Doves for Peace
The 1000+ square foot expanse of drab grey hallways at Austin’s 4200 North Lamar Weitzman headquarters posed an incredible opportunity for me to experiment with the interplay between mosaic installations and painted mural graphics in a dynamic and fresh new way.
Picking colors for all the walls, developing three main concepts for the big three hallways downstairs, I ventured to have a sense of cohesion throughout both stylistically, and by process and palette, though without getting boring and ensuring new surprises await visitors and tenants alike around each turn.
Landing on the concept of Doves for Peace for the main hallway, akin to Japan’s Sasaki Sadako’s 1000 origami cranes for peace, I wanted to start a series with a powerful message of good intention that can be recreated all around the world.
Engaging forgotten spaces, inspiring wonder and activating hope for peace and joy, these digitally-inspired pixel art mosaic cutouts seem to take flight down the hallway, beckoning for a second look, to run your hand across the glass tile, and for the flick of a photo on your camera phone.
Utilizing modern technology to inform ancient mosaic fabrication techniques, the doves accurate depiction is made possible only with the powerful color computing of Adobe Photoshop, and thereafter expressed as if an impressionist painting, giving the viewer a slightly blurred image, with unique moments and emotion, though undeniably dove-like in form.
Working with a small team of artists and friends over about a month’s time, we cutout the shapes, laid the tiles, glued and grout them in place, and installed them on-site, filling the 100 ft long hallway, though not before painting the background graphic and drop shadows for added depth and dimension and the much needed accent splash of color to complete the illusion.
Figuring out how to hang 80 pound artworks safely, grouting the birds in my living room because it was too cold outside, carefully grinding all the sharp edges, and making sure that the painted shadows aligned perfectly with the birds were all challenges that required a ton of logistical checks along the way.
One of three main hallways, this area certainly set the tone, opening up the space to feel light and airy instead of drab and “prison-like” as before. It was the result of the outgoing initiative and trust by the Weitzman reps in my concept and ability to pull off such a challenging project with so many layers. Putting some love, positive energy and hard work towards redefining a space can truly transform the experience of place by everyone, from one-time visitors going to the bathroom, to daily-use tenants who walk the hallways multiple times each day.
It is my hope that the transformation is met with open eyes and that the project will result in brighter days for all.
