CULVER CURRENT Opening Ceremony

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Steel, Corian, LED Panels, Computer, Video
December 2019 - December 2020

Documentation of opening night for CULVER CURRENT.

Culver Current was commissioned in August 2019 and completed in December 2019 with the hard work of an amazing volunteer team.

Jacob Fishman - Lead Producer
Ruben Jimenez - LED /Power Specialist
Mario Romano - Corian Fabrication
Eric Vrymoed - Steel Fabrication
Irina Panasyuk - Public Art Coordinator
Christine Byers - Culver City
Louise Coffey-Webb - Culver City

Richard Lewis
Phil Geronilla
Jackson Kurtz
Carlo Gomez
Andrew Hulin

Special thanks to the people of Culver City, the City Hall staff, and everyone else who helped on this project.

City Council Members:
Mayor Meghan Shali-Wells
Vice Mayor Goran Eriksson
Alex Fisch
Daniel lee
Thomas Aujero Small

Cultural Affairs Commissioners:
Chair Jeannine Wisnosky Stehlin
Vice Chair Zoltan Pali
Len Dickter
Tania Fleischer
Brenda Williams

More information at CulverCurrent.art

The City of Culver City has commissioned media artist Nate Mohler to create a dynamic temporary artwork for the Dale Jones City Hall Courtyard. Culver Current is a groundbreaking digital fountain sculpture displaying a combination of projected videos and custom-sculpted Corian®. This visually stunning interactive fountain will be unveiled at 5:00 PM on December 19th. Culver Current offers a fresh and mesmerizing way to understand the social landscape of Culver City as it exists via the virtual online community. Rather than physical water, the fountain will source its flow from digital activity within the city’s geographic borders, allowing for a reflection of the city’s otherwise intangible community. Each new day the people of Culver City are the substance and energy for the fountain. It allows viewers and participants alike to influence digital droplets (which make up the fountain) by tagging #CulverCurrent or #CulverCity in posts on social media including Instagram and Twitter, constantly revitalizing an ever-evolving communal current.

Culver Current is comprised of a 9-foot tall cylindrical steel frame with 494 LED panels inside a custom thermoformed Corian® shell. Projected video illuminates the Corian® surface from within, diffusing along ripples cut into the surface. Culver Current’s fountain uses no actual water. Instead, a computer captures digital activity within the city’s geographic borders and feeds that back into the fountain. In the morning, the fountain’s movement will be shallow and mellow, but as the day progresses, the fountain will grow and visually roar with online activity that is not visible or typically represented in physical space. A central fountain in Culver City for people to congregate and gather in celebration of art and community.

“This sculpture is a reflection of the past, a moment in the present, and a discussion of the future” said Mohler, who investigates connectivity and audience participation through unconventional space and immersive art. Having grown up near Culver City, Mohler wanted to mirror the Culver City community and tap into the inspiration the city gave him professionally.

The City of Culver City commissioned the project, with support from its Cultural Affairs Commission and City Council. Irina Panasyuk of IVP Public Art facilitated artist selection, project coordination, and public outreach. A dedicated team of professionals, including Jacob Fishman, Ruben Jimenez of Eastside LED and welder Eric Vrymoed, worked with Mohler on the project since its inception. Jackson Kurtz Programmed the Interactive elements in Python and Unity. Mario Romano of the design engineering studio M.R. Walls oversaw the fabrication of the Corian® shell and created the custom-cut surface based on natural lines found in the ripples of water and sand.

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