Visual art display celebrates 30 years of Lakewood Ranch

In a unique effort to look back over the last 30 years, Waterside Place will be presenting “Ranch Reflections” from Jan. 14-20 as part of its free Sights and Sounds series.

Lakewood Ranch's history is being showcased through moving murals that will be projected onto select walls, rooftops and palm trees along Lakefront Drive.

“Everything that we’re creating, in some way, shape or form, will tie to Florida or Lakewood Ranch,” Elln Hagney said.

Hagney and her husband, Dave Gordon, own and operate Enlightened Monkey Arts in Sarasota. The company specializes in tech art and projection mapping. 

“It’s been a goal of mine to integrate visual art into the Sights and Sounds series,” said Nicole Hackel, Lakewood Ranch's events and resident experience manager. “I’m hopeful that we’ve curated an exhibit that will wow attendees and leave a lasting impression.”

Hackel and her team supplied Enlightened Monkey Arts with photographs, videos and newspaper clippings to use, but the artists also did their own research on Lakewood Ranch.

“I had no idea that it was a beer company that came down in 1919 and bought a timber forest so they could do turpentine farming. That’s the origin,” Hagney said. “As much information as we can get that helps to inform the art, then that’s what we create.”

The beer company was the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company, which was owned by the Uihleins, and while the final footage hadn’t been decided yet, it’s likely a photo of one of the founding Uihleins will be turned into a living portrait. Through software, the artists can make still photos come to life.

Hagney and Gordon hadn’t decided on the final footage because they’re pulling from over 500 pieces of material, and the mapping needs to be done first. 

The couple will set up five large projectors and four micro projectors in Waterside. Each one will be mapped and programmed to fit the space precisely. 

For example, the pavilion has columns and each column needs to be mapped out individually so the projection doesn’t reflect on anything else in between. The viewer will see one cohesive work of optical art, but it’s been compiled in pieces. On average, the projections run on four-minute loops. 

“The longer you spend with the piece, the more you’re going to see, the more you’re going to observe and the more you’re going to understand what we’re trying to convey,” Hagney said.