For Immediate Release
Contact: Wendy Poischbeg
Economic and Cultural Development Manager
Wendy.Poischbeg@snoco.org
425-388-3186
Arts Commission Announces Artist Chosen for TEDxSno-isle Libraries Installation
EVERETT, Wash., October 20, 2016 – The Snohomish County Arts Commission is pleased to announce the selection of an Edmonds artist, Mona T. Smiley Fairbanks, to create an interactive artwork for the TEDxSno-Isle Libraries Idea Lab. The artwork, Flower Tower, is conceptualized as a light tower that would emit manipulated colored lights onto sculpted sheet metal ribbons that are suspended from the ceiling. The commission budget is $3,500.
“The intention for the audience to interact and alter the sculpture was a fascinating concept and factor in Mona’s selection,” said Robert Fairfax, Chair of the Snohomish County Arts Commission. “Flower Tower will honor the 2016 TEDxSno-Isle Libraries theme, Transformation, as participants continually transform the artwork by moving crystals and prisms within the sculpture changing its appearance throughout the event.”
“We never seem to tire at the awe of a rainbow or marvel at the cast of our own shadow,” said Smiley Fairbanks. “Flower Tower allows attendees to not just be onlookers, but to be participants who can insert their own imagination into the color, shading, and cast of the piece.”
Smiley Fairbanks developed the piece with the clear intention that it would have little to zero waste with maximum interactivity. The powder coated steel flowers are repurposed from a previous installation and all of the colored rods will be reused.
"Conserving resources are a priority in my art process, and this year's TEDxSnoIsle Libraries talk theme of 'Transformation' sparked my interest to make an installation out of repurposed art. I challenged myself to 'transform' older art and see it in a totally different way and to think of the new material with the idea of future projects, so no waste is involved. I surprised myself in being able to let go of older concepts and reimagine my art in a new form" said Fairbanks.
The TEDxSno-Isle Libraries event is scheduled for November 18th at the Edmonds Center for the Arts. Event registration is full but satellite viewing stations are available.
For more information on the programs developed by the Snohomish County Arts Commission, contact Cultural and Economic Development Manager, Wendy Poischbeg, at 425-388-3186 or wendy.poischbeg@snoco.org.