Cerebral
South Lakes High School STEAM Team
Installation on the Lake Thoreau spillway June 2022 I Aircraft cable, Barrel swivels, Dibond®, Leader wire, Paint, Solar panel, Wood
Watch videos of the installation by clicking here, and here. Videos by Sean Bahraini.
STEAM Team Public Art Club: Danna Atiya, Alex Barlund, Max Bisecker, Wailyn Chong, Caleb Correllus, Amanda Cornette, Kenzie Clifford, William Daly, Anne Erhlich, Madeleine Freeman, Joshua Garnett, Brianna Le, Aiden McHale, Lena Oschmann, Sofia Pakhomkina, Sophia Paradowski, Sophia Pick, David Raw, Anna Schoenborn, Emmalina Sjapeki, Rhiannon Stevens, Ghazal Tanavade, Aiden Tong, Andrew Wood
STEAM Team Statement:
“This sculpture recognizes the beauty and complexity of the human brain. It demonstrates how the brain functions as part of the ‘superintelligent force’ that is the human body, as different parts of the brain work to control the body’s regulatory processes, as well as thoughts, memory, emotion, motor skills, and more.
Cerebral challenges the idea that humans are either right brained or left brained. It displays the brain’s cohesiveness by depicting the brain and the body as a synergetic force, consistently collaborating to sustain life and promoting balance in the body through homeostasis.”
This project was realized under the guidance of Marco Rando, South Lakes High School Art/Design Teacher. Special thanks to Nick Abrash – solar consultant; Gaetano Rando Ling – Design Engineer with Google; JP Muller – sculptor and Vice President of OEC Engineering Corporation; James Pan – Lake Thoreau Entertainment Association; and David and Mary Prochnow.
Project Partners: South Lakes High School, Reston Association and Public Art Reston
Project Sponsors: E.T. Conrad, Lake Thoreau Entertainment Association, Mary and David Prochnow, Red’s Table, Reston Association, Public Art Reston, South Lakes High School, and the supporters of the STEAM Team Calendar Fundraiser.
Watch the STEAM Team’s presentation to the Reston Association Design Review Board. The presentation starts at 9:30 and ends at 26:00.
Photos by Sean Bahrami
Project History:
Cerebral is the 8th temporary installation realized by students at South Lakes High School (SLHS) for the STEAM Team public art club. Lake Thoreau resident James Pan approached Reston Association (RA) in 2012 with the idea of involving SLHS students in transforming the unattractive, concrete spillway platform into a work of art. With this initial financial funding, RA partnered with Public Art Reston to support SLHS art teacher, Marco Rando, who leads the STEAM Team after school club. Over the course of a school year STEAM Team members gain real world experience in all aspects of the design, development and construction of a work of art through a professional public art process. They create design concepts and present them for initial review by the Public Art Reston Public Art Committee and then to the RA Design Review Board for final approval. The final design is tested for durability and constructed by students at the high school where it is disassembled and then reinstalled on the spillway by RA staff for all community members to engage with over the course of the installation.