Thunderstorm

A Treklite Sculpture
By Joseph Huberman

Another awesome interactive sculpture that plasters smiles on people’s faces and sends kids screaming with delight into the thick of it.  This sculpture is designed for either First Night 2000 or Artsplosure 2000.

Suspended from buildings or trees Thunderstorm will move with the wind and in response to people running through and bouncing into the tubes.  A push at one side will cause a chain reaction from one suspended tube to the next throughout the sculpture.  People will know that someone is playing on the other side even though they can’t be clearly seen. 

Approximately 20 feet high and 30 feet long, Thunderstorm is made of inflated plastic and is attached to a blower.  The above picture is a rough digital sketch attempting to project the essence of the project.  The final form and dynamic capabilities can’t be predicted until construction begins and the characteristics of the materials are fully exploited.  This sculpture builds on other work that I have done -- combines the size of the Tubular Expressions work from Artsplosure 1996 and the dynamic play value from Floating Solids (Artsplosure 1999) to create the next giant step in interactive festival sculpture. 

The cost of Thunderstorm is $2000.  I will require suspension points either from trees or buildings and 15 amps of power to run a blower.  A volunteer will be needed while the sculpture is on display to promote safety and discourage vandalism.  (This sculpture does not use or spray any water despite its name.)