 9, 2004, it was installed by the Madagascar Institute at the Grand Ferry Park in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, with help from WaterMonsters, Inc., and the New York City Parks Department (event flyer by Jason Enghal).