Brad Oldham Poses at Future DART Stop With Subterranean Glass Snake

Once upon a time, Brad Oldham (on the left, with Brandon Oldenburg) almost got Eric and me killed. We were all on a rec league basketball team together. Brad was by far the best player (before the ACL went, he could jump out of gym). But he was also a hothead. One game, we played an all-Hispanic team. Brad egregiously elbowed one of the players, started shooting off his mouth, and then things quickly got racial. Our Hispanic point guard knew the other players and convinced them to give us a head start to our cars. Only by sprinting from the Centrum gym to our cars were we able to escape injury — injury that would have been deserved, by the way.

But that’s neither here nor there. Just fun for remembering. The point of this post is that Brad and his partners at Reel FX have been awarded a $1,365,000 contract to build sculptures at DART’s Deep Ellum rail station. Full release after the jump (which is just as tiny as Brad’s now).

Reel FX Creative Studios and Brad Oldham, Inc. Awarded DART Contract To Provide Sculptural Installation at Deep Ellum Rail Station

May 30, 2008, Dallas, TX - The Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) board has awarded a contract not to exceed $1,365,000.00 to Reel FX Creative Studios and Brad Oldham, Inc. to create a sculpture series at multiple sites surrounding DART’s new Deep Ellum Rail Station, one of several new stations along DART’s Green Line. This sculptural installation will coincide with the September 2009 opening of the new Deep Ellum Rail Station located near North Good Latimer Expressway and Gaston Avenue.

The Reel FX-Brad Oldham team was awarded this project for their visionary approach to the sculpture series and connection to Deep Ellum and its artistic community. The initial concepts submitted by the team will now enter the final design and construction document phase. The concept and design of this project will be kept under wraps until later this year.

… [Ed: this post originally included a draft quote from a DART official that had not been approved. That quote has been expunged.]

“The initial concept for the sculpture series was conceived from the minds of the Reel FX artists who live and work in Deep Ellum,” said Brandon Oldenburg, Vice President of Creative for Reel FX Creative Studios. “Deep Ellum is a neighborhood that has experienced many rebirths, and with our partner Brad Oldham, we are honored to create artwork that will have a positive impact on the community.”

“Collaborating with a highly creative studio like Reel FX has been very rewarding for our company, and we are excited with the artistic concepts we’ve created together,” said Brad Oldham, President of Brad Oldham, Inc. “With the award of this contract, we can now move into final stages of creative development, working closely with DART.”

About Reel FX Creative Studios:

Reel FX Creative Studios is an integrated group of award-winning design and production studios (Reel FX Entertainment and Radium) that produce extraordinary animation, visual effects, entertainment content, commercials and conceptual designs. With digital studios in Dallas, Santa Monica and San Francisco, Reel FX’s seasoned artists and producers are able to collaborate with clients from original concept to visual development through production to the final frame.

About Brad Oldham, Inc.:

Brad Oldham is a nationally recognized product designer and sculptor who works with a team of artisans and business professionals that round out the company known as Brad Oldham, Inc. Based in Dallas, Oldham works with top interior design firms and developers nationally to provide iconic pieces for high-profile public, corporate and private spaces throughout the United States. In addition to sculpture, the company provides custom hardware, lighting, tile, fine furnishings, architectural features and historical restoration work.