Hughen/Starkweather, Path, Ink, gouache, and pencil on paper, 22 x 30 inches, 2011
Prints are available for this series. Please contact Electric Works for images and more information
Amanda Hughen and Jennifer Starkweather
Approach, Transition, Touchdown
Approach, Transition, Touchdown is a series of prints, paintings, and drawings focusing on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. Hughen/Starkweather researched maps, diagrams, photographs, and architectural/engineering drawings, and toured the construction area several times. They met with engineers, architects and others involved with the project who deciphered the immense complexities of the design and construction of the bridge, as well as its environmental, financial, and political intricacies.
The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge was the longest bridge in the world when it was completed in 1936. When the Loma Prieta earthquake collapsed part of the bridge in 1989, it lead to seismic upgrades and eventually an entirely new design for the eastern span. When the new bridge opens in 2013, it will be the most complex engineering feat in the history of California and the largest self-anchored suspension bridge in the world.
Hughen/Starkweather create collaborative artworks that explore the layers, complexities and patterns that comprise a specific place. They focus on places that act as transitional thoroughfares or points of departure and research each location using current and historic photographs, maps and data. The resulting artworks embody unique forms and patterns derived from the built systems and natural movements of a place.