Your story is important to us! If you are using Chrome, Firefox or Opera, share your story about light, color or magic and it will be played aloud in the PL!NK exhibition at the Crocker Art Museum.
PL!NK was on display at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, CA from July 23-October 29, 2017...come and check it out!
Inspired by kaleidoscopic configurations, PL!NK is a large-scale, site-specific, interactive installation that immerses children and their caregivers in a visual experience that is dazzled in color, light and reflection. An age-old, visual, interactive and immersive medium, kaleidoscopes are original devices of wonder that alter reality by elevating vision; they continue to fascinate audiences across boundaries of age and language. PL!NK inverts the kaleidoscopic experience by reversing the relationship between viewer and object inviting the viewer to enter into the inner structure of a kaleidoscope and immerse themselves in an expanded field of mirrors and transparent color facets combined with interactive audio and video stations. As viewers explore the installation, their movements and interactions generate form and content in real-time. The participation of the viewers amplifies the complexity of the experience.
PL!NK aims to engage an often-overlooked art audience aged 0-5 and their caregivers, and provide access to children to an art experience. The PL!NK installation encourages early childhood development through color, pattern, facial and self recognition; solitary, parallel, and cooperative play; and spatial learning. Additionally, an interactive storytelling station is integrated to support language development through memory and imagination. An activity station where participants can build their own shape-based, interlocking, sculptural elements that echo those throughout the installation inspires creative making. Remote participation is also possible through a custom website that faciliates children, caregivers and teachers to contribute stories that will be played in the physical museum space, thereby expanding participation beyond the museum walls.
Glenda Drew is an artist/designer/maker living in Northern California. She makes playful and interactive work that seeks to engage audiences and contribute to public good. A mother of two creative teenagers, she is currently a professor of design at University of California, Davis.
Jiayi Young is an Assistant Professor of Design at the University of California, Davis. She was born in Shanghai, China, and immigrated to the United States when she was a teenager. As an artist and designer, she creates large-scale installations that engage public participation for social good. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. She is also a mother of a 12 year-old.
Thank you to our fantastic project assistants: Emarie Burns, Julia Boorinakis Harper, Sungmin Yi, Alli Love, Linh Quan, Yijun Wang, Shuyang Ye, Weisheng Zhong
Special thanks to: Jeff Aldridge, Jesse Drew, Jeff Farley, Mark Kessler, Matthew Lechowick, Spencer Mathews, Jedediah Roach, Lauren Sheridan, Daria Taback, Sophie Young, The spectacular really wonderful Crocker Art Museum staff, TAP Plastics Sacramento, UC Davis Department of Design
Thank you to the following early childhood educators and specialists for consulting with us: Laura Bridges, Julie Fisher, Simona Ghetti, Camille Smith, Lorraine Weatherspoon.
Drop us a line and let us know what you think of PL!NK. We are excited to see where PL!NK goes from here!
glenda drew: glenda@redrocketmedia.com
Jiayi Young: jdyoung@ucdavis.edu