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Phillip K. Smith III and SOM team up to create light-up, reflective installation that mirrors its Californian landscape

2021-07-13T17:13:00-04:00

Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill (SOM) and American artist Phillip K. Smith III have collaborated to create a site-specific installation that literally mirrors life.

Commissioned by art collector Dallas Price and her husband, sculptor Bob Van Breda, Santa Monica Linear is a horizontal line of reflected sky inserted into a 110-foot vertical plane of lush, green landscape on the grounds of the couple’s home. Smith enlisted the help of SOM’s structural engineers in order to craft a perfectly level, extruded form, free from internal structural elements.

The resulting sculpture is a 30-foot-long, ultra-flat aluminum beam element, featuring a mirrored glass surface that sits on a 42-degree slope. Its positioning avoided the use of trucks and cranes, so it was installed by hand. The piece appears as a rectangle from one perspective, however, it is actually triangular.

By day, Santa Monica Linear narrowly reflects the sky and surrounding greenery. At night, internal LEDs create slowly shifti...

'Detroit Skybridge' lights up abandoned walkway with work by contemporary artist Phillip K. Smith III

2018-09-14T14:47:00-04:00

The 100-foot-long skybridge connecting two of Detroit's most iconic buildings has been brought back to life with the colorful, site-specific work of Phillip K. Smith III, who has transformed the abandoned passageway into a floating bar of light hovering above the streets of downtown Detroit.

Phillip K. Smith III's Detroit Skybridge, 2018; Acrylic, aluminum, LED lighting, electronic components, unique color program; Photo by Lance Gerber. Courtesy of the artist and Library Street Collective.

Sandwiched between the Guardian Building and One Woodward, the 16th floor passing was constructed in the late 70s to allow employees of the Michigan Consolidated Gas company and the American Natural Resources Co.—which occupied the two buildings—to pass freely. When the American Natural Resource Co. relocated in the 90s, decreased usage led to the walkway's subsequent closure and it has since sat abandoned.

Phillip K. Smith III's Detroit Skybridge, 2018; Acrylic, aluminum, ...

Take a look at these installations from this year's Coachella Festival

2016-04-21T18:38:00-04:00

Every April, music fans venture in droves to the High Desert outside of Los Angeles for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival – a veritable rite of spring for the selfie era.

And, like with any good spring bacchanal, the musical experience is often enhanced through the consumption of substances, licit or otherwise. But while imbibing may help you maintain stamina for the dance floor, it can also ramp up your internal body temperature (likely already elevated by the grueling desert sun).

Enter the architects and artists responsible for the latter half of Coachella's proper name. Tasked with designing structures that both shade and visually-entertain, the selected designers are given one of the more unusual – and fun – prompts around.

Here's a look at some of the structures that adorned the Empire Polo Club this year:

The Tower of Twelve Stories
Jimenez Lai (Bureau Spectacular)

Described in accompanying texts as a "a cartoonish metropolis of tiny bubble-like spaces populated by ecce...

Lucid Stead by artist Phillip K. Smith III illuminates Joshua Tree, California

2013-11-22T21:03:00-05:00

Now here's a little weekend inspiration. "Lucid Stead" is an art installation by Phillip K. Smith, III in the beautiful desert landscape of Joshua Tree in California. With some mirrors, LED lights, custom built electronic equipment, and Arduino programming, Smith transformed a 70-year-old homesteader shack into an architecture piece that complements and contrasts with its peaceful environment throughout the entire day.

All images courtesy of Phillip K. Smith, III; photographers: Steve King, Lance Gerber, Lou Mora (see image gallery below for details)