Art Installation Syzygy to Brighten the Holiday Season at Parkmerced

Nightlights program gives San Francisco a welcome outdoor diversion, now through January 14

San Francisco, Nov 23, 2020 – Parkmerced is lifting spirits this extraordinary holiday season with an outdoor sculpture that lights up the night sky with hope and wonder. Syzygy, created by artist Taylor Dean Harrison, is an interactive art installation featuring six 15 x 10 ft sculptures that cast shadows and light onto the ground in an aligned pattern 120 feet in diameter.  The sculptures were created using steel, custom LED light engines, motors, dichroic glass, and enamel paint. Motors within the sculptures allow the pattern to come in and out of alignment, resulting in a mesmerizing light show that emerges as the sun fades.  The installation is  sponsored by  Maximus Real Estate Partners, Parkmerced’s owner and manager of operations, and produced in collaboration with Building 180, a full-service art production and consulting agency.

“My primary goal was to inspire a moment of wonder,” said artist Taylor Dean Harrison. “In that moment, the hardships and intricacies of a viewer’s world can fade away. A simple reprieve from mental and emotional pressure buildup is a worthy goal to me. I encourage viewers to immerse themselves and play with my installations, to bathe themselves in colored light and dance with the shadows.”

“Syzygy has many layers of experience”, said Taylor. “You can exist under a pod, soaking up the color, explore specific patterns as you walk through the field of light, or watch the whole installation take on a new look from afar. We all need art more than ever and I’m delighted that something I’ve created can provide this during such strange times.”

All are welcome to visit Parkmerced to experience this outdoor interactive installation, on display in Juan Bautista Circle, from 4:30-10pm daily. The installation will be accompanied by a series of Nightlights events as we move through the holiday season.  Parkmerced is implementing spatial distance precautions to ensure everyone can enjoy the experience – at the park, from afar, or in the car – without risk to their health.  Following all COVID-19 safety guidelines, visitors can attend:

Grand opening celebration, Fri Nov 27 – Join the Parkmerced community for the public grand opening of Syzygy, with live performances from the Myron Edwins Band (5:30pm) and Lumos (6:15pm).

Music in the Park series (Tuesdays 5-7pm) featuring jazz, instrumental, surf/rock and other musical performances.   

Friday Night Lights (Fridays 5-7pm) will provide entertainment for all ages, including art, activities, musical acts, food and much more.  

The calendar of events will be updated throughout the season, and can be viewed here. 

 The installation is part of a new Arts at Parkmerced initiative – a collaboration between Maximus and Building 180 to celebrate the arts and curate a diverse collection across the Parkmerced community.

 “Parkmerced is a historical part of the San Francisco landscape. It’s a neighborhood, a community, and home base for 10,000 people. And with 150 acres of open parkland, it’s also a beautiful outdoor setting to celebrate the arts”, said Fred Knapp, Maximus COO and operating partner for Parkmerced.  “This installation is part of the first wave of art projects we are commissioning across the community. We hope that it, and the performing artists we invited to participate in our Nightlights program, will spark joy and raise spirits this holiday season.”

Parkmerced Nightlights will be activated daily from 4:30-10pm through Jan 14, 2021. Additional information on the program can be found here.  

 About the Artist

Taylor Dean Harrison creates mixed-media sculptures and installations. With each creation, Harrison aims to craft a possible universe with an order based on a mathematical system. Then he brings that universe alive with more painterly approaches, implementing handwork and moving light. These manifestations of order and subsequent departures result in spaces and objects built for suffusive moments of mental peace. With a practice rooted in parametric design, Harrison adopts technique and research from cutting edge industrial processes. He explores generative forms and color theory to play with the physical boundaries of the eye and the expectations of the brain. Once finished in the digital, Harrison uses CNC processes to bring his works into the physical world. Taylor Dean Harrison’s artworks have toured festivals and fairs internationally, exhibited in galleries and museums, and been purchased for private collections. Harrison collaborates deeply with Henry David Richardson, a cutting-edge digital designer. He attended art school at UC Berkeley, and apprenticed under Michael Christian, a seminal Burning Man and public artist. 

 About the Parkmerced / Building 180 Collaboration

Parkmerced is the largest apartment community in the Bay Area.  Sprawling across 150 green acres and home to 10,000 residents, it is known as a city within the city of San Francisco.  Parkmerced is owned and managed by Maximus Real Estate Partners,

Building 180 is a San Francisco-based art production and consulting agency that produces, curates and creates unique and complex art installations from conception to completion, bringing art to public and private spaces across the globe.

Together, Parkmerced and Building 180 are realizing a vision for a Parkmerced Arts program – celebrating the arts and curating a collection across the Parkmerced community.

For more information contact media@maximusrepartners.com.