Shimmer

2018, Permanent Sculptural Commission
powder coated steel, LED lights, motion sensors

GEORGIA MUSEUM OF ART
University of Georgia
Athens, GA

Shimmer is a 64′ interactive sculptural installation using LED lights programmed to mimic the siphonophore, a deep sea creature that sends trails of bioluminescent light to confuse predators. Motion sensors pick you up as you approach, and the light shifts. You trigger the disturbance. You are not watching the system, you are in it.

This project was part of Rutstein’s tenure as the 2018-19 Delta Visiting Chair for Global Understanding at the University of Georgia, an annual award given to leading global scholars and creative thinkers who conceive and produce ground breaking collaborative works. Rutstein’s collaboration with oceanographer Mandy Joye included a joint expedition at sea and deep sea dive in the submersible Alvin to the ocean floor 2,200 meters below, in the Gulf of California off the coast of Mexico, funded by the National Science Foundation.

This project was generously funded through the Delta Visiting Chair award with a gift from the Delta Airlines Foundation. The chair is founded upon the legacy of the Delta Prize for Global Understanding, which from 1997-2011 was presented to individuals – including Nelson Mandela, Mikhail Gorbachev, Desmond Tutu, and Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter – whose initiatives promoted world peace by advancing understanding and cooperation among cultures and nations.

Shimmer was permanently acquired by the Georgia Museum of Art in 2020.