Maria Clara Morales and Esteban Garcia Bravo worked together to create PRISMA, each bringing different backgrounds and a wealth of knowledge, experience, and skills to the project. 

Esteban has had a passion for making art since he was a child, spending many years of his childhood drawing comics, building models, and using an early Commodore VIC 20 to code pictures and animations. He did his undergraduate work in his hometown of Bogotá, Colombia, and then came to Indiana in 2005 and began working as a professor at Purdue University in 2013.

He said it took several years to realize what kind of art he wanted to make. Then about 12 years ago, he wanted to create an installation that embedded animated light sequences and selected a colorful LED strip. That led him to collaborate with artist Max Carlson to build light sculptures with wood that they have shown internationally. After showing artwork in galleries, museums, media art festivals, and pop-up events, he realized that art in public spaces was his favorite.

Esteban and Maria both said working with metal has been the biggest challenge. The work has been extremely physical, but they have both liked learning to work with steel. Esteban said he feels proud of this work because it is made with their hands. After this project, he wants to experiment more with the materials that they have discovered. 

Maria is the child of a doctor father who is passionate about carpentry and automobile mechanics. Her mother, a dentist, loves to paint and make crafts. Raised as a maker and builder, she has had a passion for puzzles and creation since she was a child, making everything by hand before learning digital technologies. 

During her studies, Maria took many courses besides her major that formed her in a multidisciplinary way. She has said yes to many unconventional opportunities that have come along without a clear idea of what would happen next. So far, this journey has taken her in unexpected but incredible directions.

She said the design process has enabled them to transform their ideas into buildable working components. Collaborating with Esteban has been an exciting process filled with rich dialogue and innovative problem-solving.

Maria said that she has found PRISMA to be a meeting point for architecture, design, and art, inspired by the repetition of simple geometries or “modularity” often used in modern architecture.

She comes from an architectural background whereas Esteban comes from art, which has caused them to pull one another in opposite directions, which has enriched their process and their product by pushing each of them beyond their comfort zones to make the best decisions possible.

This excerpt is from the 2023 Field Guide. Download it here.