Villareal’s installation, inspired by the museum’s architecture, which was designed by Antoine Predock in 1987, explores the blurred boundaries between abstraction, recognition and perception. Produced in collaboration with the ASU Art Museum and the Los Angeles County Art Museum (LACMA), the piece features a monolithic light board emitting points of light generated by a digital scan of the building.

“Ideas, communication, art, architecture, access and community — these interconnected concepts embody the essence of human cooperation,” Robert said, explaining his decision to support this acquisition. “This synergy is epitomized by Villareal’s artwork housed within Predock’s architecture for the ASU Art Museum, at one of the most innovative public universities, situated in one of the largest and most dynamic contemporary cities.”

“Point Cloud (ASU)” serves as a meditation on Predock’s work, revealing the deep layers and references embedded in the architecture as it ascends toward the sky and descends into the Earth. The ongoing movement of light within the installation prompts viewers to consider deeper understandings of the masses and forms around them, questioning what is visible and what is ephemeral.

The mobile three-dimensional scanning company Kaarta scanned the building inside and outside using lidar. The exterior model consists of approximately 147 million points, and the interior model consists of 53 million points.

The millions of points of light form together in the eyes of the viewer to create a spatial image of the ASU Art Museum in a three-dimensional form and allow the perspective to move throughout the structure, giving viewers a chance to understand the building in a whole new light.