Border Crosser by Chico MacMurtrie/Amorphic Robot Works

ZERO1 is thrilled to commission artist Chico MacMurtrie/Amorphic Robot Works(ARW) Border Crosser during the week leading up to SB50.  Rising 40 feet from the ground and arching across an imaginary border before forming a bridge and touching down on the “other side,” Border Crosser is the first of a series of large-scale inflatable robotic sculptures that poetically explore the notion of borders by artist Chico MacMurtrie/ARW. Sculpturally and architecturally, the Border Crosser, when fully extended, refers to telecommunication and electrical towers. In performance, it is gently arching in one of three possible directions before eventually forming a bridge. This “bridging” gesture alludes to the equality of all humans and the desire for more connection. As a peaceful metaphor, Border Crosser invites the public to rethink the notion of borders in a globalized world.

Presented by ZERO1 and supported, in part, by Applied Materials, the City of San José Office of Cultural Affairs and the Lucas Artists Programs at Montalvo Arts Center, and Arizona State University Art Museum and Herberger Institute School of Art, Border Crosser will publicly debut on the plaza of San José City Hall January 31st - February 7th in the week leading up to SB50.

This will be the first interaction visitors will get with Border Crosser, but not the last. The sculpture will return to the Bay Area in fall when it will be featured as part of the 2016 ZERO1 Biennial.

Chico MacMurtrie/ARW would like to thank Dyneema® and Dahl's Equipment Rental for their generous support of the Border Crosser project.

Hours of Activation
January 31st: 12pm – 5pm
February 1st – 4th: 10am – 7pm
February 5th: 12pm –5pm & 7pm –10pm
February 6th–7th: 12pm to 7pm

Opening Reception: Come meet artist Chico MacMurtrie/Amorphic Robot Works and hear more about Border Crosser while seeing the project perform on City Hall Plaza.  Enjoy some light hors d'oeuvres, cash bar, and great company!

Date: February 3, 2016
Time: 5:00pm-7:00pm
Location: San Jose City Hall Plaza
Let us know you're coming! RSVP here.

 

       

 
January 31, 2016 to February 7, 2016

About Chico MacMurtrie/Amorphic Robot Works (ARW) 

For the last 30 years Chico MacMurtrie/Amorphic Robot Works have been creating metaphors with machines. MacMurtrie’s artistic inquiry is inspired by organic systems and by the desire to understand fundamental aspects of the human condition through dynamic technological bodies. Since 2005, MacMurtrie/ARW have focused on developing “soft machines” or inflatable robotic sculptures that engage their environment through cyclical air exchange and metamorphic transformation. 

Did you know?
MacMurtrie has deep roots in the Bay Area and San José in particular as his works were featured at the 1998 opening of The Tech Museum and at the ZERO1 Biennials in 2010 and 2012. In 2012, he and his collaborators, Geo Homsy and Bill Washabaugh, won the San Jose’s Climate Clock competition with Organograph, a proposed 75-foot tall kinetic sculpture that responds to climate change.

 

Opening Reception
Come meet artist Chico MacMurtrie/Amorphic Robot Works and hear more about Border Crosser while seeing the project perform on City Hall Plaza. 

Date: February 3, 2016
Time: 5:00pm-7:00pm
Location: San Jose City Hall Plaza
Let us know you're coming! RSVP here.