Client: DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities

Overview

Five Easy Pieces is a playful installation that fills the atrium of the Washington D.C. Convention Center. The installation consists of five separate sculptures installed in the 100′ tall atrium space made from actual: guitars, tennis racquets, kayaks, bicycles, and bar stools. These works can be viewed from various levels using the stairs, escalators, balconies and bridges. The largest of the five sculptures is 16’ in diameter.

Goals

Artist Donald Lipski grew up in Chicago where his father was in the bicycle business. As a young boy his father would take him to the convention center for various shows: the bike show, the toy show, the sporting goods show. These visits left an impact on Lipski who throughly enjoyed the experience of visiting the convention center, which felt to him like a pleasure palace. Inspired by these experiences Lipski decided to make sculptures out of pleasure objects, creating a unique experience for viewer. The complex design of the atrium space includes 100’ tall ceilings, balconies, parapets, bridges, and escalators. In response to this Lipski created a mobile like design where each sculpture is suspended by a single cable so that it spins slowly in the wind with the air from the air conditioning system allowing the sculptures to be viewed from all angles while creating a unique viewing experience.

Process

Public Art Services provided the following services: Budget management, Engineering coordination and oversight, Installation services, Scheduling, Project close-out.