The Midway
2022
14' tall x 33' long
Plywood, Lumber, sheet metal. acrylic sheeting, incandescent lighting, LED lighting, latex paint, micro-controllers, electronic relays

A free standing light based installation that further explores the carnival aesthetic found in my work. The piece takes a series of differing components sifted from the variation of overlapping visual experiences found on a carnival midway and locks them together as a complete landscape of their own while still democratically allowing each unit to individually compete for the viewers attention and it's turn to bask them in a warm blanket of electric joy.

2018 Solo show at Maryland Art Place in Baltimore, Md. 

We live in a world of time clocks, traffic jams, inescapable commercialism, and overbearing religious ideals. For many people, much of modern life is a struggle to find and maintain some level of fulfillment and happiness—while fending off the continuous voices that tell us what we should think and how we should do things. We are taught to fear everything and fall in line. Some people enable themselves to rise above, but others simply hope for a momentary distraction from the repressive forces of our society. Growing up in a small Maryland town, the traveling carnival that came for a single week every summer was just such a distraction for many families including my own. We would anticipate the sounds, sights, and smells of this miraculous event all year, attending the annual spectacle with an almost spiritual devotion. The social space that the gathering of rides, games and attractions creates is a comforting yet surreal landscape that seems to strike at our inner most desires to be transported from normality.  The primal lure of these garish structures draw us in—offering promises of delight and joy like sirens on the sea. We allow ourselves to be seduced, knowing all the while that it is really our money that this beautiful capitalist creation wants.

My work emulates the hypnotic patterns and tidal rhythms of the carnival. I investigate the way that multiple components and systems work together, drifting in and out of synchronicity while striving to maintain the overall continuity of a single organic landscape. I am enthralled by the engineering and technology that goes into the giant machines built to twist, turn and shake us for two minutes—all while we are mesmerized and hypnotized by the bright-blinking and chasing lights. Through sculpture and installation, utilizing programmed lighting technology, I explore the nostalgic and captivating nature of the idealized carnival landscape. While maintaining the impermanent feel of this temporary wonderland, I distill its visual effects and psychological components down to a condensed and refined experience, creating moments where viewers can gather and pay homage via a concentrated dose of electric joy. 

Integrated Carnival Energy Systems / The Serpent
2017
Plywood, Sheet metal, Plexi-glass, LEDs, Incandescent light bulbs, Glitter, Micro-controller
 

A solo show at Penn State University in the fall of 2017.

Duck Pond III 
2017
9' diameter
Plywood, Sheet metal, Plexi-glass, LEDs, Incandescent light bulbs, Glitter, Micro-controller

Bombers
2017
12' x 18' x 6"
Plywood, Sheet metal, Plexi-glass, LEDs, Micro-Controller

As a child I was fascinated by the machines of war, by the power and seeming grace of missiles and aircraft.  These were my familiar toys writ large and potent, inspiring thoughts of adventure and heroism in my early life.  All that comes after the arc of the plane, the plummet of its cargo, was invisible to me, obscured by the sheltering media and by sheer distance from those un-exceptional un-American places where the consequences of warfare are everyday reality. 
 In some ways, little has changed with maturity.  I hear and see reports from distant lands: abstractions for an audience who does not really want to know; simplified sequences of events that are familiar in their outlines, devoid of brutal detail and confusing complication.  It occurs to me that a great many Americans are rendered childlike in our relationship to military technologies- some by our trust in the judgment of authorities who assume responsibility for their use, others by our frustrated helplessness to stop them.   In either case, our innocence of the war machines’ flesh and blood effects is preserved.  The damage done we do not understand.

Smaller pieces invarious shows between 2016 and 2018

"Plaza" is an interactive installation included in  "Light City Baltimore"2016 in Baltimore, MD made possible through funding provided by Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts. Plaza is a series of gate-like structures inspired by the architecture of carnival rides, old-school roadside signage, and the hypnotic and seductive energy of the Vegas-Style marquee. Adorned with blinking, chasing lights and colorful illuminated panels, the structures are arranged into a garden-like setting that suggests a sort of randomness, as if this temporary wonderland mysteriously appeared overnight. Plaza aims to function as a visual playground of architectural relics- one that invites viewers to stroll through and immerse themselves in colossal forms and pulsating light.
 

Carnival interior is an interactive installation creating a meditative 'sanctuary' that explores social interaction within a space utilizing a carnival aesthetic. The gallery space has been modified to create an entry point that would give visitors an immediate symmetrical view of the installation. A large, upholstered banquette  is placed in each of the 4 corners that provides slightly reclined seating and keeps a viewers feet off of the floor in a manner similar to the seat of a carnival ride. A large "duck pond fountain" sits in the center of the room and contains wooden ducks that circulate around the pond. Large spinning wheels are mounted on 3 of the walls.

SuperGame! was conceived and designed by Scott Pennington, executed in collaboration with Adam Franchino, and involved contributions from dozens of other artists and volunteers.

Introduced at Baltimore’s Artscape in July of 2014, SuperGame! inhabits a large colorful structure with a nostalgic carnival aesthetic. Game operators invite festival goers to interact with the installation by playing 5 classic carnival games, each with a twist based on contemporary culture. Players are rewarded for playing each of the five games with a custom-designed hand stamp.

In the evening SuperGame! is lit by an elaborate series of programmed LED lights, designed specifically for this piece, which are integrated into the structure. Game play is accompanied by a lively sound track of new and old songs as well as sound pieces created by contributing artists.