Constellation of One 2011..new project coming for 2012

Twilight

New satellite star structures reflected the concept of regeneration/expansion as the constellation, like us and this gathering, unfolded itself anew. Our own star’s energy powered this year’s new night-time lighting scheme..otherwordly in strong color.

Sunrise

   

lights at dusk

2011 photos..

2011 photos..

our world reflected

The kaleidoscopic apex of the internal chamber. As the pyramidal walls broaden towards the base, the mirrors become sparser and fragmented – order into chaos

The 'compound eye/I' door leads into the mirrored interior

Constellation of One, Burning Man 2010

Constellation of One in a dust storm, Burning Man 2010. Photo by Kirsten Berg

More photos-

the sculpture's color was chosen to 'mirror' the desert sky at dusk

Burning Man 2010…”Metropolis: the life of Cities”

Thank you Mitchell!

Looking up into the interior's kaleidoscopic apex

UPDATE 9/10/10

 

 

 

 

Back from the desert! “Constellation of One” got great placement next to the Man, and was a well-frequented site on the way to the ‘Temple’..so many positive  responses from visitors!

amazing crew..thank you everyone!

The journey was very challenging as many obstacles were encountered  and overcome ( an accident resulting in the loss of the main mode of transport for sculpture and crew as well as critical build time.)..THANK YOU to everyone for your support and encouragement!

“The city of the future must become fra

ctal again…” N.A. Salingaros

Glistering on the horizon, stellar bodies rise from the Playa, the largest with an inner chamber ripening the fruits of reflection. A rippling skin of convex mirrors is multiplied across the main star’s surface like a network of cells, with every viewer held at the nucleus .. framed in the vision and creations of our community- fractal portraits of a fractal organism.

Unique connections and self-similarity on all scales of magnification reflect the fractal nature of living organisms – galaxies, constellations, trees, the historical metropolis, the human brain, bacteria. Shared dreams magnetically draw us to gather, compress, and radiate out again; the historical metropolis arose organically, as a fractal, living web of small (pedestrian) and large-scale interactions and networks. The planned cities of the 20th century erased the small-scale aspect to create the car city, a place of large-scale movement and function. The spaces of personal connection and the human value/sacred disappeared from the new urban template..the plaza, the shrine, the telephone booth, a literal de-humanization.Through cycles of history, we have exteriorized the small -  our living nature,  into the large -  our living environments. Housed in a fractal body and embedded in a fractal universe, the return to the polis of the personal seems marked on our maps .

Curvilinear, round, symmetrical yet organic – the budding forms of the spherical mirrors hint at the promise of creative ripening and perhaps a re-emergence of the organic city.

Gazing at the stellar body,  our images bounce off the mirrors to intersect, then widen exponentially into eternity. A moment of reflection, beginning with one, transforms into Infinity. A ‘Constellation of One’ poses the question – what do we send into ‘forever’? Looking through the lens – what does the collective eye / “I” envision?

External Frame – 2011

New stellations extend existing structure (bottom diagram) for Burning Man 2011

Diagrams show the external frame w/o mirrors. The white circle indicates the door to the interior.

The top diagram shows the proposed changes in structure for Burning Man 2011, while the bottom shows the original structure built for the festival in 2010

‘Constellation of One‘ is a stellated (‘star’) tetrahedron..the main structure is a 3-sided pyramid with 3 smaller pyramids attached to the the large faces.

Each equilateral face measures 12′ x 12′ x 12′ (3.6 x 3.6 x 3.6 m) ; this is the actual footprint of the structure resting on the ground. The attached ‘tips’ are smaller equilateral pyramids

Apex/actual height = approx. 10.5′ (3.15 m) .

Diameter /from one (small 6′) pyramid tip to the opposite side = 14′ (4.5 m)

A small opening/door in the main structure  gives access to the interior.

Internal Frame/Chamber

 

Footprint of the internal chamber = 11′ x 11′ x 11′ (3.3 x  3.3 x  3.3 m). This area is carpeted to invite participants to sit. All interior surfaces are mirrored and gently lit. Five to eight people can sit inside comfortably; up to fifteen have been known to squeeze in..

The actual internal chamber is pyramidal/triangular,  i.e.  the stellations/ tips are not accessible or visible from inside.

Budget (updated post Burning Man)

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Budget update…in April 2010,  I simplified the design to reduce the amount of materials, for ease of construction and the intention of reducing the original budget (below) from $8041 to approximately $6000-$6500.

I’m pleased to report that the grand total came to just under $6080, (including unforeseen expenses/truck rentals)..in other words, the budget goal was reached.