Digital DNA

From Palo Alto Wiki

Digital DNA is an outdoor public art sculpture commissioned by the Palo Alto Public Arts Commission for Lytton Plaza in downtown Palo Alto, California. It was created by Adriana Varella and Nilton Maltz and installed in 2005. In 2009 it was taken into the shop and given a refurbishment, with some of the words no longer visible.

1 Commission
2 Design
3 Creation and Controversy
4 Circuit adjectives
5 Notes
6 External links

[edit] Commission

In 2000, the Palo Alto Public Arts Commission approved the modern artwork Digital DNA for the .2-acre (810 m2) plaza on the corner of University Avenue and Emerson Street. The Commission voted to purchase the sculpture for $9,950 from its creators Adriana Varella and her partner Nilton Maltz.

[edit] Design

Digital DNA is a seven foot tall (by five feet across) egg-shaped sculpture made of a welded steel shell covered with a layer of polystyrene bead foam with an epoxy resin fiberglass skin then entirely covered with slightly overlapping recycled computer silicon circuit boards. It is finished with a layer of UV resistant polyurethane clear automotive paint. Sewn into the surface are phrases relating to technology, suggested by non-artists, and written in a variety of languages. Varella explained that "from PhDs to prostitutes and homeless, everybody had a say." Varelle executed the artistic design while her husband provided support in the calculus the defines the overall egg shape and how the boards were warped to conform to that shape.

The "egg" is meant to recognize Palo Alto as the birthplace of Silicon Valley. Linda Craighead, Palo Alto Arts Center Director, feels that the work represents "the power of technology to bring the world together." [5] Varella said of the design, "I don't want to preach truths, just trigger ideas. It reminds me (of) the Faberge eggs given as a gift to the Russian imperial family."^[1] ^[2] ^[3] ^[4]

It is the subject of some online photo galleries.^[5] ^[6]

[edit] Creation and Controversy

Digital DNA was commissioned in 2000. Achieving a successful installation was a struggle because the artist ended up having to restart or repair her work three times because of damage or destruction by others. In 2001, while moving from Palo Alto to San Francisco Varella used her shared garage to store unattached pieces of the artwork. Her neighbor mistook the unfinished work for junk, and threw it out, which set Varella back several months in her work.

The next loss was due to a warehouse fire. The installation of the piece was originally scheduled for May 8, 2004 but was delayed due to changes in city policy regarding the hiring of city vendors. By June an installer had been hired, and Digital DNA was ready to be installed however a conflicting plan for the complete redesign of the plaza had been made public. Former Palo Alto mayor Leland Levy and real estate developer Roxy Rapp proposed a $500,000 revitalization of Lytton plaza. The design featured a central fountain, but did not include Digital DNA. On June 17, the Palo Alto Public Art Commission held a meeting to discuss the future of Digital DNA in relation to the fountain plan. Levy and Rapp requested that the installation of the artwork be further delayed until their proposal was formally presented to the City Council. The Commission unanimously voted to study the fountain plan, but also reiterated their desire for the immediate installation of Digital DNA. Following the vote, Arts and Culture Director Leon Kaplan, the city employee overseeing the project, made a surprising announcement. About a month prior, on May 19, there had been a fire in the San Bruno warehouse where Digital DNA was being stored. 11 days after the original installation date, Digital DNA was completely destroyed. After some disagreements, the artists were paid in full for their work. The artists offered to recreate Digital DNA for $10,000. On August 19, 2004 the Commission voted to fund a second version of the artwork. In late April 2005 Digital DNA was again ready to be displayed, however, the installation was slightly delayed due to weather and other factors. The second iteration of Digital DNA debuted in Lytton Plaza in May, and was officially unveiled June 9-10, 2005 with a reception and dedication.

Two weeks prior to the unveiling, Digital DNA was vandalized. Six circuit boards were removed from the sculpture and several wires were pulled out, but Varella was able to repair the damages before the event. An earlier plan to install surveillance equipment in the plaza was reconsidered as a result of the vandalism. Police speculated that the crime was committed by drunken patrons of local bars.

