Cloudbreak, 2010
Lindsey-Flanigan Courthouse, Denver, CO. 14’x14’x18in., glass, steel
The east wall of the Jury Assembly room is a colored glass image of light bursting from behind dramatic storm clouds seen through a layer of over 12,500 glass tubes that ‘push’ like a cloud through the metal frame of the wall in low relief. Each tube catches the bits of color of the pixilated image and causes them to swirl like a kaleidoscope animating the whole as the viewer moves. Lit by the sun in the morning, Cloudbreak changes throughout the day with the changing light. At night the image is visible through the exterior glass as it glows from the interior lighting.
In Cloudbreak, light is a metaphor for insight and clarity in justice. As potential jurists sit and wait for their selection and instruction, the sun from the outside glows from behind the clouds as if from a higher plane of awareness. The shifting color and light as it plays over and through the glass is a meditation on transcendent beauty and it calls on each individual to reach for his or her higher self while taking on the serious responsibility as a juror.
“Your Cloudbreak installation at the Lindsey Flanagan Courthouse in Denver is lovely. I recently spent four hours in the juror selection room, and most of that time was pleasantly passed while studying Cloudbreak. I was in there long enough for the outside light to change several times and was able to see how the installation captures and manipulates the light. Thank you for sharing this piece with the public.”
– Anne Bygrave
