The mission of the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture is to advance arts, culture, and creativity throughout LA County. We fulfill our mission by providing services and support in areas including grants and technical assistance for nonprofit organizations; professional development opportunities; commissioning civic artworks and managing the County’s civic art collection; implementing countywide arts education initiatives; research and evaluation; career pathways in the creative economy; free community programs; and cross sector creative strategies that address civic issues. This work is framed by the County’s Cultural Equity and Inclusion Initiative and a longstanding commitment to fostering access to the arts.
Medium:
Printed resin and polymer, acrylic, aluminum and stainless steel
Artwork Dimensions:
144 x 144 x 144 in.
County Department:
Fire
Artwork Site:
Fire Station 143
Supervisorial District:
5
Current Status:
On view
About the Artwork:
Artist Kipp Kobayashi created Story Lines, a sculpture for the atrium lobby of the new Fire Station 143. The artist designed a collection of 3D printed resin sculptures based on equipment, tools, mementos and artifacts found in fire stations throughout the region. The 3D printed objects are grouped into 18 vertical strands suspended on an aluminum frame from the ceiling of the two-story high space. Kobayashi spent time with the fire personnel, immersing himself in the department's mission of providing improved fire protection, as well as emergency medical and life safety services to the expanding Santa Clarita Valley and adjacent communities. At each station, the artist was drawn to the collection of objects found on the walls and in the hallway display cases. Placed there by the inhabitants and growing organically over time, the objects contain the stories that ultimately form the identity of each station. These accumulated artifacts, a nozzle scarred from a past wildfire, a vehicle badge from a long-retired truck, a tool used or adapted for a specific situation, formed a dictionary of objects that the artist arranged in a number of combinations. After digitally scanning the artifacts, the artist and his team 3D printed UV resin to produce rigid and highly detailed likenesses.
About the Artist:
Kipp Kobayashi is an environmental designer and artist focused on the creation of public places. His work explores the human dynamics that occur within these spaces and how they merge with the physical characteristics of the specific environment, transforming them into living entities composed of our collective thoughts, actions and experiences. His medium is informed by the specific mix of these elements, resulting in unexpected combinations that are unique to each project. By focusing on these intersections of the human, cultural and natural factors, his work reflects what is at first not apparent; hoping that by revealing those elements, the viewer will see and use a particular place or thing in a new and different way. To learn more about the artist please visit: www.kippkobayashi.com/index.html
