Haddad | Drugan
Floe
Floe is inspired by the unique ice forms of Wisconsin’s lakes and rivers, as well as the movement of wildlife across and through these waterways in formations including flocks, murmurations, and shoals. From various viewpoints the suspended sculpture presents different vignettes as exemplified by the sublime transformation of water and wildlife. The artwork will create embodied experiences where viewers feel as if they are emerging from underwater as they rise through the building, as in Houdini who used to practice holding his breath in the Milwaukee River.
Acrylic, metal, and dichroic glass pieces are hung on cables attached to a branching stainless steel frame evocative of fanning tributaries of the Milwaukee River Watershed that feeds Lake Michigan.
At the low end of the installation, elliptical acrylic discs are dispersed and perfectly level, resembling broken sheets of ice floating across a lake.
Over the escalator, the acrylic pieces become spaced closer together and are circular in shape and stacked with rings. These are inspired by “pancake ice” that floats close to the shore with pieces bumping against each other to smooth, round, and thicken their edges.
At the top of the escalator, the acrylic transitions to irregular shapes that tilt up diagonally. These become sharper and more vertical toward the sculpture crescendo, where they will have prismatic beveled edges. This section is inspired by ice shards formed when waves crack, push, and stack broken sheets of ice together at the shoreline.
Emerging from the escalator at the Exhibit Level of Baird Center will be as if “breaking the ice” to a new experience. Floating on the cables both above and below the acrylic ice layer are formations of mirrored stainless steel and dichroic glass triangles that will catch light and gentle air currents.
About Haddad | Drugan
Laura Haddad and Tom Drugan’s collaboration as an artist team began in 2001 and has fostered a wide range of innovative site-specific public art commissions and plans. Their Seattle-based studio, Haddad|Drugan LLC, operates at intersections of art, architecture, landscape, and theater, and includes collaborators adept at detail design, computer modeling and drafting, physical modeling, and graphics.
Haddad|Drugan specializes in creating conceptually driven site-specific art that is often integrated into large-scale infrastructure projects. Past and current work includes art for stormwater utilities, transportation projects, architectural facades, industrial artifacts, museums, libraries, urban plazas and parks. Their award-winning work has been published in Sculpture, Architectural Record, Landscape Architecture, Eco-Structure, Landscape Journal, Land Forum, and other publications.
Haddad and Drugan have taught at the Rhode Island School of Design and University of Washington and lectured in venues across the country. Their training in architecture and landscape architecture helps them to successfully translate art concepts to large scales, respond to contextual conditions, and integrate environmental processes into work that performs aesthetically, functionally, and ecologically.
Laura Haddad has a master’s degree in landscape architecture from University of California, Berkeley and a bachelor’s degree in history from Bowdoin College. Her background also includes jewelry and stage set design. She has recently served as a member of the Seattle Design Commission and Seattle Public Art Advisory Committee.
Tom Drugan received a master’s degree in landscape architecture from Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Colorado. His background includes sustainable building, filmmaking, and lighting installations.
