Human Puzzle---2013
Project Site:
Research & Academic Center/ U of Florida/ Lake Nona
Funded by:
Florida Art-in-State Buildings Program
This integrated sculpture presents the humanist goals at the center of medical research, where the patient presents a biological puzzle. A configuration of ephemeral color forms extends outward from the stair railings into a central space, ascending upward along with the stairs that wind around. The forms appear to be a series of abstract puzzle pieces, each suggesting a researcher’s focused area of medical study. The artwork extends upward, symbolizing a collaborative hive of research, viewed from the encircling DNA of the staircase. Depending on the viewer’s vantage point, a word, representing a humanist goal, goes into or out of focus. Upon closer examination, the planes are inscribed with words that reference the human body as a biological system as well as the characteristics, symptoms, and observations that are a focus of research. The methods and actions that researchers employ are inscribed on aluminum brackets that extend outward from the stairway, suggesting physical and technological means of research.
Constructed of aluminum structural forms, acrylic-resin panels, die-cut inscriptions, and mirror-polished stainless steel.
