Sean McGinnis’s Giant String Webs Weave Bold Color Into Nature

Artist <a href="http://www.mcginnis.fr/" target="_blank">Sean McGinnis</a> uses his "string theory" to transform urban and natural landscapes into <a href="http://inhabitat.com/creepy-crawly-kaleidoscopic-bug-installations-wonder-and-amaze-visitors/" target="_blank">living tableaus</a>. Using only brightly colored string and rope, his sculptures connect existing spaces with surreal color, changing the energy of <a href="http://inhabitat.com/the-palms-houses-futuristic-metal-screens-provide-privacy-from-in-laws/" target="_blank">courtyards </a>and forests alike. The webs invade these environments with imposing size, only to be removed with a snip of scissors, leaving no footprint or indication that they were ever there.

McGinnis’s pieces interact directly within their <a href="http://inhabitat.com/asensio_mahs-surface-deep-swells-across-quebecs-reford-garden/" target="_blank">specific environments</a>. His piece, called "Crépuscule," was part of Colorado’s Green Box Arts Festival. High in the beautiful Rocky Mountains, the artist spent three weeks weaving miles of string into the floating orb.

Choosing hues that mimic the sun setting over the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/yosemite-to-chop-down-thousands-of-trees-to-preserve-iconic-views/" target="_blank">mountains</a>, the rich oranges, yellows and pinks are a glowing contrast within the lush natural greens of the mountain vegetation. Being a web, "Crépuscule" has a ghost-like transparency, that doesn’t overtake the surrounding nature, but instead compliments and harmonizes with it.

Like leaves and flowers as the seasons change, "Crépuscule" is ephemeral, remaining in tact until Mother Nature decides the exhibition is over. Being made of string held taut with no other structural base, the sculptures can also be thought of temporary themselves. His urban projects are not necessarily left to the whim of the natural forces, yet still <a href="http://inhabitat.com/karen-bausman’s-living-wall-project-will-turn-nyc’s-meatpacking-district-into-a-green-landscape/" target="_blank">integrate and echo nature</a>.

For Expo Ruban Vert in Paris, McGinnis strung bright green cords down the side of a Parisian façade on rue Rivoli. The green infusion mimics a <a href="http://inhabitat.com/canal-city-an-eye-popping-japanese-mall-filled-with-hanging-gardens-and-cooling-pools/" target="_blank">hanging garden</a> of ivy, and indirectly calls attention to the lack of foliage in the area.

McGinnis constructed his amorphous meticulously from idea to hand, weaving as he went along. Yet recently, he began using a 3D modeling program. This method has enabled the artist to experiment with color and lighting, without wasting materials on experimentation.

The new pieces create <a href="http://inhabitat.com/francois-abelanets-grassy-globe-optical-illusion-fools-many-a-parisians-eye/" target="_blank">organic shapes</a> and complex webs indoors, in glowing colors. The new pieces bring neurological structures, and the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/gigantic-coal-gasometers-transformed-into-thriving-communities/" target="_blank">double helix</a> of DNA to mind as sources for design inspiration. His new series, “Cathedral in the Wind,” will open in 2013.