Anne Patterson creates art at The Venetian
Hanging from the 55-foot ceiling of the Waterfall Atrium of The Venetian is a stunning immersive art work by Anne Patterson that suspends 32 miles of satin ribbon. Yes, that’s 32 miles — not a 3.2 miles typo.
“It’s a commissioned piece that is tailored to the uniqueness of the atrium space, celebrating the vertical volume, water and natural light,” said Lisa Marchese, chief marketing officer of The Venetian and the Palazzo properties. “This piece, with its bold color palette, creates a beautiful contradiction and complement to what already exists in the space giving people a reason to smile and something to return to.”
“Another Sky” is designed with 3,590 strategically placed strands of reflective ribbon in 15 colors ranging from navy to plum to Navajo turquoise and emerald.
The installation can be enjoyed from the floor of the atrium, where ribbons meditatively sway above, or for a more immersive experience, guests can view the kaleidoscope of blues and greens from the balcony level. The artist says the grand scale of the piece gave her the opportunity to provide viewers a “radically different” view from every side.
“The look and feel changes as the day progresses,” said the artist. “As light shines in through the skylight and the air stirs through the space hitting the ribbons, they dance and create a melody of movement.
“My goal is to have the audience experience art in a new, deeper way.”
Anne began her career designing sets and visual accompaniments for orchestras. Her first major art installation, “Graced With Light — The Ribbon Project,” at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, was installed in 2013 and met with critical and popular success.
The installation was developed in association with Culture Corps, an organization that offers unrivaled access to art and cultural programming, specializing in classic art advising and tailor-made activations for clients in hospitality, entertainment, corporate and real estate industries.
“Another Sky” is The Venetian’s latest entry into the Las Vegas public art scene. Last September, the resort commissioned “LOVE,” a larger-than-life installation created by celebrated artist Laura Kimpton as part of her Monumental Word Series. Standing 13 feet high, “LOVE” was on display at Life is Beautiful festival in downtown Las Vegas, after which it was moved to the resort’s Waterfall Atrium. The Venetian also worked with Culture Corps to identify and license digital artwork from prominent artists that is featured on screens throughout The Dorsey, a new cocktail bar inside The Venetian.
Here Anne pens her own thoughts on her unique approach to art.
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The general response when I tell people that I create art out of ribbon is, “Oh, what a sweet crafty artist.” When I explain the large ribbon installations contain many miles of ribbon a look of disbelief usually follows.
“Another Sky” the installation that is now hanging in the Waterfall Atrium in The Palazzo Las Vegas is composed of approximately 33 miles of satin ribbon. The colors range from plum and deep teal to aqua and chartreuse. Suspended beneath a 55-foot-long skylight, “Another Sky” shifts under changing light and vantage point. Viewed from the second-floor shopping area it appears to be a solid, blue rectangle. But as one gets closer it is obvious that the box is not solid but rather composed of individual colored lines that actually even vibrate. These colored lines are strands of satin ribbon. Each one is about 47 feet long and there are over 3,650 of them in “Another Sky.”
Two aspects of my psyche are instrumental in generating this work. For starters, I have this interesting “condition” called synesthesia. Synesthesia means that my sensory perceptions overlap; when I hear sound, I see colors and shapes. I see an incredible magnificence of colors and shapes when I hear music and the smells of spring, for instance, trigger a “play of light” in my mind. My art is reflective of these sensory experiences.
For instance, when I listen to Mozart’s “Clarinet Quintet,” I see gold lines traveling through space in a circular pattern. Crazy, I know. You’d be surprised to learn the number of musicians who have this condition — Pharrell, Billy Joel, Duke Ellington and Lorde to name just a few.
For some synesthetes not only does music trigger color but also taste and smell. It is really the blending of senses. Studies have shown that everyone is born with synesthesia but most people lose it around 8 weeks old. The other aspect is my meditation practice.
Part of my artistic practice is theater production design and creating installations for orchestras around the country, so not only do you get to hear some beautiful music but you also get to look at something beautiful inspired by the music. Listening to a piece by composer, Toru Takemitsu, I saw long turquoise vertical lines.
After experimenting with a number of materials, I settled upon ribbon. One reason is that the depth of color in ribbon is extremely saturated and a length of satin ribbon hangs perfectly straight! Once I saw the beauty of the turquoise ribbon on the stage behind the orchestra I knew I had stumbled upon a material I would use again and again in my work.
As we are all well aware we, now live in a world inundated with information and stimuli. We all have our heads in our smartphones. I’m trying to create a thing of beauty and also a piece of meditation, so when people see the art, they are enveloped in something that inspires wonder. I’m hoping people will be so curious at what they see in front of them that they will stop and take a closer look and have a moment of respite from all the business — just an extra breath.
One of the wonderful things about public art is that it surprises us. We don’t expect to see a box of glistening ribbons next to a casino and yet there it is. And isn’t this what life is all about — joyful moments when one stops and says, “Wow!”
