Buckyball (Stanford), 2019

Stanford Hospital, Stanford, CA  

Buckyball (Stanford) is a site-specific light sculpture installed at the entrance plaza of the Raphael Viñoly-designed Stanford Hospital in Stanford, CA. The artwork was one f seven artworks commissioned by Stanford Health Care to enliven the new campus and benefit the healing of patients through the restorative qualities of art. The sculpture comprised of a network of embedded hexagons and pentagons that are fused together to form geodesic, concentric spheres, mimicking the shape of the iconic carbon 60 molecule, the Buckminsterfullerene. Its three discrete spheres measure 10, 20, and 30 feet in diameter, and the piece contains a total of 10,800 LED pixels. These full-color, individually addressable LEDs are mounted into the geometric hive-like structure and activated by Villareal’s custom software, emitting a randomized spectrum of light that varies in speed, color, and opacity. This ever-evolving light composition explores the audience’s compulsion to recognize pattern and assign meaning, transforming the surrounding area into a space of tranquil contemplation.