God does not play dice

God does not play dice, Krannert2 4 ft cubes
acrylic paint, paper, ink, foam

This piece, installed for several months in front of the Krannert Art Museum at the University of Illinois, is now being rebuilt for an installation in a residential neighborhood in Urbana, IL.  The dice are covered with AIDS statistics, everything from deaths to infection rates to the impact of orphans and economic ruin on world security and terrorist threats.  They are only visible in the dots.  The piece is also a reference to Einstein’s quote, “God does not play dice with the universe.”  But if he doesn’t, then how do we account for our luck and others’ misfortune?  And how do we do anything to change things?   This piece was our most interactive to date, with viewers constantly moving and playing with the incredibly light dice.  It is also what inspired, to some extent, our apparel line, and is similar to where we hope to go in the future with our work.

God does not play dice, frontGod does not play dice, article

by on October 14, 2007 at 11:32 am
Gross Domestic Product and Population Statistics, 2002: USA, Cuba, Iraq, Great Britain, Zambia, Ethiopia, Germany, China,

GDP, front

10 ft x 20 ft x 10 ft
aluminum, copper, wood

Shown here in its 2 month installation between the Law Building and the Art and Design Building at the University of Illinois, this piece was later moved to a six month international sculpture show in Galena, Illinois. It used statistical information to represent the wealth and populations of countries around the world, placed in their positions on a map. GDP, topThe USA was 9.5 ft tall (GDP) and 20″ in diameter, ethiopia was 12″ in diameter and a single sheet of metal, and China was 14 ” tall and 40″ in diameter, to give you an idea of the differences. Iraq and Afghanistan, very close to one another, were less than half an inch tall.

by on at 11:21 am
Blades of Grass: AIDS Child Fatality Statistics, 2002

Blades of Grass, front18 boxes, 6 ft x 2 ft
paint, grass, wood, aluminum

Installed first at the 2003 Artists Against AIDS exhibition and then for 3 months between the Art and Design and Law buildings at the University of Illinois, this piece had a profound impact on many of its viewers.  A complete life cycle, from low grass to high to death to reseeding, it represented the approximate number of children under 12 to die of AIDS in 2002 (over 60,000).  Blades of Grass, perspectiveEach blade of grass stood for a child, and the statistics were created using a method of sqare footage, approximately 3000 blades per square foot.  This is, unfortunately, a little too similar to the ways in which we estimate AIDS deaths.  Regions, places, times, but no concrete information.  A little too ironic, perhaps, but tragic nonetheless.

by on at 11:02 am