Adrien Segal

Adrien Segal
Born	1985 California, United States
Known for	Art Artist, Data Sculptor
Notable work	"Water Form Studies", "Tidal Datum", "Strata Beach", "Grewingk Glacier"

Adrien Segal (born 1985 in California, USA) is an artist and data sculptor. She is recognized as a pioneer in the field of data visualization, and her expertise has been recognized with residencies at technology centers such as Facebook and Autodesk.^[1]

Education

Adrien Segal attended California College of the Arts in San Francisco, CA for her undergraduate degree, receiving a BFA in Furniture Design in 2007.

Work

Segal has exhibited work at the Richmond Art Center, Biblioteca Henestrosa in Oaxaca, Mexico, the Oakland Museum of California, and Ballroom Marfa in Texas. Her work has also been published in several books. Segal recently held Artist Residencies at Oregon College of Art and Craft in Portland, the Bunnell Art Center in Alaska, and the Lucid Arts Foundation in Northern California.^[2] She is CCA's Wornick Distinguished Visiting Professor of Wood Arts, and an alumna (BFA Furniture). In addition to teaching, she pursues a creative practice out of her studio on the former Naval Base in Alameda, California.^[3]

Tidal Datum of Kachemak Bay, a sculpture by Segal, commissioned by the City of Homer, AK

In her creative practice, Segal is a data sculptor who works with physical materials that reflect the ebb and flow of water in various manifestations. She often works with wood and metal, and she has a background in furniture design. She is interested in drawing attention to environmental changes though art.^[4] In order to create her pieces, she employs a combination of hand sculpting and technology, finishing pieces by hand.^[5]

Projects

Tidal Datum

Scientific American has described Segal's Tidal Datum as "spectacular" with "unbeatable beauty and wonder."^[6] This piece was inspired by Sutro Baths, a seaside bathhouse located in San Francisco established in the 1920s where waters change with the tides. In order to create this piece, Segal used data obtained from the tide charts of the San Francisco Bay from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for the 29 day lunar cycle of in the months of April and May in 2006.^[7] As a result of this project, she has been inspired to create other pieces displaying the tide patterns of the Louisiana coast and of Homer, Alaska.^[8]

Snow Water Equivalent Cabinet

Drawing on snow survey data collected by the Natural Resources Conservation Service collected from 1980-2010 in the Western US and Alaska, this project looks at the change in snow water equivalent over time. Each drawer of the cabinet varies in depth and height based on the amount of snow water for a given year. It is a striking work built from ebonized ash and carved plywood and is currently in a private collection.^[9]

References

1. "ATC Lecture — Adrien Segal". Berkeley Center for New Media. Retrieved 2015-12-05.
2. "adrien segal art.design.data.sculpture: about". Retrieved 2015-12-04.
3. "Adrien Segal Lecture (Wornick Distinguished Professor of Wood Arts) | California College of the Arts". www.cca.edu. Retrieved 2015-12-04.
4. Bruggeman, Seth (2015-07-29). "Adrien Segal: On Skill". Retrieved 2015-12-05.
5. "Adrien Segal: Sculptures from Science's Data - Woodworking |Videos | Plans | How To". Woodworking |Videos | Plans | How To. Retrieved 2015-12-05.
6. "Turns Out There IS Something New Under the Sun". blogs.scientificamerican.com. Retrieved 2015-12-05.
7. "Adrien Segal: Sculptures from Science's Data - Woodworking |Videos | Plans | How To". Woodworking |Videos | Plans | How To. Retrieved 2015-12-05.
8. "From science to sculpture". Homer News. Retrieved 2015-12-05.
9. "Snow Water Equivalent Cabinet – Data as Sculpture | Adrien Segal". ARID. Retrieved 2015-12-05.