Rise & Set

The entrance to the Art Center transforms into a narrative adaptation of a sunrise and sunset with a two-story installation by Ken Fandell and Diana Guerrero-Maciá. Appropriating the quick and simple candor of a child describing the natural phenomenon, the daily occurrence becomes something novel as seen through fresh eyes. The playful text jumps from yellow on the dark blue wall of the first floor foyer (representing dawn) and then inverts and darkens into blue text on the bright yellow wall on the second floor (representing dusk). Seen from outside, the artwork’s striking color shift intrigues and invites visitors to enter and literally read the writing on the wall. From inside, the work reacts to the Art Center’s architecture by rising and setting in the north side staircase. Fandell and Guerrero-Maciá create a conceptual rendition of a traditional landscape artwork. The text “itwasblueandpurpleandthenitwaspinkandthenitwasyellow,” and its inverse “itwasyellowandthenitwaspinkandthenitwaspurpleandblue,” act as a literal translation of the sun itself, boiling its spectacular magnitude and movement across the sky down into a compact and lively narrative loop. We see this clever interpretation elevate and descend with the same child-like simplicity and bright enthusiasm.