Have you ever looked up while wandering the University of California’s campus? If so, you probably spotted something completely out of place: a baby-blue cottage on the edge of the otherwise mundane Jacobs Engineering building. That’s the Fallen Star, a gravity-defying installation by South Korean artist Do Ho Suh!
What’s the story behind the Fallen Star?
When Suh arrived in the U.S. in 1991 to study art, he felt completely lost in a foreign land. The artist described that feeling as being “dropped from the sky.” Those intense emotions of cultural displacement made him explore the concept of home, and what it means to adjust to a new world. Fallen Star is basically the physical manifestation of that difficult transition.
Visiting the Fallen Star
Absolutely! Public visiting hours are Wednesdays (for groups) and Thursdays (individuals and small groups). You can see it for free, as long as you book your spot in advance.
To experience it, you take the elevator up to the 7th floor. You’ll be greeted by a beautiful rooftop garden with a wisteria vine and growing tomatoes. Then, a brick path leads you right to the front door of the little blue cottage.
Step inside, and the illusion begins. The entire house sits at a 5-degree angle, creating a disorienting experience. As your brain tries to control your legs, you can explore an interior decorated in the homey style of an aunt or grandmother. The installation is also quite…alive. For example, at night, the cottage’s lights and a television flicker on, and steam simulating smoke sometimes rises from the chimney.
It’s very inviting – however, you’ll always have a feeling that the house can wobble off the building at any second. But rest assured, the 70,000-pound structure is heavily engineered and perfectly safe. And if you’re brave enough to make it up there, you’ll get incredible views of the Torrey Pines mesa! Would you go?
