THE BLUES
Mike Nesbit, 2018
Concrete
Black Contemporary, Ames, IA
THE BLUES is a community-involved architectural and art installation situated amongst the ruins of structures of a defunct 1979 seed-drying facility in Ames, Iowa. The installation initiates a dialogue between art, the landscape, and the post-industrial environment.
THE BLUES is a literal approach to representing the transcendental high skies of the Midwest by pushing artistic techniques with precast concrete through the introduction of color as a means to produce abstract work that contextually captures the sublime scale of the region’s skies while situated within an underutilized site.
In total, there are four (10’-0” W x 12’-0” H) architectural precast panels in this installation. Each panel is a unique combination of a custom blue concrete pigment and white concrete. The precast panels for THE BLUES were produced in Omaha, Nebraska and transported to the site in Ames, Iowa. With the help of a local farmer and his equipment, the panels were hoisted from the truck and strategically placed on steel A-frames amongst the ruins of structures of the defunct seed-drying facility. The placement of the panels allows visitors to the site the opportunity to wander through the agrarian facility of industrial and machine-like structures and confront these mysterious blue and white concrete objects.
Mike Nesbit, 2018
Concrete
Black Contemporary, Ames, IA
THE BLUES is a community-involved architectural and art installation situated amongst the ruins of structures of a defunct 1979 seed-drying facility in Ames, Iowa. The installation initiates a dialogue between art, the landscape, and the post-industrial environment.
THE BLUES is a literal approach to representing the transcendental high skies of the Midwest by pushing artistic techniques with precast concrete through the introduction of color as a means to produce abstract work that contextually captures the sublime scale of the region’s skies while situated within an underutilized site.
In total, there are four (10’-0” W x 12’-0” H) architectural precast panels in this installation. Each panel is a unique combination of a custom blue concrete pigment and white concrete. The precast panels for THE BLUES were produced in Omaha, Nebraska and transported to the site in Ames, Iowa. With the help of a local farmer and his equipment, the panels were hoisted from the truck and strategically placed on steel A-frames amongst the ruins of structures of the defunct seed-drying facility. The placement of the panels allows visitors to the site the opportunity to wander through the agrarian facility of industrial and machine-like structures and confront these mysterious blue and white concrete objects.
Photos Courtesy of Mike Nesbit Studio: © Taiyo Watanabe
About the Artist:
Mike Nesbit is a fine artist based in Los Angeles. With a background in architecture, his multidisciplinary trajectory greatly informs his artwork, allowing Nesbit to explore areas between art and architecture with a focus on technique, repetition, and representation. Nesbit has participated in solo and group shows throughout the United States. He received a Bachelor of Architecture from the Southern California Institute of Architecture in Los Angeles and played four years of professional baseball with the Seattle Mariners.
www.mikenesbit.com
Mike Nesbit is a fine artist based in Los Angeles. With a background in architecture, his multidisciplinary trajectory greatly informs his artwork, allowing Nesbit to explore areas between art and architecture with a focus on technique, repetition, and representation. Nesbit has participated in solo and group shows throughout the United States. He received a Bachelor of Architecture from the Southern California Institute of Architecture in Los Angeles and played four years of professional baseball with the Seattle Mariners.
www.mikenesbit.com