Introduction

The three Windseed sculptures, commissioned for the Brooklyn Botanic gardens and standing 12ft, 10ft, and 8ft tall respectively, all emanate from the same geometric structures. Windseeds each work with 80 angular spikes jutting out from a convex polyhedron, further defining Mooney’s signature starburst within the context of the natural urban environment of BBG.

Concept

Windseeds substantialize shapes and surfaces the artist gleans from nature and science. Derived from 'Smoke,' one of Mooney’s early sketches, Windseeds give volume and mass to a line-and-dot composition which reflects Mooney’s studies of natural elements. The spikes attached to a core structure transform clustering patterns on paper into a three-dimensional entity, blurring the lines between sublime artificial objects and natural things. A silver dandelion-shaped metal mass, the sculpture celebrates repurposed man-made objects inspired by nature.

Artist Statement

Mooney, who makes works that are at once physical and metaphysical, says his sculptures “connect our personal sense of self with the larger rhythms and patterns found in the natural world, and give context to our place within the greater universal mass that surrounds us.” With a notable scale and rather uniform aesthetics, Windseeds creates a space for people to walk in and around, thus calling upon our spatial experience with the matter around us.

Team:

Artist: Norman Mooney Art

Photographers: Alexander Barreto, Haoming Li