the transformation of light into color in this artwork represents a dialogue between the art and the power of the sun

'split spiral' by philadelphia-based designer ray king is an exterior wall-mounted sculpture that consists of a curved stainless steel armature. arranged in criss-crossing spiral pattern, the installation wraps the south east corner of the façade of the ustar bioinnovations center at utah state university in north, logan, utah.

attached to the armature are glass discs laminated with a metallic holographic film that that splits white light into brilliant color when struck by sunlight and exhibits a shimmering iridescence, similar to luminous fish scales. as an icon of nature and technology, the artwork references the natural phenomenon of the diffraction of light and geometric patterns found in nature and botany, and represents the scientific research conducted within the facility.

the artwork represents the scientific research being conducted within the building

split spiral - a sculpture by ray king
video courtesy in secret arrangement

the phyllotaxis/fibonacci pattern found in many plants native to utah

the refractive nature of this glass responds to sunlight, capturing and dynamically refracting light and chromatics, depending on the angle of light and the orientation of the viewer. the colors change as the viewer moves in space. the colors and materials are complementary to the corrugated zinc screen façade. the glass discs face both east and south to form a phyllotaxis/fibonacci pattern found in many plants native to utah; they capture and reflect sunlight throughout the day.

the dynamic visual transformation of light into color represents a conversation between sunlight and materials, and creates rainbow-like emanations that shift and change as the viewer moves or as the light source changes. the spiral shape is also a nod to the artist robert smithson’s spiral jetty earthwork located nearby in utah’s salt lake.

long view of the artwork

medium shot of south side facade

close-up shot of split spiral

artwork interacting with the sunlight

up view shows the cantilevered armature 

east side view

long view of east side

the south split