TM Development

The Einstein Cafe, a site specific public installation at Miami Dade College- Hialeah

Posted by Tom Virgin

The Einstein Cafe         watercut aluminum, powdercoat, automotive paint              16 ft x 9 ft x 6 in                     2010

This project created an outdoor classroom/ study area for the Math Department at Miami Dade College’s Hialeah Campus. This small campus offers an almost family style administration and faculty as mentors to an urban immigrant and first generation American population of young Hispanic students. Many of their students come from local high schools, including the one I work at. I was one of several artists asked to create a proposal for an underused picnic area that used Albert Einstein as a jumping off point.

The result was this collage of images that came from the life of Einstein, from his youth to his enduring legacy of words and ideas. The work is created from water cut 1/4 inch plate aluminum, powdercoated or painted with automotive paint. The work was installed by TM Development, a general contracting firm with a Cornell trained engineer at its helm. The images were drawn, or cut  as relief prints, by the artist and then fabricated from the original images. Each of the images was chosen to create a conversation about Einstein that could be engaged through interdisciplinary study, utilizing both Math and other knowledge about this remarkable man.

“Stilts and Cranes,” South Side Elementary School, Miami, Florida

Posted by Tom Virgin

Stilts and Cranes     three watercut sculptures in cypress frame elements, benches, slate black board element, Stiltsville structure with roof          2007

This work was commissioned by Schools of Choice/Magnet Schools  for an interior courtyard of one of the oldest schools in Miami Dade County Public Schools. Using the original blueprints from the school district and site visits, I designed an outdoor classroom for approximately 30 students that included seating, a blackboard and sculpture elements. At three of four compass points I placed images of things that could be found at the corresponding compass point: To the East, I made a relief print (watercut aluminum/powdercoated) of Stiltsville and Biscayne Bay that was supported in a structure reminiscent of the Stiltsville houses out on the Bay, incorporating a large natural slate chalkboard; To the West, I made a relief print (watercut aluminum/ powdercoated) of a Sand Hill Crane in the Everglades, a resident of the Everglades’ ecosystem; To the South, in a nod to the rampant construction in the early 2000’s, I made an image of the Construction Cranes that were seemingly everywhere in the sky. Seating was provided near each image on three 12 ft x 12 ft square concrete slabs using concrete pillars (stamped with both Sand Hill and Construction Cranes) and native Cypress plank seats.

A landscape plan with native plants and wildlife attracting, flowering shrubs through the generosity of Rick Yasko, Landscape Architect and Visual Artist. Both the landscape plan and my original design were created to supply an ongoing conversation between this classic 1920’s Spanish Courtyard, the vanishing community of Stiltsville, the Everglades with its indigenous species of wildlife, and the rapid changes to the urban Brickell corridor.

“Duty and Remembrance,” North Key Largo Fire Station, Key Largo, Florida

Posted by Tom Virgin

Duty and Remembrance, ID Wall                                         16 ft x 12 ft x 6 in          watercut aluminum with powdercoat                  2006

Duty and Remembrance, Towers with Fire Fighter           8 ft x 3 ft x 4 ft             watercut aluminum with powdercoat                  2006

This two part work was completed for the Florida Keys Council of the Arts and Monroe County Art in Public Places. This piece was awarded in 2006 and completed in 2007. After a site visit, conversations with the Chief, and talks with fire fighters in the Grove, I began my proposal.  I combined images of places that the fire fighters frequented while they were off duty with a tribute to fire fighters who lost their lives while they were on duty. The wave elements on the ID wall came from Japanese iconography. The fire fighter with the axe was a portrait that I did of a retiring veteran fire fighter in the Grove. The same fire fighter was my model for the fire fighter at rest, leaning on the tower elements.