ABOUT SOLARCIRCUS

There are three main components to solarCircus.  The solarCircus project is not one particular “thing” but rather a collection of related creative activities: hands-on workshops, nomadic solar-powered installations, and online performances.  There is an entire website, solarcircus.org, devoted to the documentation of this project.

1)    DIY Solar Sculptures workshops: The artist has run two DIY Solar Sculpture workshops with funding from Chicago’s Museum for Contemporary Art and Northern Illinois University.  The most recent workshop was held in Hong Kong in November 2009 as part of the Microwave Nature Transformer festival.  More images and information can be found at solarcircus.org.

These three-hour short courses provide an introduction to how solar cells work, and also provide a hands-on demonstration of how to “hack” a solar toy to re-use the moving parts in one-of-a-kind kinetic objects.  Like the installation, the workshops provide an informal and fun context for eco-dialogue.  Future workshops will attempt to engage students in creating one-of-a-kind objects for deployment outside for a short performance. (More info: http://www.mcachicago.org/programs/prog_detail.php?id=472)

2)    Large-scale artist-produced portable solar art installation: The aim would be to have a large, ever-expanding, 10 x 10 foot sun-powered installation that would be deployed differently in each context.  See an early experiment from summer 2009 that shows a lawn installation of sun powered sculptures.

3)    Online performances: Live performances will be broadcast using both sun power and good old batteries.  The website might also feature video performances conducted using nonrenewable energy such as coal-powered electric lamps.  An online collection of various solarCircus events will provide documentation of the live events and also attempt to involve online viewers in the curious objects and eco-dialogue.

There are two overall goals to this project:

1)    Foster eco-dialogue: The artist would attempt to interest the general public in solar power via engaging hands-on activities and/or public spectacle.  Public deployment of the SolarCircus in various urban and rural locations could enable casual conversation, allowing the artist to engage passerby in dialogue about solar energy and renewable energy resources.

2)    Create expanded opportunities for artistic experiments with technology in public space: The artist’s prior work in engaging the public in ecological conversation has been mostly indoors where computers and display devices exhibited custom software that visualized real-time energy usage.  The artist looks forward to pushing her work to move literally outside—with a little help from the sun.  Although the artist plans to continue her visualization experiments, she is eager to begin exploring the possibilities of art powered through renewable resources.