With the Vancouver Winter Olympics fast approaching, the Victory Ceremony podiums and metal trays were just unveiled this week. The pieces were designed by James Lee, an industrial designers from Vancouver, and the late Spanish designer Leo Obstbaum, who was the design director of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. The design of the podium is meant to “echo the undulating peaks and ridges of the Coast Mountain Range”. The 23 podiums are made up of 200 individual pieces of precision-cut wood. The lumber used was harvested from British Columbia forests and was donated by businesses, organization, and individuals from the area. The wood is coated with a thick acrylic medium, which is meant to resemble the texture of snow. Lee and Obstbaum also designed similar looking trays, which the metals will be placed on during the award ceremonies.

The layered, ripple-like look of the podium and the designer's idea of echoing the patterns of mountain ranges reminds me very much of the wavelike undulations seen in Wade Kavanaugh's installation work, especially his many collaborative works with Stephen B. Nguyen. This interview with Kavanugh in 2008 explains his philosophy, which is the main inspiration of his artwork. I saw Kavanaugh's most recent show, Falsewood, at Cynthia Reeves Gallery in Chelsea last year. Whenever I look at Kavanaugh's work I am also reminded of Maya Lin's sculpted landscapes. Her work is also similar to that of the podiums, especially her Wavefield at Storm King Art Center last year.