Glass and Steel Sculpture
ARTIST: KEN LEAP_________________________________

 

Sundial Sculpture installation near completion at
NOAA Plaza -29th Street Mall, Boulder, CO

KEN LEAP, Sundial Sculpture (c) 2006, NOAA Plaza, 29th Street Mall, Boulder, Colorado. Stainless steel, ring diameter: 9'.

Background

"NOAA was approached in 2005 to participate, with other science agencies and organizations in the area, in showcasing science themes and issues in small plazas that are incorporated into the exterior design of Twenty Ninth Street, the outdoor mall replacing Crossroads. NOAA scientists and outreach people formed a committee to work on this project with Macerich management, the mall developer, and local CommArts architect. For our assigned plaza, the NOAA committee decided to create a weather station display, which must be weather-proof and people-proof, as it must operate outside 24/7. Our idea is sculpture(s) or artwork(s) that either illustrate the actual weather in the plaza and/or ones that illustrate basic principles involved in atmospheric science."

- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 10 February 2006

Crane placing 2,000 pound sculpture onto concrete slab.		Sculpture after concrete poured over supporting framework.

How does a sundial relate to meteorology and atmospheric science? To begin with, the design of this particular sundial was motivated by the artist's interest in and knowledge of meteorology. In addition to being a functional time-keeper, this sundial serves as a useful model for explaining the tilt of the earth's axis, climate zones, and seasons. The gnomon is parallel with the earth's axis, and the ring is parallel with the equatorial plane. As the earth rotates, this sundial rotates with it, and the shadow cast onto the inside of the ring by the gnomon marks the time of day. With this 'earth model' the viewer has the opportunity to visualize the earth, and its relationship with the sun, from a new perspective. Marks on the gnomon can be used to observe the equinoxes and solstices, as the ring's shadow moves up and down the gnomon in the course of a year. The slot in the upper half of the ring allows the gnomon to cast a shadow onto the inside of the ring during the equinoxes, when all light falling on the lower half of the ring would otherwise be blocked. With proper explanation, in both text and graphics, this sundial can be a great educational tool.

This original sundial design combines the utility of time-keeping with sculptural aesthetics. Many viewers will be confronted with questions about the sculpture's stability. At first glance the sundial ring appears to be at rest, like a top on its side, with its gnomon keeping it from going all the way over. Further inspection will reveal that there is no visible connection between the gnomon and the ring, and at once the sundial seems unstable or held up by some mysterious force.

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Sculpture in the Park 2006
Thanks to all who made this a successful event

Seven pieces were displayed at Sculpture in the Park 2006.

see new work by KEN LEAP at ...   the 24th Annual Loveland, Colorado August 11th and 12th, 2007 Saturday 9:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Sunday 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. http://www.sculptureinthepark.org
Heralded as one of the finest outdoor juried exhibitions of three-dimensional artwork in the United States, Sculpture in the Park features the work of 180 sculptors from around the world...		KEN LEAP, 2006. Vorticity, limited edition. Stacked glass, steel, 22" x 22" x 11". (Shown at Sculpture in the Park 2006.)
--Loveland High Plains Arts Council

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refractive relief scultpure

a mathematically-defined, three-dimensional surface mapped onto a stacked-glass projection plane
		KEN LEAP, 2006. Landscape IV, limited edition. Glass, steel, 28" x 28" x 9".

What is refractive relief sculpture?

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Public Art

Confluence Yuma City Hall, Yuma, Arizona, 2004.
Ondas del Seno 1% for the arts commission, outdoor sculpture series, Skeen Hall, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico, 2002.
In Light of Justice II 1% for the arts commission, 4th floor atrium sculpture, Bernalillo County Courthouse, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 2001.
Metamorphosis: Mind and Matter 1% for the arts commission, outdoor sculpture, Eastern New Mexico University, Portales, New Mexico, 1999.

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Selected Gallery Work
Private Commissions
Creation of Awards

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Refractive Relief The mathematical art of Ken Leap by KARLA J. OTY Covery story of math HORIZONS

(click on image)

 

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