University of Arizona
The University of Arizona considers its Wildcats to be leaders, creatives, and problem solvers. Its Honors Village is set aside for the cream of this impressive crop – a living-learning community made up of those bursting with talent and poised to step outside the box. Grand Image could be likewise described, cementing a match made in heaven when American Campus Communities brought our art advisors onto the field of play. What has resulted from this collaboration is a higher education interior design that showcases the finest talents of our own ace achievers, spaces filled with cutting-edge custom design, and eye-popping 3D pieces.
Designed by SixthRiver Architects
Shell Building Architect: STG Design
Starting from the lobby, the iconic commercial art of a vintage age is given a 21st-century makeover with a commissioned trio of photographs printed on Chromalux white aluminum. A resolute cowboy forever hanging onto his bucking bronco, a giant saguaro soaring up into the night sky and a Tropicana-led cluster playfully represent Tucson's neon signs, suggesting there is still plenty of wild in the west.
Follow this corridor to its end to find a statement one-of-a-kind artwork that combines the wizardry of our digital studio with the tinkering talents of our 3D artists. As the blocks of this outsize creation spin, they combine to display the University of Arizona's logo or a Tucson sunset with the third side a complex tapestry of individual historic and student photographs in both monochrome tones and vibrant palettes.
From The Artist —
“The classic neon signs of Tucson was the inspiration for the 6 foot tall chromaluxe photos. The goal was to capture some of these iconic local gems, all lit up, yet just after sunset, with the deep blue sky behind them.”
— Mimi Payne on three large photos of neon signs
“I took photos of little snippets and characteristics of local Tucson neighborhoods: an angle of a familiar building, part a view you might see every day, or a sign you might pass while walking by. Kyle then painted on each Polaroid photo to make them their own unique piece of art.”
— Mimi Payne on painted polaroids
A further demonstration of how we love to burst through boundaries and sail out the other side is found on entering the dining area. The shimmer wall is never still, its hundreds of individually oscillating pieces bouncing the light around to mirror the energy of student living. From a distance, the spangled image is that of a local landscape but move in closer and you will see that each of the high-reflection sequins holds a separate image for an artwork that pushes the concept of intricately detailed off the scale. An original land-to-mountain-to-sky piece that displays bold colors and 3D layering to striking effect continues the strong sense-of-place theme and a celebration of the state's natural treasures.
The University of Arizona's distinctive 'A' logo is found all over campus but it has a unique representation on the second-floor balcony. Here hundreds of cassette tapes have been used to create a custom artwork that appears as one thing to the casual passerby but a whole rewarding other to the more inquisitive or observant.
From art advisors to studio managers, our entire team embraces collaboration, a philosophy that sees our artists frequently linking, mixing, and layering their imaginations and creations. The paint-embellished Arizona Polaroids that splice the genius of digital artist Mimi Payne with that of artist-in-residence Kyle Goderwis are the result of such unions. More can be found in the second-floor dining room where a pair of 3D mixed media artworks jump with energy, their abstract forms reminding the A1 academics that potential is limitless when you dare to deviate from conventional thinking.
