Windswept by Charles Sowers (2012)

Randall Museum fosters love of science

San Franciscan artist Charles Sowers turns aerial currents into a fun art exhibit at kids museum

San Francisco's Randall Museum is for children. Founded by Josephine D. Randall, who also established the first Girl Scouts troop in the US, it is dedicated to fostering a "love of science, natural history, and the arts."

So, it's apt that the exterior of the Randall Museum is the site for local artist Charles Sowers latest installation Windswept. The work, which opened earlier this year, consists of 612 anodized aluminium arrows that spin around in the city's breeze, showing the unseen flows and currents of air across the building's facade.

 

Windswept by Charles Sowers (2012)
Windswept by Charles Sowers (2012)

Sowers, who has a background in anthropology, says that he seeks "to provoke a sense of delight and wonder and reward extended observation." Windswept certainly does this. Though the piece looks childishly simple, it actually took Sowers four years to develop. "A year and a half was spent in designing and testing wind arrow designs," the artist tells Fast Co.Design.

 

Windswept by Charles Sowers (2012)
Windswept by Charles Sowers (2012)

To see Windswept in action, take a look at Sowers' video below, and for more environmentally conscious design art and architecture why not consider our book, Vitamin Green worth 450 points when you join Phaidon Club

 

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