A recent peak of them at American Steel Studios in Oakland, California.

Here's an up close look. They're 16 gauge steel and each piece spot welded.

"JWA has created an inspired invocation of alien presence: a pattern place deep in the universal mind where magical sigil, extraterrestrial code, and cosmic cartoon fuse and inform. Rock art of the distant future, when even the rocks have learned to communicate."
- Erik Davis, author of Techgnosis, and The Visionary State: A Journey through California's Spiritual Landscape

“Jason presents an elegant visual code suggestive of petroglyphs, pictograms, or a psychedelic proto-language where forms and figures emerge from chaos, referencing shamanic adventures on the edge of logic, meaning, and consciousness.”
- Daniel Pinchbeck, author of How Soon is Now: From Personal Initiation to Global Transformation, and Breaking Open the Head

They are built to withstand extreme weather conditions.

At American Steel Studios with David & Nathan!

Here's a freshly painted pillar hanging at Reliable Powder Coating in Oakland!

At Burning Man 2013 the color was a nickel silver to go along with that year's theme of Cargo Cult. We were happy with them and they looked awesome, but our new darker color allows the image stand out more during the day.

A preliminary light test. We're almost there! We're now working on an interactive light experience with the pillars.

Looking at the new color on an individual piece outside American Steel Studios.

Google satellite photo of the twelve pillars arranged in an arch at Burning Man 2013

Temp Tattoo of one of the images we'll be making for Burning Man 2017!

The columns greeting the dawn at Burning Man 2013.

The Team

Nathan Kandus - My work has been largely concerned with uniting the arts and sciences through large scale interactive public sculptures and installations. I do research at the Art and Physics Lab, Open Lab, and Sonic Sense, and I work with the Stanford University Complexity Group to design and construct their lab demos. B.F.A. in Fine Arts from University of California in Santa Cruz, with a minor in Physics and Astrophysics.

Gregory David Wright - My work is temporal and always in flux; using various materials like ice, glass, steel, concrete, and paint, creating interactions I define as "rigid and fluid systems" to push and pull my viewers with the emotive qualities of the chosen materials. I'm a Faculty Instructor at The Crucible Fire and Arts School in West Oakland. My classes range from welding to glassblowing to electrolytic etching of metals. B.F.A. in Sculpture from Indiana University in Bloomington.

Oren Leiman - My current focus is on designing and implementing custom software and electronic systems which facilitate illuminated, interactive sculpture. My work seeks to integrate unexpected but easy to understand interactions into beautifully understated visual experiences. My technical interests include embedded systems, electronic musical instruments, sensors, and networking. B.S. in Computer Science from University of California in Santa Cruz.

Wendelyn Tucker - I've worked with both sculpture and painting, and have exhibited my glass and clay sculptures in Oakland and San Francisco. B.F.A. in Fine Arts from California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland.

Jason WA Tucker - I discovered these glyphs in a fit of crazy mad spiritual exaltation with a paintbrush and canvas and I've never been the same since. I've exhibited my paintings and sculpture in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. Was the Supervising Editor on Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and recently edited on the new Twin Peaks. B.F.A. in Mass Communication from Emerson College in Boston.

jwatucker@gmail.com
American Steel Studios, 1960 Mandela Pkwy, Oakland CA 94607