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Michael Hayden
Artist Michael Hayden charts unknown waters. Working with neon, fiber
optics, and holographic diffraction, his designs challenge fabricators
to devise materials and methods to execute his vision.
Hayden has exhibited and installed his sculptures throughout the
world. At O’Hare airport, his 800-foot-long Sky’s
the Limit enchants travelers passing through the United Air
terminal.
In Kalamazoo, Hayden worked with library architect David Milling
to integrate architecture and art from the beginning of the design
process. Milling invited Hayden to help him create libraries with
charismatic presence, through buildings that beckon a visitor to
enter, to linger, and to return.
Hayden energized the Powell Branch Library by applying holographic
film to the barrel-vaulted skylight. The film casts glints of color
throughout the library while it reduces transmission of ultraviolet
and infrared rays.
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Eastwood Branch features Hayden’s
box-kite sculpture Prismatic Lantern over the circulation
desk and holographic glazed glass surrounding the entrance door.
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 Excalibur,
a holographic spire, soars to a pyramid-shaped skylight at Oshtemo
while Time Bender, a mock sundial of geometric shapes,
glows in the courtyard. |
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Hayden created luminous shades for
the 52 original wrought iron wall sconces at the Washington
Square Branch. Their gentle gleam complements the original 1927
English Arts and Crafts style. |
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holographic collar defines the skylight crowning the central
library’s neoclassical rotunda. Bands of color wash the
dome and Electrolier, a canopy of gray aluminum blades
and cobalt blue panes, in a continually changing display of
refracted sunlight. |
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Two by Two, twined fiber
optic strands, flickers with color at computers near the central
library entrance, symbolizing the library’s electronic
connections to the world. |
Michael Hayden may be contacted at Thinking
Lightly Inc., Santa Rosa, California.
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