Sculptor Ron Kowalke Info

WINDOWS OF FIRE

a relief sculpture of cast aluminum with neon light, computer systems and transducers.

RON KOWALKE

Artist

Professor, Art Department

University of Hawaii

The title, WINDOWS OF FIRE, encourages the idea of viewing the world through our physical and spiritual senses. The tactile quality of the pahoehoe lava coupled with the visual impact of the pulsing neon invites the viewer to experience the sculpture in a personal way — to touch the surface and feel the vibration caused by real time data from Loihi. The purpose of the piece is to promote the concept of our connection with the earth as a primary source of physical and spiritual energy.

Cast aluminum pahoehoe lava panels are mounted on a brushed aluminum wall. Each panel has a silvery black finish with the glitter of the aluminum filtering through the patina. Two rows of red and orange neon lights are installed inside each of the panels which produces an aura of colored light. Programmed data from Kilauea activates the neon to slowly pulsate in response to real time earth surface activity. Touching the panels of lava reveals vibrations, digitized from the eruptions under the sea at Loihi.

The casting process began with three 3' x 6' negative latex molds taken from the lava field at on the Big Island, Hawaii. Kowalke collaborated with Henry Bianchini, a Big Island sculptor, who completed the environmentally safe casting. Exacting details of undulating lava forms plus a section of roadway asphalt were skillfully replicated. Another latex cast, a positive from the original negative of Hawaiian lava, was fabricated by David Hamilton and his associates at the University of Tasmania School of Art. This impression was used to create a ground level sand mold which was the receptical for molten aluminum. Ron Kowalke traveled to be present for consultation and to direct the final details. After the aluminum casting, the three panels were welded, cleaned, machined, sprayed, crated and shipped to Hawaii.

A custom designed wall mount and cradle/frame system provides supports for the neon, transformers and transducers, and for the three aluminum panels, each weighing about 150 pounds. Computer hardware and software are installed in the wall behind the panels as are the electrical and phone systems. Kenny Greenberg of Krypton Neon, Long Island, N.Y. fabricated and installed the neon on location in Hawaii. He also designed, programmed and continues to monitor the electronic components. LavaNet of Honolulu provides internet service and maintains the website for WINDOWS OF FIRE.

The wall is 18' high x 15' wide with three panels each 6' high x 3' wide x 10" deep.

Located at the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu Commissioned by the State of Hawaii, State Foundation on Culture and the Arts Art in Public Places Program $150,000.

Biography

Ron Kowalke was born on November 8, 1936 in Chicago, Illinois. After graduation from Chicago Vocational High School, he spent two years at the School of the Art Institute and the University of Chicago. Following his graduation from Rockford College with a B.F.A. in 1959, he studied painting and sculpture at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan where he received an M.F.A. in 1960.

In the 60's, Ron Kowalke taught art at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, and at the Swain School of Design in New Bedford, Massachusetts. In 1969, Kowalke joined the art faculty at the University of Hawaii where he is a Professor in the Painting and Drawing Program. As a visiting professor, he has lectured at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, the Academy of Fine Art in Warsaw, Poland, the University of Washington in Seattle, and the University of Tasmania in Hobart, Australia.

Ron Kowalke's work is included in permanent collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Boston Public Library, the Library of Congress, the Honolulu Academy of Art, the Contemporary Museum in Honolulu, and the Hawaii State Foundation of Culture and the Arts. His career includes participation in more than 100 solo and group shows. Kowalke exhibits in the United States and in Europe including Germany, France, and Poland.

For more information about WINDOWS OF FIRE that includes chronological documentation, photos and text, plus real time earth surface activity data from Hawaii Volcano Observatory — Check the webpage!