Human Scale Class Prepares for Art Gallery Installation

Students in Matt Martino’s Human Scale class have been collaborating to create an interactive art installation for the Phoebe Stiles King ’49 Gallery in the Math & Science Center. This week, they presented their work so far to a panel of faculty critics.

The students in this advanced design studio class — Charlie Hutchinson ’23, Ava Penizotto ’22, Zach Rempell ’22, and Sophie Schramm ’22 — explained that they chose to design their installation around a theme that is important to them — mental health. They led faculty members Kate Muttick and Jeanine Erickson through their first rough sketches and earliest prototypes, and showed how creating a scale model of the Phoebe Stiles King ’49 Gallery was an important step in the planning process.

Each student has been working on a different aspect of the installation, which will feature geometric tile patterns, colorful glasswork, a laser-cut bust filled with ping pong balls, and a tensegrity table (in which the forces of tension and compression create the illusion of a floating table).

The students said that they will represent their themes by incorporating different colors, a contrast in materials as well as scale, and an appeal to different senses. Above all, they are planning to design a gallery installation that is interactive.

Look for their finished work in the Phoebe Stiles King ’49 Gallery in early- to mid-May.