The Henry Madden Library hosted a reception Thursday for an installation built by artist Jonathan Brilliant.
Brilliant’s design is made from around 51,000 coffee stir sticks and coffee-cup sleeves. It resembles a warped tube held up completely by the stick’s tension. It is displayed in the Ellipse Gallery on the second floor of the Henry Madden Library.
The structure reaches up to the third floor and is visible from the balcony in the gallery.
Many classes at Fresno State as well as 10 classes from kindergarten to high school seniors were invited to a site visit to see Brilliant as he assembled the large structure.
“All the groups were excited and the teachers were great,” Brilliant said. “They had a good time.”
The installation is the 26th Brilliant has made on his world tour, which began in 2009.
José DÃaz, associate dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, spoke before the reveal of the artwork.
“He has been an engaging artist,” DÃaz said. “It’s an incredible opportunity to have Jonathan here at Fresno State.”
Brilliant hosted a question-and-answer session before the reception when he also told stories about what drove him to become an artist and how he became interested in using the materials he used to build the installation.
More than 100 students and members of the community attended the reception.
“It’s been constant and it’s been great being this busy and seeing everyone so excited to see my work,” Brilliant said.
The Center for Creativity and the Arts paid the costs to bring Brilliant to Fresno State.
Megan Bailey, a student who was brought in as a coordinator by the CCA, organized all the art requests and presented them to the board. The board decided that Brilliant’s installation would be the best for the Fresno State campus.
“Just seeing the materials he uses makes it so much more relatable,” Bailey said.
Richard McQuone, a professor in the art and design department, attended the reception with many students in his classes.
“It’s almost like looking at a three-dimensional sketch,” Mcquone said.
Brilliant received the The Pollock-Krasner Foundation grant for his artwork. Nancy Youdelman, professor in the art and design department, is also a former winner of this grant.
“What could be more perfect in a building designed as though it was weaved,” Youdelman said.
Brilliant continues on from Fresno on to Birmingham, Ala., where his next installation will be built.
Once the installation is taken down, the materials will be given to 10 schools as resources for use in their arts programs as well as other curriculums, Diaz said.
“He’s just being himself,” Bailey said. “He plays with what’s around him and it seems really natural.”
