Seaport

Blur Box is located at The Rocks at Harbor Way.

Blur Box is a public art installation that transforms at the park’s head house into a graphic enclosure. The creative approach is to obfuscate a simple box by hiding it in another. The installation also mixes two typologies of garden structures: the shed and the folly. One is of utility, the other for visual consumption. The parks head house, a utility shed, houses an egress stair that provides access to below-ground parking.
 
Canty wrapped the utility shed in a vibrant color gradient of green and blue, veiled by four screens inspired by materials common to garden sheds; polycarbonate panels and light gauge metal framing. Each screen takes a different posture in relation to the existing shed, not producing a mere offset, but subtly pivoting on one axis.
 
One screen tilts in elevation, two tilt in plan, and one parallels the existing box. Taken together, the layering and superimposition of material, color, and structure obfuscates the existing structure from afar and produces visual intricacy up-close.

 
About The Artist

Canty is an Assistant Professor of Architecture at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. Prior to joining the faculty at the GSD, Canty held teaching positions at the Cooper Union, University California Berkeley, and California College of the Arts. In addition to architectural design, Canty has taught classes on descriptive geometry and design media. Canty received an M.Arch from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design and a B.Arch from California College of the Arts.