{"id":3183,"date":"2018-02-21T13:39:49","date_gmt":"2018-02-21T13:39:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/3acompositesusa.com\/\/blog\/?p=3183"},"modified":"2020-02-13T02:36:14","modified_gmt":"2020-02-13T02:36:14","slug":"leeds-artist-creates-incredible-arched-installation-for-oxford-university-museum-of-natural-history-using-dibond-aluminum-substrate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/3acompositesusa.com\/blog\/leeds-artist-creates-incredible-arched-installation-for-oxford-university-museum-of-natural-history-using-dibond-aluminum-substrate\/","title":{"rendered":"Leeds Artist Creates Incredible Arched Installation For Oxford University Museum of Natural History Using Dibond Aluminum Substrate"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nContemporary artist and graphic designer Ian Kirkpatrick<\/a> recently completed a commissioned piece for Oxford University Museum of Natural History. The piece was in response to the museum\u2019s temporary exhibition, \u201cSettlers: Genetics, Geography and the peopling of Britain,\u201d and featured a series of digitally printed Dibond aluminum composite panels.<\/p>\n

Although based in Leeds, Kirkpatrick is originally from Victoria, BC, moving to England with his wife over a decade ago. In his graphic design pieces he worked with archaeological themes with works that focused on Turkish and Egyptian design, themes that would inspire his works for years to come. His contemporary piece takes cues from ancient syntax but with a modern interpretation. As Kirkpatrick describes, \u201cI often contrast ancient and classical iconography with modern imagery in order to show parallels between past and present.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Ian<\/p>\n

In his works he utilizes a diverse palette of materials including corrugated cardboard, Perspex, vinyl, stainless steel and Dibond aluminum composite panels.<\/p>\n

\"Ian<\/p>\n

For the museum showcase, Kirkpatrick created a series of six panels, four of which are located at the museum\u2019s main entrance and the remaining two are located with the \u2018Settlers\u2019 exhibit. When describing his works he explains, \u201cI decided to produce a big panoramic artwork exploring the different causes and effects of human movement around the world. The piece is designed like a giant landscape filled with people moving in various directions \u2013 some of them fleeing conflict zones or famine, some migrating towards cities, some exploring new lands and frontiers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Ian<\/p>\n

The piece derives its inspiration from classical works as he further describes, \u201cMuch of the iconography is drawn from classical artworks like the Bayeux Tapestries, medieval manuscripts and Michelangelo\u2019s Last Judgment. There are also figures borrowed from Diego Rivera, Goya, Winslow Homer, Lucas Cranach, and Paul Gauguin \u2013 whose painting \u2018Where Did We Come From, What Are We, Where Are We Going?\u2019 provided the title of this piece. It seemed especially relevant given the theme of the show.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Ian<\/p>\n

Using software like Adobe Illustrator and AutoCAD he\u2019s able to create vector graphics and then scale them to size. And although the six panels are separated, they are intended to be viewed as a continuous loop, creating a large narrative. Kirkpatrick explains, \u201cThe narrative keeps repeating itself, and echoes the fact that the causes of human migration\u2014both positive and negative\u2014have been the same for thousands of years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Ian<\/p>\n

This was not Kirkpatrick\u2019s first experience utilizing Dibond as a substrate, he recently completed another large project using the material in Leeds<\/a>. When seeking out a material for the exhibition he was looking for something lightweight but rigid. He had worked with the printers\/fabricators at Dock Street Signs in the past and wanted to work with them again.<\/p>\n

\"Ian<\/p>\n

Interestingly, great care was taken in the installation due to the historical significance of the museum. The panels needed to \u201chover\u201d in the proposed arches as no holes could be drilled. The building manager derived a clever alternative utilizing wood batons that grilled the arches and allowed the Dibond to be bolted into a framework.<\/p>\n

\"Ian<\/p>\n

Kirkpatrick further describes, \u201cAlso I knew that people would be looking at this artwork up close, so I wanted a surface that would look super crisp and exact when printed. The Dibond panels I previously commissioned from Dock Street Signs had really impressed me up close. They weren\u2019t fuzzy or pixilated as you sometimes see with industrial digital prints \u2013 so I knew they would be perfect in this case too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Ian<\/p>\n

Due to the precise measuring of the archways where the panels fit, Kirkpatrick first measured the archways and created a \u201cpoint cloud\u201d which enabled him to redraw the arches in Illustrator. Knowing the measuring so precisely allowed him to create a full-size cardboard mockup to ensure each panel fit as intended, reducing human error. For this portion he worked closely with the museum\u2019s building manager, Peter Johnson.<\/p>\n

Kirkpatrick has gained international recognition for his now signature style of art. His colorful works and his depth of artistry are showcased in his unique palette of substrates. With his first public sculpture being debuted in Leeds and a skyscraper mural in Amsterdam, Kirkpatrick shows no signs of slowing down. Looking forward to his future works, 3A Composites is always appreciative to be a part of an artist\u2019s vision.<\/p>\n

information and photography courtesy of Ian Kirkpatrick <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Contemporary artist and graphic designer Ian Kirkpatrick recently completed a commissioned piece for Oxford University Museum of Natural History. The piece was in response to the museum\u2019s temporary exhibition, \u201cSettlers: Genetics, Geography and the peopling of Britain,\u201d and featured a series of digitally printed Dibond aluminum composite panels.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"no","footnotes":""},"categories":[94],"tags":[142,690,692,96,678,632,170,198,174,688],"class_list":["post-3183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dibond-projects","tag-art","tag-art-installation","tag-contemporary-art","tag-dibond","tag-dibond-aluminum-composite","tag-dibond-art","tag-digital-printing","tag-exhibition","tag-installation","tag-museum"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/3acompositesusa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/3acompositesusa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/3acompositesusa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/3acompositesusa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/3acompositesusa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3183"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/3acompositesusa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3183\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4258,"href":"https:\/\/3acompositesusa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3183\/revisions\/4258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/3acompositesusa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/3acompositesusa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/3acompositesusa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}