Evolve: A Cosmic Kaleidoscope Sculpture by Davis McCarty

Revolutionizing Lobby Art with Science, Technology, and Awe-Inspiring Design

Davis McCarty's inspiration for Evolve stemmed from his desire to create a unique sculpture that would enhance experiences and initiate ideas. He envisioned a future where a diverse community is rewarded for pursuing new opportunities that benefit humanity and leave a legacy of progress. The three shapes in the sculpture represent the Leidos Core values of being approachable, valuing intellect, and the pursuit of being visionary.

What sets Evolve apart is its ability to change colors as viewers walk by. At dawn, it refracts sunlight into a dichromatic rainbow throughout the lobby, welcoming visitors with playful colored shadows that move throughout the day. The sculpture, suspended by aircraft cable, uses NASA-developed dichroic Plexiglas to create a space-age feel. The apex of the sculpture features a Penrose triangle, proving that this once thought impossible object can, in fact, exist.

The sculpture is realized using dichroic Plexiglas, stainless steel, aluminum, mirrors, LEDs, and sunlight. The dichroic Plexiglas, like a quantum particle, can simultaneously exhibit different colors to viewers from different angles. When the observer circles the sculpture, the dichroic panels morph between states of colors. The sculpture uses a patent-pending hinge made from 5mm water jet aerospace-grade aluminum, offering 330 degrees of rotation and locks in place at the desired angle.

Evolve was designed and fabricated in Chicago, IL during 2019 and 2020, and installed in Reston, VA in March 2020. The design process involved extensive research to create a sense of comfort and contemplation in the Leidos Lobby through the use of a surreal light-bending sculpture. The team achieved this by affixing a nineteen-foot mirror to the ceiling and adding a recessed lighting halo, creating a sense of cognitive dissonance that brings viewers closer to the sculpture.

The challenge was to integrate the client's core values into an abstract sculpture. This was achieved by using their iconography of a circle, a hexagon, and a triangle to represent these values. The bold integration of color and triangular forms in Evolve was intentional to match their brand colors and logo. As fate would have it, the Leidos logo is perfectly reflected in one of the ultraviolet panels.

Evolve's design excellence was recognized with a Silver A' Fine Arts and Art Installation Design Award in 2021, a testament to its outstanding expertise and innovation. This cosmic kaleidoscope sculpture, admired for its strong technical characteristics and splendid artistic skill, showcases a remarkable level of excellence and introduces positive feelings, amazement, and wonder.