Collaborative ‘Cupola’ project blends art, engineering, and music in mobile spectacle

Article reproduced from the UGA Office of Research News

Last summer, the Lyndon House Arts Center played host to an exhibition led by Martijn van Wagtendonk, an associate professor in the University of Georgia’s Lamar Dodd School of Art. Titled “Cupola: a Collaboration,” the sculpture began as a class project and grew into an oddly satisfying collection of objects, motion, and music.

The collection is an eclectic mix: There are 25 bells at the center, whose echoing chimes create an ethereal air in the open hall; a two-headed dragon made of papier-mache; a ghost and a ladybug; crochet flowers. The cupola, which is inspired by Italian Renaissance architect Filippo Brunelleschi, stands 17 feet tall. Over 45 students and faculty from a range of disciplines contributed, integrating engineering, science, language, music, philosophy, and kinetic sculpture and architecture.

 

“Making is thinking,” van Wagtendonk said. “The Cupola project shows what happens when a group of student makers begins to think.”

Experience the art in the video above and view an extended video about the project here.