mural blog

Nobu57: Part Two

As noted in this earlier post, one of our exciting projects completed over the summer was the creation of several sculptural art features at Nobu57 - the latest outpost of Chef Nobu Matsuhisa's culinary empire.

In the earlier posting, we covered the abalone shell chandeliers we made over the bar area of the restaurant.

While those were quite a feat to fabricate given the short time frame we had, even more challenging was the Sea Urchin Spine ceiling feature we made for the Private Dining area of the restaurant.

The concept of the approx. 9' x 9' ceiling was to create a sculpture, fabricated entirely from Sea Urchin Spines, that looks like the ripples formed when one casts a pebble into a pond.

In a ceiling of that size, we calculated that we would need to individually hang more than 100,000 of the spines to make the designers' vision a reality.

To learn more about the process and steps involved in creating this unique artwork, click the "Continue Reading" link below!

The first step to fabricating this unusual artwork was to create an armature for the "rippled water" form that the design was to take.  We built the armature using 3/4" plywood for flat parts, and a thinner, bendable ply for the "peaks" of the ripple waves.  When this portion was complete, it looked like we were making an innnovative new skee ball game. (Click thumbnails for enlarged views.)  We painted the urchin area blue so that if you could see through the urchin spines, you would see a color similar to the plaster finish that we applied to the rest of the ceiling.

The next step was to attach wire mesh over the forms in order to create the form of the ripple.   In order to do this, we needed to find a mesh that was strong enough to hold the form, and flexible enough to bend into the wave forms.  Also, in order to match the architect's sample, the 'grid' of the mesh needed to be 1/4".  Who knew there were so many wire mesh companies?  In order to make smoother ripples, we carved pieces of blue foam that we put over the bending ply armature to help us "find the form".  These foam forms were slid along the bending ply, and removed once we found the ripple shape we were trying to achieve.

Soon we had the whole circular shape covered with the mesh.  At the outside edge of the circle, where the mesh met what would be a plaster decorative finish, our fabricator routed a groove into the plywood for the mesh to 'die into'.

Due to the size of the piece, and the anticipated weight (once all the spines were attached) we decided that it made sense to cut the ceiling into four quadrants.  This would make it easier to work on, easier to ship, and easier to install once complete.  One additional step this necessitated was "weaving" the edges of the mesh where we cut it so that the mesh did not begin to deteriorate where our cutting had breached its integrity.

At this point, we were essentially ready to start hanging sea urchin spines.   It would have been very nice if we could put these forms on a table, allowing our talented workers to attach the spines from a more natural standing position.  But with gravity working against us, we found that the spines had to be attached as they would be when finally installed - hanging down from the mesh.

To accomplish this, we had to build "spinal stations" for each of the four quadrants.  The stations had a table where one could rest their tools, materials, or sit.  Above the table , the panel with wire mesh form was installed, and the artists would install the urchins by reaching up to hang the spine on the mesh.  Although much more difficult, this was the only way one could really judge if an area had enough "fullness".

To hang the spines we threaded a drilled hole in each urchin spine with black jewelers wire, and then threaded the wire holding the spine (like a christmas ornament) through the mesh.  We would then twist tight, and clip off the excess wire.  But before we could even start hanging the urchin spines we had to drill the holes into the spines, clean them, sort them by size, and pre-thread them with the black jeweler's wire.

With all that preliminary work, it was a great relief to finally start hanging the spines on the mesh.  Although not technically difficult, the work required an artistic eye, nimble hands, an ability to focus, patience, and speed.  We had a lot of urchins to hang!

Some days, it seemed as if the project would take forever to finish...

But bit by bit, the mesh space descreased, and the urchin coverage increased.

It helped that we could have four people at each station without crowding, and even more people if a particular area required it.

Finally, after literally hundreds of hours, we had hung more than 100,000 sea urchin spines to the mesh.  At that point, we brought the four panels up to the site, and installed them into the ceiling niche that had been built for them.  The panel installation was surprisingly quick, taking only a couple of hours.  But once the panels were installed at the site we still had a couple of final steps....To disguise the seams between the four panels we had to adjust the urchin spines, adding some, and substracting others.  Although we had already done plaster prep coats on the flat part of the panels, at the site we had to apply plaster skim coats to create a glimmering coppery/teal venetian plaster finish surrounding the urchin spines.

In the end, we were delighted to have created a truly unique and beautiful artwork for a unique and imaginative chef.

Update:  Metropolis Magazine did a cover story on the restaurant in their January, 2006 issue featuring some great new pictures of our work - it's still available on the web here.

Click photos below for enlarged views...

 

Nobu57: Part One

 

Although mural are our focus, we also do a significant amount of 3D / sculptural projects as well.  One of the more exciting projects that we worked on this summer here at Silver Hill Atelier was creating a couple of spectacular art features for the restaurant "Nobu57" in New York City.  The artworks we created for the restaurant are four 'Abalone Chandaliers', featured in this post, and a 'Sea Urchin Spine' ceiling which we created for the private dining area of the restaurant - a very intense installation that I will talk more about in another post.