In April 2008, a public-private partnership (including city staff, Levy, and Rapp) renewed the 2004 undertaking to revitalize Lytton Plaza with a large-scale redesign. The old proposal, which did not incorporate Digital DNA, was never approved, but will be revisited. Levy expressed the group's desire to present a plan to which everyone can agree. According to Sunny Dykwel, a leader of the advocacy effort, Digital DNA is a beautiful piece of art, which they intend to protect. ^[7] ^[8] ^[9] ^[10] ^[11] ^[12]

[edit] Circuit adjectives

The adjectives inbue the logic of the circuitry with the emotion and other political, social or behavioral adjectives. These phrase are written in a variety of languages such as Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Polish, Russian, German, Arabic, Indy, Philippine, Portuguese, French, Italian, Spanish, Hebrew and binary representation. The color is noted to help identify the board. Duplicates are noted. A question mark denotes lines that have yet to be properly translated.

Dividing the egg into four quadrants according to the clock (looking from above), and listing top-to-bottom, the adjectives are, at noon (near the DIGITAL DNA title board):

corporative, ideological, timeless, programmed, globalizing, genetic, timeless, warfare
White unidentified script (akin to Korean)
ar: التحكم‎ (control)‎ دوائر (circuits) (As in perhaps هندسة التحكم - control engineering) (on blue) pic
ar: التفريق (differentiation? dispersing?) دوائر (on olive green) pic
de: kontrolliert (controlling) (spelled kontrolliert aide?) kreisläufe
fr:circuits fr:masturbateur
he:מעגל (circuit/circle) ם ללא (without) he:גבול (borders)
he:גלובליזציה (globalization) he:מעגל
ja: (逍 or 檤?) ? ? 化する (does it)の回路
ja:希望 (hope) の回路 (circuits)
tl: Mga circuit na sumasakop (covering (?))

at 3 o'clock:

isolating (repeat), globalizing (repeat), colonizing, borderless, artificial intelligence, mutating
ar: الكتم‎‎ (stuffiness?) دوائر pic
de: serielle (serial, de:seriell) kreisläufe
es:circuitos interactivos
fr:circuits d'illusion
fr:circuits fr:sexuels
ja: 全世界 ? の回路 (worldwide)
ja:ロボット (robot) の回路
ja:マスメディア (mass media) の回路 (circuit)
ru:кругообороты (circuit) ru: молчанн? pic

at six o'clock:

transcorporeal, identifying, reproductive, simulating, idealizing, political, short circuits, circuits of the system, circuits of hope
unidentified cursive script?
ar: ا?يالية (huh) دوائر (on dark yellow fabric) pic
he:מעגל (circuit/circle) he:מלחמה (war)
it:circuiti it:aleatori (random)
ja:力 (power, force) の回路
ja: 遺伝子 (gene) の回路
ja:ショート (short circuit) した (did) 回路
ja:希望 (hope) の回路
sv:programmering sv:kretslopp (cycle)
идеологпческне (see ru:идеологический, ideological, ru:Идеология) ru:кругообороты (cycle) pic
vi: đường dẫn (circuit, vi:Mạch in) vi:điện lực (electric power)

at 9 o'clock:

hacking, transracial, nomad, globalizing (repeat), randomic, libertarian, isolating (repeat), biological, surveying
ar: الئكتلدل ? (huh?) دوائر (on medium green, nar. vert.) pic
ar: كنيسة (church?) دوائر (on light green, wide vert.) pic
ar: مافها كن (Mavha?) (on medium green, nar. horiz.) pic
ar:الأمل‎‎ (hope) دوائر (spelled without the (lām + ʼalif) ligature)
binary: these are ASCII values: 1000100 1001110 1000001 (DNA)
es:circuitos imaginários
it:circuiti it:anecoici (Anechoic chamber)
ja: 遣 ? イムチ (or そ)の回路
ja:錯覚 (illusion) ? にるの回路
ja:自爆 (self-destruct) する (does it) の回路
ko:정치적인 (politics) ko:회로 (circuit)
pt:circuitos pt:vazios (empty or null)
ru:кругообороты ru:случай (chance) иостей ? pic
vi: đường dẫn (circuit, Mạch in) bao quát (globalizing, vi:Toàn cầu hóa)

There are several Arabic lines starting with: دوائر (services) ? Compare to ar:دوران (rotation) or ar:دائرة (circle), but spelled like دوائر (services?). The board colors are provided as a navigation aid.