Camouflage House, a temporary public sculpture installation by internationally acclaimed artist and UCSB alumnus Tom Fruin, will bring art outdoors to the community beginning June 30.
With its Santa Barbara oceanfront debut at Arroyo Burro Beach Beach County Park (better known as Hendry’s Beach), the multi-colored work is meant to offer a communal opportunity for reflection and meditation. Visitors to the park must adhere to public health guidelines regarding physical distancing and face coverings.
Forged with a kaleidoscopic pattern of welded steel, salvaged signage and reclaimed acrylic scraps, Camouflage House represents the unique role of artwork and artists in regeneration and visioning. With its nod to resilience, this public sculpture is salient in the current time.
A downloadable coloring page of the sculpture will be available for community members to engage with the sculpture from home at www.sbac.ca.gov/fruin.
“The house sculpture can be seen as a place of refuge and a stand in for our hope moving forward,” Fruin said. “Its shape is a generalization of a home while its dramatic coloration is the opposite of camouflage; it is an act of standing out with warmth and brilliance.”
Fruin’s iconic works have been sited worldwide, and his Watertower sculpture series spans the country, with permanent installations in Brooklyn, N.Y., and Oakland, Calif. “As a California native with UCSB as my alma mater, I feel lucky this work can stand in Santa Barbara; a place I know so well,” said Fruin.
“I hope this sculpture can be experienced in a way that allows for personal reflection and growth,” he said.
Kim Yasuda, a professor of public practice in UCSB’s Art Department, said of Fruin, “Of the more than a thousand students I’ve taught in nearly 30 years, Tom remains a standout, creating evocative, complex works that make you think deeply about the world.”
Following Camouflage House’s initial installation at Arroyo Burro Beach, the work will travel to Elings Park for public viewing. This project is supported by the Santa Barbara County Arts Commission in partnership with the County Community Services Department’s Office of Arts and Culture and Parks divisions.
For more about the Santa Barbara County Office of Arts & Culture, visit www.sbac.ca.gov.