The original New York Nobu (which we also created artwork for) is a downtown / TriBeCa Institution. At Nobu57, Chef Nobu Matsuhisa is seeking to replicate the magic for the uptown crowd.  Early indications are (not suprisingly) quite favorable.

Like the original Nobu, this restaurant, and the art features we created for it, were designed by the Rockwell Group, a firm that specializes in architecture which is truly creative, often unusual, typically hand-crafted, and always unique.

The Rockwell Group was familiar with hand-strung Czech glass bead mural we created for Rocco's restaurant, which contained over 120,000 individual glass beads,so when they came up with a design for their abalone chandeliers that would incorporate more than 19,000 shells, they knew who to call.

For a more detailed look at how we created the chandeliers, and what they looked like when complete, read on....

The above picture shows two of four abalone shell chandeliers we created for the restaurant.  As you can see, the shells are clustered in groupings which were to suggest both "schools of fish", and the wave motif which makes many other appearances throughout the restaurant.

Each chandelier consists of two of these clusters, one high, and one low, below.  Each chandelier is 8' in length, and has a 'depth' of 5 rows of abalone shells.  In order to create these wave shapes, and keep them consistent across the five rows, we strung the abalone shells on long tables in our studio.  On top of the table, we had a brown paper template that showed us our wave pattern to follow.  In the background of this picture you can see completed rows of shells which have been rolled into cylinder-like bundles.  (click thumbnails for an enlarged view)

The installation of the abalone shells was a surprisingly simple process.  We would bring a rolled bundle to the ceiling using a scissor lift.  At the ceiling, we attached the bar the shells hung from to a box we had hung previously in the ceiling.  Then, one person lowered the lift as the other person held the bundle which slowly unrolled as the lift went down.  We had taped the strands of shells to our brown paper backing for safe transport, so the last step was to cut away the brown paper.

The end result was quite spectacular - it's one of the most visible decor features of the restaurant when you are walking by on 57th Street.  They hang over the bar / lounge area of the restaurant, and are sure to be a topic of conversation amongst the crowds lucky enough to get a reservation.

Update:  Metropolis Magazine did a cover story on the restaurant in their January, 2006 issue featuring some great new pictures of our work.  You can still access it online here.

Blackboard Jungle

A little while back we got the opportunity to create artwork that decorated walls and ceilings at the the Paramount Bar at the Paramount Hotel in New York (at the time part of Ian Schrager's hotel empire, and now joining the Hard Rock Hotel empire).

The concept was that the walls and ceilings were one giant chalkboard - and we set about writing random sayings, and drawing pictures over every surface.

The first step, like on all projects, was to figure out how we were going to get the look of blackboard on all walls without the client having to install slate everywhere.

It turns out that Benjamin Moore makes an excellent chalkboard paint - you just roll it onto any smooth surface like a normal latex paint and it creates a chalkboard-like surface that really works.  (Two coats for best results).

We tried a patch on our studio wall, and we decorated it with different color chalks, and also some oil sticks of different colors.

The goal was not so much to create a real blackboard, that can be erased and changed, but just to create the "look" of a spontaneously created blackboard.

The installation and our artwork was intended to be permanent - they didn't want patrons erasing anything or adding their own "artistic" sayings.  So, things like the oil stick worked well for creating a chalkboard "look" that could not be easily erased.

Further, we found an excellent "sealer" to apply over all the finished work to ensure it's durability and 'cleanability' - a necessity for art installed in high traffic/high spill locations such as bars or restaurants.

Once the process had been established, the designer, Suzanne Couture of Ian Shrager Hotels, provided us with a wealth of source materials that we could choose from in creating the artwork, which we mixed in with a pool of references we had provided.

The renovation of the bar was on a very fast pace.  While we were working with the designer to come up with enough usable material to cover all the surfaces with the density she was looking for, contractors were busy at the hotel painting all the surfaces with the chalkboard paint we had specified.

Ultimately, we only had about 4 working days at the jobsite to do the application.  David Newcomb, our art director, led the effort, and we had a crew of about 4-5 artists.

In addition to the crew we had applying artwork, the owners of the bar had their hipster / celebrity friends come and add even another layer to the mix.

The project was a big success - the place looked very cool when complete, and was definitely a unique and provocative addition to the pantheon of Manhattan hipster hangouts.

In fact, we like the idea so much that when we were renovating our new offices, we built a wall (which I discussed earlier here) that we decided to do a similar blackboard finish on. 

We use it more as a real chalkboard, and draw a giant calender on it so we can see just what's going on...

It's our little version of an idea that worked so well for the Paramount Bar!