Simon Patterson commissioned for the Open University(23/03/2005) |
A new artwork by Simon Patterson, entitled Gort, klaatu barada nikto, has been commissioned by the Open University for their new Chemistry and Planetary Sciences Department in Milton Keynes and is about to be installed. The building has been designed by architects Ridge and Partners. The scientists are engaged in an adventurous project of sending a probe, as part of the NASA Cassini spacecraft, on a seven year, 2 billion mile journey to Saturn’s moon, Titan. Simon’s commission, a series of aircraft runway lights leading to the entrance of the building, is wry and paradoxical, countering the serious work going on inside the building and somewhere out in space. For those not familiar with alien language, the title Gort, Klaatu barada nikto is a line drawn from the 1951 sci-fi movie, The Day the Earth Stood Still. |