Panopia 2005

5th District Police Station, Austin
City of Chicago
Department of Cultural Affairs
Public Art Program

Dimensions:
H 4' x W.10.’6”x 92’3” (122 x 320 x 2612 cm)

Elements:
Sine wave
Convex mirrors

Materials: Aluminum, convex mirrors, paint, mixed media.

Project Description:

A bold, undulating sine wave running the length of the lobby overhead inhabited by colonies of convex mirrors. This curious wave in “Chicago blue” evokes the communication so vital for the function of the Station. The wave signal is suggestive of the vital link between the public and the police and officer-to-officer. Passing through the lobby from end to end there is a sense of implied energy and continuity to the Austin community beyond the building and Chicago at large.

Consider the convex mirrors endowing this wave with all-encompassing wonder. Infinitively observant, the mirrors embrace the viewer and the lobby. They are aware and completely responsive to the dynamics of the moment, just like good police work. Never visually static, they track and indicate everything going on.

The mirrors for the Austin / 15th District Police Station are unique however. They form a colony not under our command of purpose but a universal amplification of visual capacity. Speculum creates an expansive embrace of vision, an all-inclusive diversity of perspectives.

This new work becomes the eyes of the station, dynamically interactive with everyone who sees it.

The lobby is metamorphosed into optical magic: a revelation reflecting both truth and infinity.

The moment, so vital to us all, is given new meaning.