New art adorns the north end of Bartle Hall. Created as part of the One-Percent for Art Program the project screens the newly re-configured Bartle loading dock from passers by and offices on the north side of the Convention Center.
The design was created by Crawford Architects with an artistic assist from New York artist Zhao Sulkang. The structure was fabricated by A. Zahner Co. here in Kansas City.
All the interior shots above were taken at A. Zahner as the materials were being prepared for installation. Many thanks to Roger Reed who allowed me to photograph the process.
Design documents led to the creation of metal support rods of varying length to give the sculpture three dimensions. Each rod had to be checked for alignment and straightened by hand if necessary.
Large, porous aluminum sheets were cut into different widths and lenghts and molded to prescribed shapes. A full-scale mockup of one section of the screen was done on the back lot of A. Zahner to insure that all components would fit together. Installation took about a month.
At night the artwork is illuminated by spotlights from within the Bartle addition with alternating colors.
I think it's cool!
