3Doodler is sponsoring my installation at City of Night 2014!

From their website and Kickstarter campaign: "3Doodler is the world’s first and only 3D Printing Pen. Using ABS plastic (the material used by many 3D printers), 3Doodler draws in the air or on surfaces. It’s compact and easy to use, and requires no software or computers. You just plug it into a power socket and can start drawing anything within minutes.

...As 3Doodler draws, it extrudes heated plastic, which quickly cools and solidifies into a strong stable structure. This allows you to build an infinite variety of shapes and items with ease! Most people will instantly be able to trace objects on paper, and after only a few hours of practice you will be able to make far more intricate objects."

Please check out their website, videos, and blog!

The installation will be a two-part installation: the first with CAD/CAM produced biological structure; this will be CAD designed and CAM produced. Here is the concept sketch:

The installation will be a 3D printed evolution of drawings from a body of work that I have been producing over the last year. These drawings are “single line” drawings that begin at a nexus that proceed to wind and wend their way around themselves. As the lines undulate, they create the impression of depth and form, and the impression of topographic change arises.

The second part of the installation will consist of a 3D printed form based on the drawings that wraps up and around the hopper, without interfering with it. The material used will be filament, a cord-like biodegradable plastic (PLA) that will be glow-in-the-dark

The installation is a reference to the transition Buffalo has undergone in the course of its history, including its changing economy and role as a center of technological innovation, and, subsequently, culturally, and artistically.

As large scale forms within a confined space, the grain hoppers provide visually striking examples of Buffalo’s history of innovation. The hoppers contributed to the efficiency of the elevators, themselves and integral part of the cultural identity of Buffalo, past and present. This is especially true within the nearby First Ward, where generations of families worked within the elevators.

The use of space surrounding the hopper is an acknowledgement, framing, and celebration of Buffalo’s historical heritage as a center for innovation in architecture, industry, science, technology, and the arts.

3D printing and 3D technologies are providing a surge of new jobs and industrial opportunities across a number of markets and sectors, from biotech to aerospace. Powerful in its simplicity, the technological advance of 3D printing, like photography, also offers new avenues of artistic expression. This includes rapid fabrication of complex forms, using less time for more difficult geometry.

In other words, 3D printing offers greater efficiency of production, much like the hoppers.

The luminescent quality of the filament is a reference to the nature that has crept into Marine A over time. As the space has been preserved over time, plants and animals that thrive on little nutrition and light have co-inhabited the repurposed space, offering it a new ecological function.

The concept of the work refers to the process of Buffalo passing through a state of liminality, and emerging from a City of Night into, once again, a City of Light.

Degnan will have an installation featured at Marine A at ELAB's City of Night 2014 in Buffalo, NY, USA, http://www.cityofnightbuffalo.com/ .

"CITY of NIGHT, a one-night multi-disciplinary art event, takes place at a grouping of historic, privately-owned grain elevators on the Buffalo River, just off Ohio Street. Emerging Leaders in the Arts Buffalo toured the space in fall of 2011, envisioning a large art event there. What we did not know was the enormity of public response that was to follow: we hosted 3,500 attendees at our first event in September, 2012 and 12,000 at our event last July!

With art installations in and outside the grain elevators, live music, theater and dance performance, an art fair, interactive art and cultural booths, food trucks, beer and wine tent, and water taxi and bike valet, the event has something for everyone.

We are thrilled to be launching this, our third-year event, with a VIP Preview Night on Friday, June 27th, 8-11pm (tickets available soon) and main event on Saturday, June 28th, 4pm-1am. We are improving the infrastructure, adding new and incredible talent to the roster, and offering unparalleled experiences. Come share your CITY of NIGHT with us."