When one thinks of art, rarely does functionality come to mind as well. While there are a lot of functional things that have been made artistic, most artistic things are not functional in nature, nor are they usually reasonable in price. A Ferrari is usually very artistic, and has function, but is almost always incredibly expensive. Glass sculptures are often very beautiful, and may not have a lot of cost involved, but rarely do they serve a useful function. And the last place most people would consider looking for artistic as well as functional satisfaction is with umbrellas used as pool or beach shade. Quite simply, having protection from the sun in an artistic manner just doesn’t seem to have a smooth juxtaposition. But new levels of art have been applied to sun blocking structures and have been termed “shade sculpture”.

This art form combines the functional need to protect one from the harsh, burning rays of the sun while having an artistic shape. While some would say that existing tents, umbrellas and pagodas have a certain level of artistic satisfaction already, others would disagree. And rightly so. While most patio umbrellas and tents do have a certain flow to them, on the whole they have always been designed in one fashion: as some type of dome or overhanging edifice to deflect the sun away. But applying artistic sensibilities to this concept now leads to amazingly beautiful, and functional, structures.

While the concepts to apply artistic forms to umbrellas and tents may have been around for decades, or even centuries in some areas, only now has the technology gotten to the point where these structures can be built. Superior strength aluminum and lightweight materials have enabled artisans to not only design truly artistic pieces of sculpture, but have allowed them to be created and built. This way, everyone can enjoy the beauty and have the protections of a high grade umbrella or sun shade in one well designed package. With these new materials, the flights of fancy that artists have envisioned can now be put into engineering specs and fabricated, bringing those flights of fancy into beautiful reality.

No longer does function have to ultimately dictate form. An idea can now be brought into reality for all of us to enjoy, giving us the benefit of good sun protection with the artistic satisfaction of having our very own “shade sculptures”.