Lunar Drift 

– Rebecca Cummins & Paul DeMarinis – 

Lunar Drift, 2014

The Artists 

Rebecca Cummins

Cummins is a Seattle-based artist interested in the” sculptural, experiential, and sometimes humorous possibilities of light and natural phenomena”. Her projects often begin as an investigation, studying the physical properties and scientific aspects of light. She is an art professor at the University of Washington, having received a Ph.D. from the University of Technology, Sydney and an MA from the University of New Mexico. She has art exhibited all over the globe, including the U.S., China, Australia, and Europe. 

Paul DeMarinis

DeMarinis has been an electronic media artist since 1971and has created many performance works, sound and computer installations, and interactive electronic inventions. He is currently and art professor at Stanford University. DeMarinis received a B.A. in Music and Filmmaking Interdisciplinary from Antioch College and an M.F.A. in Electronic Music and the Recording Media from Mills College. His work has been performed internationally. 

The Sculpture 

Lunar Drift, 2014

Lunar Drift, by Rebecca Cummins and Paul DeMarinis, is a piece consisting of three parts: a series of photos of the moon – one for each day of 2014, a series of photos – four photos to show the sky at four times of the day for each of the twelve months, and two dials – one to show the moon’s placement in the sky and one to show the sun’s. Cummins is very interested in the ideas revolving the combination of art and science which was a prime intention when creating this piece. DeMarinis is interested in the concepts of turning natural elements of our universe into tangible, material objects. These two artists came together to create a piece that not only combined sculpture and photography, but intertwined science as well. The piece was created to “influence a ‘higher awareness'” to our place in the universe in reference to these celestial bodies: the moon and the sun.  

Lunar Drift 2014

Our Phases 

– Ren DiGangi, Eli Goldberg & Avindea Hanson –

Our phases is a collaborative response to the piece Lunar Drift, which illustrates how we as individuals coexist with the greater scheme of the universe, so my team and I are interested in recording and illustrating how this piece relates to us. Lunar Drift gives us a sense of placement, but we want to respond by giving the piece a sense of placement among our own personal universes. Each and every individual will respond differently when subjected to the same material, and what better way to demonstrate and exercise that than through our relationship to the broad universe, but with respect to our own internal universes. How do we as individuals interact with the moon? What does the moon mean to us? 

six eighteen

– Ren DiGangi – 

six eighteen, 2017 (collage)

The piece, six eighteen, is a mosaic-like collage of the moon on June 18th, 2014. This date is incredibly significant to me and the development of my life. The moon stands as a symbol for emotions, and June 18th was a date falling nearly a week after the full moon, a time of culmination of ones’ intentions and desires. This phase of the moon represents the resolution of what was wished for at the new moon. The idea behind creating a collage for this piece was to visually represent the fragmentation of memory over time. Although we are aware of what occurred on certain dates and in memories, we can never fully experience them again. This idea is a nod at Cummins and her fascination with the concept of time. 

Moon Goddess

– Avindea Hanson –

Moon Goddess, 2017 (watercolor)

This watercolor piece, Moon Goddess, is my take on the piece, Lunar Drift. When I think of the moon and its phases, I think about how much energy it takes for the sun, moon, earth, and planets to move on their axis. I imagine a goddess controlling the moon, like an omnipotent being who can change the way the shadows are cast upon the moon.

Untitled

– Eli Goldberg –

Untitled, 2017 (digital)

In this response to Lunar Drift, I aimed for an artistic piece that encapsulates my mental reaction to the original installation. The project is composed of three circles. They represent the three celestial bodies that are most important here on earth, as well as the most important in the installation. In the background is a loose, colored painting of the moon. Overtop the moon is a line art illustration of the earth, with the united states facing outward. Directly centered over bellingham is the third circle. Ringed in colors evocative of the sun is a drawing of me, looking up and directly toward the center of the circle. I am standing on the red bricks of the plaza overlooking bellingham bay, though it is not apparent from the picture. The perspective is orthographic, so my head is directly in proportion to the rest of my body, and to the bricks below. 

This piece made me realize that the moon would lie under the ground from me, on the opposite side of the globe, when the sun was overhead. That is why the earth is a line drawing, to enable the viewer to see for themselves the fact that the moon lurks unheeded even during the bright day. The ultimate goal in this piece was to represent myself accurately and in a familiar setting, while contrasting it with unfamiliar scope and relativity.