About CLOUD

Photo credit: Doug Wong

CLOUD is a large-scale interactive sculpture created from 6,000 light bulbs, new and burnt-out. Constructed by Calgary-based artists Caitlind r.c. Brown and Wayne Garrett, CLOUD was on public display for one-night-only during Calgary’s first Nuit Blanche Festival. As part of the process of creating the sculpture, the artists collected burnt out incandescent light bulbs from local households, businesses, museums, and eco stations. The idea was to create an informal collaboration between the community and the artists, reduce costs, and experiment with the potential of items post-use.

A second edition of CLOUD is presently being constructed in Moscow, commissioned by Garage Center for Contemporary Culture. The piece will be on display as part of Art Experiment 2013 from January 2 – 23, 2013.

How CLOUD works: The steel substructure of the sculpture is covered in a skin of incandescent light bulbs (new and burnt out), and rear-lit from within by 250 compact fluorescent bulbs, pulling a total power of approximately 20 amps (the equivalent of two household outlets). Each of these bulbs is attached to a pull-string, allowing viewers to control the illumination of the structure – like lightning in the CLOUD above them.

Sponsors of the FIRST EDITION of CLOUD: Alberta College of Art + Design, The Nuit Blanche Foundation, The City of Calgary, Calgary Arts Development Authority, Calgary Public Arts, Calgary 2012, and The Awesome Foundation (Calgary chapter).

Sponsors of the SECOND EDITION of CLOUD: Garage Center for Contemporary Culture and Alberta Foundation for the Arts. Thank you to Alberta College of Arts + Design and Wayne Baerwaldt or ongoing support.

Photo credit: Doug Wong

CLOUD Interactions: Audiences are invited to interact with CLOUD through simple participation: ON, OFF, PULL. The piece utilizes familiar domestic objects (everyday light bulbs and pull strings), functional items commonly known and understood. And yet, CLOUD’s form and brilliance appear to strike the viewer on a more internal level, allowing them to loiter happily, mesmerized by the glow of the bulbs above them. Sporadic collaborations occur as audiences struggle to turn off and on the entire sculpture at once. Participating with CLOUD is a collective activity.

Photo credit: Caitlind Brown (2009)

CLOUD CREDITS:

CLOUD Artists: Caitlind r.c. Brown & Wayne Garrett

Nuit Blanche Director and Curator: Wayne Baerwaldt

Nuit Blanche Project Manager: Tatiana Mellema

Nuit Blanche Project Coordinator: Kris Weinmann

Nuit Blanche Head Technician: Ann Thrale

CLOUD Sponsors: Alberta College of Art + Design, The Nuit Blanche Foundation, The City of Calgary, Calgary Arts Development Authority, Calgary Public Arts, Calgary 2012, and The Awesome Foundation (Calgary chapter).

CLOUD Engineer Mentors: Jason Dyck and Evan Gillespie

CLOUD Base Carpenter: Lane Shordee

CLOUD Welders: Patrick Southgate and Wayne Garrett

Metal Shop Technicians: Jason Hussey and Hyla Stuijfzand

CLOUD Volunteers and other contributors: Clare Duckett, Svea Ferguson, Brendan Kane, Andrew Cook, Andrew Frosst, Keith Rodger, Mike Cordiell, Karilynn Thompson, Court Brinsmead, Lowell Smith, Evan Smibert, Daniel Kirk, Ivan Ostapenko, Eric Heitmann, Pamela Norrish, Ryan Monty, Rachael Brown, Angela Hurkot, Jack Bride, Dana Schloss, Kathleen Brown, Matt Allerdings, Charles, Kate, and Aiofe.

SPECIAL THANKS:

Mom + Dad, Wayne Baerwaldt, Tatiana Mellema, Ann Thrale, Kris Weinmann, Lewis Liski, Christina Mayder, Larry McDowell, Pamela Norrish, the rest of the Nuit Blanche Calgary artists, the Board of Nuit Blanche Calgary, Jasmine Antonick from Beakerhead, Rod from the Glenbow, Tim from Fort Calgary, Tony from the City of Edmonton, Paul from Think Green Solutions, Lauren Simms, Jason Hussey, the journalists who covered CLOUD for the Calgary Herald, the publications that spread the word during the Light Bulb Drive, and all the individuals who contributed burnt out incandescent light bulbs.