BEN BUTLER
a PROPOSAL for
Warm Springs Plaza
2021
MOMENTUM
PREVIOUS WORK
WORK
I am interested in the relationship between natural processes and human processes and how nature informs our thinking as makers and innovators. The work is premised on the idea that throughout the natural world we consistently find
wondrously complex and unpredictable forms emerging from the most basic processes, all by means of repetition and accumulation.
PREVIOUS
INSPIRATION
Warm Springs Plaza is a site in which the natural environment overlaps the urban landscape, a transitional outdoor space where the distinction is blurred. I envision a project that enriches the space with an abstract hybrid of these worlds.
A sense of energy and movement are the driving aesthetic. The site is a hub of transportation, activity, and ideas. I want the work to embody a strong rotational force, radiating outward but also bound and contained, portraying the spirit of progress and churning potential energy.
CONCEPT
MOMENTUM greets visitors with a bold and iconic
abstract experience. The monumental form avoids
strict labels and instead evokes a wide range of
imagery from both the natural world and the industrial
world. Part turbine, part botanical curiosity, it engages the space with its strong sense of rotational energy,
encouraging visitors to circumambulate the form and
discovery its ever-shifting character.
Physical Model Digital Model
10 11
12 Process & Materials
MOMENTUM is built from a number of individually
fabricated steel fins, each measuring 15’ tall and 5’ wide.
The thickness tapers from 4” at the outer edge to 1” on the interior edge. All of the construction is painted steel.
The overall dimensions are 15’ tall x 14’ diameter.
Each fin is built as a welded hollow box from sheet steel with internal framing. The outer undulating face and
welded edges are skim-coated with a poly resin putty,
sanded and then painted with a highly durable DTM
exterior paint.
The poly resin treatment of the surface allows for grinding, shaping, and sanding to create nuanced ripples and textures. This technique, together with the addition of a warm, neutral paint color, makes the material appear less like fabricated steel and more like a solid cut natural material, not unlike pale wood or sandstone.
Previous painted steel sculpture
Illustration of the steel and
poly resin fabrication process
The hollow core of the piece creates a wonderful visual effect. While fairly massive in scale, the sculpture will always appear semi-transparent from any vantage point, lending it a mysterious lightness and activating its interior. Movement around the piece will amplify this effect.
When the sun goes down, a custom lighting system transforms the sculpture. Up-lighting colors the exterior of the form, and additional lamps set in the center of the base illuminate from the inside out, effectively inverting the form. What was a stone-like or wood-like monumental structure becomes a source of its own light, permeable and radiant.
A full-spectrum color range and a fully programmable computer LED system allow for infinite variations and the impression that the piece is never experienced the same way twice.
Up-lighting fixture configuration
– all lamps are set into the concrete footing and the plaza pavement
COLLABORATORS
UAP Company
UAP Company is a global art fabricator with hundreds of projects and decades of experience. They have provided design and engineering assistance for me in the past for complex projects, and are available to do the same on this project.
Youngblood Studio
Youngblood Studio is the leading design and fabrication shop in Memphis with a particular emphasis on steel fabrication and large-scale installation. They were responsible for fabricating and installing my work The Wanderer in the Renasant Convention Center. They can provide most of the fabrication and installation work for this project.
JA Fisher Lighting Design
Jeremy Allen Fisher, also based in Memphis, will work with me to develop a custom lighting package. With a background in theater lighting, Jeremy has executed several lighting project for public art, many in collaboration with Youngblood Studio. He offers design, fabrication and installation of the lighting package.
Budget
Design Assist & Engineering – UAP Company 30,000
Fabrication – Youngblood Studio
• Materials 96,000
• Cutting 75,000
• Assembly 50,000
Finishing – Ben Butler Studio
• Surfaces detailing 25,000
• Painting 10,000
Footings – Local Contractor 20,000
Delivery and Installation - Youngblood Studio
• Packing and delivery 18,000
• Installation 31,000
Lighting – JAFisher Designs 60,000
Travel Expenses 5,000
Artist Fee 120,000
Contingency 60,000
TOTAL $600,000
MOMENTUM is designed to require little to no maintenance for decades. The painted steel and poly resin forms will withstand all weather condition and will only need to be inspected every few years for potential paint touch-ups. The lighting packing includes high-end exterior parts, 100% guaranteed for five years, reliable for decades, and easily replaced. Additionally,a clear anti-graffiti coating will allow for easy clean up of anything applied to the surface. A maintenance plan thoroughly describing these details will be provided.
33 Variables to considered in collaboration with the committee during the final design process
Programming the interior and exterior lighting as separate colors allows for more complex effects.