For seniors Joe Lawson, Jordan Deva and Justin Phillips, showing off their artistic abilities on a larger than life scale is no sweat.
This triple threat, also known as “The Balloon Boys” or “Team Triple J”, was recently chosen during a competition held within the College of Design to have their artwork displayed on a two-year-old parking deck at the corner of McDowell and Davie streets in downtown Raleigh.
The talented seniors, all studying art and design, were given a unique opportunity to compete for a chance to have their artwork displayed on 15 separate 60 feet by 21 feet banners wrapping around two sides of the parking deck owned by Wake County. The goal is to make the parking deck more attractive to the public until Empire Properties can continue construction on the new L Building, a soon-to-be office building with retail on the bottom floor.
When Empire Properties approached the Department of Art and Design, Professor Charles Joyner, Associate Professor Pat Fitzgerald and Assistant Professor McArthur Freeman headed a competition, requesting submissions of ideas from small teams of both undergraduate and graduate students.
“We really just wanted to have a lot of fun with it, whether we won or not,” Phillips said.
During the design process this past spring, the boys took the required dimensions into consideration and began brainstorming ideas.
“We knew it needed to be a panorama, but also be 15 individual pieces,” Deva said. “We threw out a lot of ideas of how we could treat it and have it be successful in that format.”
“We were really excited to have an opportunity to get our work out there,” Phillips said.
The teams were given ten days to come up with their concepts, and ended up entering two original submissions into the competition. After several weeks of judging, “The Balloon Boys” — named after the incorporation of life-size images of themselves floating on balloons within the design — triumphed over the competition and were chosen as a winning team. However, Empire Properties was unsure of which of the boys’ two first place designs they wanted to adorn the parking deck walls.
The trio then underwent about a month of primary creation, meetings and changes to their final design, including the combination of the two original works.
“We knew the exposure was going to be big,” Lawson said, who was interested in taking on the project from the beginning because of its size and location.
“The Fantastic Sky Race,” as the final product was named, features 15 banners each hung one foot apart. Though each banner has its own unique background and color scheme, the design is unified and moves around the parking deck, featuring characters of both the animal and human species.
“There is a level of anticipation going around the corner,” Deva said, “It’s easy for people to look at it for a while and kind of create their own story.”
August 5 brought a reception for the newest creative edition to downtown Raleigh. People gathered at the parking deck to hear speeches, ask questions about the artwork, pose for photo ops and discuss the art process with Lawson, Deva and Phillips.
“My favorite part was working with two of my friends, but coming up with the entire concept was a blast,” Lawson said.
With the new office building still in the works, it is uncertain how long the banners will grace the city of Raleigh. However, city inhabitants are already enjoying its presence.
“What I’ve noticed over and over again,” Deva said, “is that it really grows on people.”
“If it wasn’t for the University, we wouldn’t have had the opportunity,” Phillips said. “I hope the first thing [people] do is smile and just really enjoy it.”
