Eric Forman Studio
From June to December of 2020, I was the Design & Fabrication Assistant at Eric Forman Studio in New Lab in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
My responsibilities covered a wide swath of work: fabrication, photo and video production & documentation of the studio’s work, and multiple creative tech roles.
My responsibilities covered a wide swath of work: fabrication, photo and video production & documentation of the studio’s work, and multiple creative tech roles.
I handled the fabrication and programming of two light sculptures, with constantly varying duties of wood and plastics fabrication, assembling, wiring, and soldering LEDs; in addition to fabricating furniture for the studio.
2020
Dis/Connect (2021)
39" diameter x 16" high
Acrylic, brass, LEDs, electronics
Eric Forman Studio and Ben Luzzatto
Daniel Gross, Engineering
Brooklyn Law Incubator & Policy Clinic, Legal Partner
Selected as Honorable Mention in Fast Company's 2021 World Changing Ideas, Art & Design
Under a global lockdown, we rely more than ever on the technologies that enable remote connection. Our devices connect us to the virtual world, but they often disconnect us from people in the same room, even at the same table.
Very few of us have been successful at managing our device usage — they are, after all, designed to be always connected and with us at all times. It’s not that we can’t turn them off... it’s that we don’t. But what if we could control connectivity with the same ease with which we adjust the lighting and temperature in our homes?
The chandelier used to signify a highly formal space, but we have more pressing needs in our homes now. The Dis/Connect Chandelier casts not only light, but a space of mutual disconnection. Made from translucent acrylic that glows from within, each arm has RF jamming antennae instead of bulbs. The classic arrayed catenary curves of the hanging antennae cables reference traditional form, but it has a new purpose: it disables all cellular and internet connectivity within a five foot radius directly below, making IRL engagement automatically and effortlessly device-free for those who choose to sit under it.
Tangle (2021)
39"47" x 52" x 5"
Wood, 3D printed PLA, acrylic, LEDs, electronics, software
This work is the first in a series of geometric “tangled” forms that float off the wall. Each appears to be solid wood with plastic joints, yet unexpectedly illuminates from within. The series is part of an ongoing investigation of merging technology with natural materials, creating surprising juxtapositions of both form and behavior.
The shapes start as hand drawn sketches, then become 3D models randomized and mutated with a parametric process subject to both aesthetic and structural constraints. Those shapes are then selected and “cross-bred” while further tweaked by hand, in a back and forth between artist and software.
The geometry and light patterns of each sculpture in the “Tangle” series are intended to hover between organic and synthetic. The colors and shapes are derived from natural systems, manipulated to create shifting glowing patterns within. The first edition, shown here, is derived from the ocean: fluid dynamics, coral reefs, and aquatic life. The unfolding motion of a living system is abstracted into light behavior that seems ambiguously both alive and programmed.
