THE W.E.T SEAT BLOG

TIME LAPSE

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 09:25:07 -0400

Check out our time lapse video of the constructing and transportation phase, and the long anticipated opening night.

OPENING DAY: INTERACTION

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 20:26:42 -0400

On Thursday June 23rd, the opening of SEAT: an outdoor chair show was released to the public. The activity, energy, and attention that W.E.T received was overwhelmingly unexpected and very exciting for our whole team. We were there all day setting up the lighting for W.E.T to prepare for the 5:30 opening. Just in the last moments, the morse code buttons illuminated the 8 bright LEDs in the “hull” of our sculpture. W.E.T Seat is finally alive after a long 6 months! The evening was incredible with socializing, celebrating, and revisiting our worst and best times with our experience and process.
Along with a great crowd of locals (artists, students, families, and elderly) we were also visited by the familiar strong winds of San Francisco at the end of Fort Mason. This turned into a blessing as people started asking, “What’s that noise?” As we leaned our heads closer, an unexpected characteristic of W.E.T was discovered. The different directions of wind currents collaborated with the different orientations of the hollow flutes between each polycarbonate piece. Our instillation surprised US with rhythmic vocals capturing an element of San Francisco. As W.E.T interacting with its environment, users are subjected to a multi-sensory experience.

THE MIRROR EFFECT

Sat, 18 Jun 2011 09:16:48 -0400

The plexi glass mirror was etched by the CNC machine, the same tool used to cut the individual pieces of polycarbonate. This process takes off the material that creates the ability for the plexi glass to reflect images. So these parts that are now etched away are see-through. Then we painted the back of these areas black so they now read black instead of clear. This will create a contrast between the mirror reflecting many colors (blue sky, grey clouds, colorful people) with the black patterns of the morse code and bar code.

BUILD AND LIGHT

Sat, 18 Jun 2011 09:01:51 -0400

We are walking you through many of the aspects of W.E.T SEAT that you will be experiencing as well in 5 days! First, we give you a sneak peak of what you will be seeing when our seat is installed: Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge.
Then, you can watch us start to build our final model in our messy workshop! This is part of the construction process of gluing and stacking for many hours and making sure each piece is perfectly in place. And lastly, lights are added into the first half of the structure. Kind of like a big glowing fish in the deep of the water.

W.E.T BREATHS: CONSTRUCTION PHASE BEGINS

Wed, 1 Jun 2011 22:49:48 -0400

The construction phase has begun and we are all excited. Before we could start gluing however a lot had to be done. Each edge of each piece was very rough as the CNC machine left “scales” behind. Aesthetically we all liked this aquatic accidental aspect, but for those who utilize W.E.T as a seating device, this may lead to discomfort. The pieces were shaved off with small electric hand sanders, manual sand paper, wire brushes and exacto knives. A long process that creates a beautiful product. With care and precision, a magnificent design can be produced!

Each piece was cleaned, our work area was prepped, and the stacking began...