'1/4 Mile Arc' Was One of 2016's Best Public Art Installations
Phillip K. Smith bridges the gap between humanity and nature.
Last month, Phillip K. Smith III debuted a memorizing art installation on California’s Laguna Beach. Titled 1/4 Mile Arc, the piece stretched along the Main Beach from November 4-6 and explored the ideas of perception, light, geometry and time which are all trademarks of Smith’s work. Constructed from nearly 250 10-foot mirror-polished stainless steel posts, the public display was arranged in an arc on the beach and spanned from the end of the boardwalk in front of the Hotel Laguna to the access ramp in front of the lifeguard station close to The Inn at Laguna Beach. Each side of the individual posts were three inches wide and they were planted four feet apart from one another to form the arc above the high-tide line.
The man-made marker reflected upon the constant hustle and bustle of beach goers and nature alike — changing colors to flow with sunbathers, the ocean, shoreline and sky.
The artist also designed Reflection Field and Portals, large-scale installations showcased in the desert at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 2014 and 2016 respectively.
Check out the video above and let us know what you think of public art installations like these.