Curtis Ames

RAINbow Cube

Candice Greathouse + Curtis Ames
The Glass Cube, Hotel Indigo, Athens, GA
2017

There are no rainbows without human observers – an idea that touches on the essence of aesthetic experience. When it comes to the rainbow there is nothing physical, it is ephemeral and immaterial. There is no object you can walk around, approach, or touch. The experiential nature of a rainbow cannot be replicated, only approximated. This site-specific installation operates as a meditation of this experience, translating and giving form to the intangible.

Just as a rainbow only appears when the sun comes out after rain, Rainbow Cube has optimal viewing conditions. The surfaces of the cube are most vibrant and prismatic on cloudless days, especially in the morning and early afternoon when the sun is shining brightly. After the sun goes down, Rainbow Cube responds to artificial lighting conditions (such as a camera flash) to create intense holographic rainbows.