Editors Note: Information in this article, originally published Nov. 20, 2023 has been corrected. Incorrect information regarding the attendance of Nevada’s Burning Man festival has been corrected.
The art installation in the Brickyard, Evolution Field, was created by NC State alum Matt McConnell and is here to stay for the remainder of the year.
McConnell graduated from NC State’s College of Design in 1995 and went on to debut Evolution Field at Nevada’s Burning Man festival.
“I had been to regional Burning Man events, but I had never been to the one that’s in Nevada, which is a really big event, about 80,000 people,” McConnell said. “I wanted to bring something out there so that I could connect with artists internationally.”
McConnell said the festival gave him free tickets to attend as a learning experience, which led to his modification of the original design.
“When I was there I learned enough about interactivity and color and how things work, so I came back, and I modified the piece and designed it with this addressable light system, which was an upgrade,” McConnell said.
McConnell said the modifications on top of the original design required sourcing funding, leading to a deal being made with the town of Cary, where Evolution Field lived temporarily.
Marian Fragola, director of community engagement at NC State Libraries, said the exhibit was brought to campus after Greg Raschke, senior vice provost and director of NC State Libraries took notice of the original Evolution Field displayed at Burning Man.
“Greg Raschke had seen a video of the original Evolution Field at Burning Man, and found out that it had been created by an NC State alum,” Fragola said. “He just had one of those, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool?’ moments; ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if this came to NC State?’ And so when we started talking to Matt about it, he was super excited.”
McConnell said he was passionate about bringing his work back to his alma mater and was determined to make it happen.
“It was really an honor for me to be asked to bring something forward, so I thought, ‘We just have to figure out a way to make this work,’” McConnell said.
McConnell said the interest expressed in Evolution Field by NC State led to a collaboration between himself, the University and others who had helped fund the project.
“NC State expressed an interest in it,” McConnell said. “So I said, ‘What if we made arrangements with the town of Cary and the other people to bring everybody together and figure out a way to get this made?’ That was how we ended up creating the piece that’s on campus at NC State now.”
McConnell said many groups contributed to funding the piece.
“It was definitely a collaboration between the different groups,” McConnell said. “They’re all sort of helping with this funding. NC State did not shoulder the burden for all of it, though they put in a portion. I’ve put in a portion myself, and the town of Cary and others also contributed to the whole thing. So the budget on it is a lot larger than some of the monies that have been announced.”
Fragola said the location of Evolution Field stemmed from the desire to display it in a central location.
“Since the Brickyard is going to be torn up for a while, a lot of students are not going to get that Brickyard experience,” Fragola said. “This wasn’t brought to be on campus specifically for the Brickyard, as a nice thing to have during construction, but it has a nice serendipitous effect, that’s going to be there during the darkest months. So while the Brickyard is under construction, it’s just kind of a nice happenstance.”
Fragola said Evolution Field will stay in the Brickyard for a total of three months, until February, but the University is interested in keeping it longer if possible.
“We’d love to have it a little longer, but I think it’s going to depend on if it’s going somewhere else,” Fragola said. “The three months that we are sure to have it are November, December into January.”
