Swoosh

Through an artistic practice steeped in the interflow of video art, 3-D animation, and new media art, Jennifer Steinkamp constructs environments which transcend mere observation. For more than three decades, her spatially expansive artworks have submerged audiences in a realm where video projections seamlessly intertwine with spaces and buildings, setting up hypnotic and nuanced spaces. Within these domains, animated elements move across surfaces, imbued with layers of meaning that resonate with site-specific significance, inviting viewers to delve deeper into ever-evolving narratives woven by light and motion.

Steinkamp’s art is deeply entrenched in the exploration of dynamics, particularly the simulation of natural physics such as gravity, collisions, and wind—essentially, the invisible forces that shape our world. An enduring fascination with the interplay of these elements permeates her entire body of work, infusing each creation with a palpable sense of vibrancy.

Steinkamp’s Swoosh, a mesmerizing series of five animations, graces the skyline of Los Angeles, a city where the heartbeat of basketball reverberates through the streets. The dynamism of basketball is also central to the architectural program of the Intuit Dome—a steel framework adorned with diagrid geometry, reminiscent of a basketball net capturing the fleeting moment of a swooshing ball. Steinkamp’s animations, integrated across the building's facade, pay homage to this symbiotic relationship between sport and structure. Animations reference the colors of the City of Inglewood, the pulsating energy of the Clippers, the rhythmic pattern of ocean waves, and the vast expanse of the sky and unpredictable wind forces.

Steinkamp researched the design and characteristics of the transparent panels covering Intuit Dome, which resemble pixels in a larger-than-life mosaic. Drawing inspiration from the fundamentals of cell animation, the artist harnessed the interplay of light to evoke a sense of movement. Cubes, stripes, triangles, and parallelograms emerge as the building blocks of Steinkamp’s visual narrative, forming spirals that weave around the dome, guided by the structure's contours, windows, and solar panels. These patterns infuse the artwork with fluidity and vitality. Whether it’s the gentle undulation of water or the dynamic shift of geometric forms, each animation breathes life into the static façade of the building.

The animations respond to the ebb and flow of life within the stadium as well. When the Clippers triumph on the court, the building itself becomes a canvas for celebration, its panels pulsating with newfound energy, showcasing one of the animations from Swoosh. In reimagining the Intuit Dome as a work of art, Swoosh represents the convergence of art, architecture, and human experience.

—Daria Kravchuk, curator and art journalist

Jennifer Steinkamp (b. 1958, Denver) is an installation artist who works with video and digital media to explore ideas about architectural space, movement, and perception. Steinkamp’s time-based site-specific projections transform the way space is perceived and experienced. A consistent current in her work is her fascination with the incorporeal in nature and science. She believes there is so much more in the universe than what we sense and feel; we are surrounded by sentience in all life-forms. With the computer she communicates this conviction, referencing the tangible but invisible forces in air and the uncanny forms and motion of plants. Steinkamp, who has lived, studied, and worked in LA since 1979, recently retired as a professor in UCLA’s Department of Design Media Arts.