Fred Stern

(a Brief Biography)

I am an artist who creates natural rainbows in the sky as large as 2,000 feet across for events in support of humanistic causes. I generates an artificial rainfall by pumping water into the air using local fire department equipment. These water droplets refract the sun?s light to establish the rainbow. I use a computer program to determine the optimal time, position and spray parameters for rainbow generation.

I have served as Associate Professor of Sculpture and Engineering at Pratt Institute, and as Associate Professor of Visual Arts at New York University , the University of Maryland and the Instituto de Allende in Mexico.

I received five major awards from the National Endowment for the Arts and grants from many local and private agencies to support my work. I was the first artist to receive an Art in Public Places Individual Artist Award from the Endowment for his rainbow work.

I have presented over 50 large scale natural rainbows, as big as 2,000 feet across, for major events around the world. I created a natural rainbow over the United Nations Building in conjunction with National Japanese television as a visual metaphor for world peace.

My rainbows rainbows were presented at the United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the Stockholm Water Festival, the Hague Appeal for Peace, major peace events in Israel and Gaza, the Portland Blues Festival, and Liberation Day in Amsterdam.

I have worked with the American Cancer Society, Relay for Life Events, The Alzheimer Association, Camp Quality for children with cancer and Camp Sundown for children who can not be exposed to daylight. I presented a holocaust memorial piece as a part of the Potsdam Eutopia Festival and worked with the Colorado River tribes in Juarez Mexico to protest the placing of a nuclear dumpsite on sacred land.

I have coordinated groups of artists in the presentation of environmental works for the International Sculpture Conference in Washington, D.C. and, the Festival de Dos Culturas in Mexico. I served as an advisor and participant to the New York Annual Avant Garde Festival for over 10 years.

My education was in the Engineering Sciences earning a d octorate degree. I have been politically active since the early 60's when I organized Freedom Rides to the South, and opposed the Viet Nam war. I have been an outspoken opponent to the Iraq and Afghanistan invasions.