Sky Fountain
Temporary art installation in the time of drought
Stanford University
Painted by undergraduate students
with artist Sukey Bryan
Sky Fountain: Temporary art installation in the time of drought
2015
White Memorial Fountain (the Claw), Stanford University
White Memorial Fountain outside of the Stanford Bookstore was sadly empty of water during the drought. Stanford students, under the direction of artist Sukey Bryan, created a 35’ painting on canvas they installed temporarily along the bottom of the pool. The painting of a few floating rainless clouds in a deep blue sky depicts the drought sky.
Though the cause of this particular drought is complex, droughts worldwide are becoming more extreme from global warming and climate change. This piece turns our attention to the atmosphere where we are working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“Sky Fountain”, a temporary public artwork in one of Stanford’s most beloved locations, brings together public experience, artistic expression and environmental and climate issues.
Photo credit: James Dewrance and Will Brooks
The piece is a kind of visual pun. It echoes the way sky would be reflected in the surface of water if the pool were filled. Also, it is an altered visualization of the empty pool filled with air, now filled with sky. Looking down into the empty pool, we are looking up into the sky where we look for rain to come.