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Soo Sunny Park, Expanded Present
2021
Material: stainless steel and acrylic
The historic Smithsonian Arts + Industries Building (AIB) has been an incubator for ideas since it opened in 1881. Crossing its threshold is a kind of time travel: both back to the early years of the Smithsonian, and ahead to the FUTURES. To mark your crossing, Soo Sunny Park has responded to the building's brickwork architecture to create Expanded Present.
Using dichroic glass, a material invented by NASA, Expanded Present reacts to the natural conditions of the sunlight. As the hours, weeks, and seasons pass, and the sun changes position in the sky, the installation responds with different colors of light. Each moment is like a visual time stamp: a unique impression of color and pattern. During its nine-month installation, Expanded Present will look different to every person who looks at it -- just like the future itself.
Credit: Soo Sunny Park. Museum purchase through the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center with support from the Suzanne Nora Johnson and David Johnson Foundation |