Strands of History---1999
Project Site:
California State University Administration Building---Long Beach
Funded by:
The State of California
This landscape installation, located on the central administration campus at California State University, is comprised of two primary sets of elements. An historic timeline structure, adjacent to stepped terraces, organizes various issues, forces, players, and artifacts of California history into a mechanically-interactive revisionist structure. The inscribed words---Evangelism, Internment Camps, Suburbia, Silicon Valley, et al---suggest critical events and forces in California history.
The illuminated perpendicular walls carry dualistic texts which suggest both the possibilities and the unforeseen outcomes of research---Atomic Energy/ The Cold War; California Dream/ Megalopolis; Mass Media/ Sound Bites, et al. Instead of didactic statements, the inscriptions raise and juxtapose topics; it's up to the viewer to form his or her own conclusions.
Collaborators:
Lillian Jones (Political Historian) and Karen Hunt (CSU Archivist); Central Administration Building
Constructed of etched structural, anodized aluminum, acrylic, polished stainless steel, formed concrete, and halogen illumination.