Eye-on-Art

Door to the Past

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 17:16:00 +0000

Ahh... it's been a while since my trip to L.A. But downtown, around the corner from that sculpture I wasn't allowed to photograph, there is this amazing door. I can't find much information on it. From what my friends told me, it's the last remaining piece from a beautiful, art deco building (the Atlantic Richfield Building). I think this is my favorite photo from my trip to Downtown L. A. It makes me think of those sci-fi shows like Quantum Leap. A door to the past that can take us to the future.

If only we still built with such attention to detail and aesthetic. Don't get me wrong, I love the modernist architecture that you see in magazines like Dwell.... but sometimes, I think it would be nice to have something other clean lines and box architecture. Yes... it's cheaper... it's probably quicker and easier to build that way as well.

And don't get me started on sustainable architecture! I think it's great and all buildings should be built in a sustainable manner. "Green" town homes are sprouting up around Seattle, like mushrooms after a downpour, and they are so butt-ugly. Just because it's sustainable...DO YOU HAVE TO PAINT THEM PUKE GREEN AND RUST RED? Do you have to show every freakin' bolt that goes into the siding? Does that siding have to look like it you got it from the remainder pile at the lumber yard?

Look at this door! Wouldn't it be fantastic to walk through that everyday on your way to work? Isn't there a way to merge modernist, sustainable architecture with elements of folly? Maybe people are doing just that.... I haven't seen it. Then, again, I haven't exactly looked for it either.

Paul Conrad: Chain Reaction

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 23:17:00 +0000

It's been a while since I lasted posted, but here is a new one.

This is a sculpture in Santa Monica by Paul Conrad. Conrad is a political cartoonist and sculptor. This piece took my breath away when I stumbled upon it. It is unsettling and beautiful. Made of hundreds of chain links, it is, in the Artist's words, a statement of peace.

To me the chains represent how we are ultimately tethered to the fear of mass destruction and that this fear links us to the need for peace.

Location: Santa Monica Convention Center

Forbidden Art

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 02:01:00 +0000

So...! There was this one piece, the first piece of public art I am taken to by my gracious guides in Bunker Hill, that, while being public art, was apparently FORBIDDEN! Unfortunately, it was also a favorite of my guide. But, when I tried to take a picture of it, I was scolded by a security guard.

I MEAN REALLY! It's not like I was trying to SELL CRACK COCAINE! Or take off my clothes and SPLASH AROUND LIKE A NUDY BOY in the fountain which held the piece. All I wanted to do was take a picture of it like a PROPER TOURIST. Isn't that part of the purpose of public art? To attract tourism?!

Anywho.... It is a rather nice piece that looks like a double-helix. Or a set of stairways. (There wasn't any water in the fountain ANYWAY! but this is supposed to make it look like it goes on indefinitely.) So this is my interpretation of the sculpture in the context of experiencing it.

P.S. if you would like to see it go here. Apparently, this person could take a picture.

Sculpture: Four Arches

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 01:25:00 +0000

This is an Alexander Calder sculpture called "Four Arches". I love the motion of this piece... and, of course, the Calder Red. From this angle it looks like an erupting volcano.

I also like how elegant something this massive (and it is pretty big) looks against the gigantic skyscrapers in the distance.

The curved arches are reminiscent of Gothic architecture to me. This, with the vibrant orange-red of the steel, makes it a great study of contrasts; heavy, massive materials looking light, fluid and elegant; the muted tones of the surrounding buildings with the vibrancy of the sculpture's color.

Calder was also fascinated by the Circus. One of his early jobs as an artist was to sketch the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey circus. He did sculpture later in his career based on circus themes. Which may be why, when I look at this piece, I ultimately think of an Elephant separated from the Circus parade marching down main street.

Location: Los Angeles, Bunker Hill

Sculpture: Ulysses

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 00:18:00 +0000

I recently took a trip to Los Angeles. One of the goals of this trip was to absorb as much art as possible. So, with the aid of some great tour guides, I went out in search of public art. My friends live close to Bunker Hill in Downtown L.A. So, of course, this post (and others to follow) are from this area.

This is another Alexander Liberman. Thanks to having seen his Olympic Illiad at the Seattle Center, I knew when I saw this piece from a distance, that it was a Liberman. This one's called "Ulysses". Is it named after the Ulysses (Latin name of) the legendary Greek King (Odysseus in Greek)? He's the king who wandered around for 10 years after the Trojan War. I'll have to read more about him, but according to Wikipedia his name could mean "The one who is wrathful/hateful". Interesting.

Or is it named after James Joyce's novel "Ulysses" the story of Leopold Bloom and his travels around Dublin?

Or, Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th President of the U.S. who lead the Union in the Civil War?

It's probably named after the Greek King (given the name of his other work in Seattle). I, however, think this piece should be called Metallica, since it's made of heavy metal and looks like an electric guitar thrust into the ground. Also, when I think of L.A. I think of heavy metal bands from the 80s with their teased out hair, skin-tight jeans, and pointy guitars... Or, I think of Gidget and the Beach Boys.

Hey it's possible (just not probable)! Metallica started in 1981 and this statue is dated 1988.

Again, I love how Liberman is able to take these massive, heavy forms and make them seem as if they are floating in space; re-organizing themselves.

Location: Bunker Hill, Los Angeles

Relief: Manhole cover

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Fri, 16 May 2008 07:24:00 +0000

So... I'm walking down the street wondering what my next subject will be. I'm stopped at the Northeast corner of Marion and 3rd Avenue in Seattle and I look down. How many times have I passed one of these manhole covers and missed this?

I love the pattern. It's whimsical. Everything should be made with this kind of awareness to the aesthetic. Seattle City light could easily have just put down a metal disk... flat and functional. Instead, this enhances the streetscape and reminds us where our run-off water goes and what it affects. Thanks Seattle City Light!

Location: Marion and 3rd Avenue (Northeast corner...on the ground.... you're standing on it!)

Sculpture: Henry Moore

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Fri, 16 May 2008 06:57:00 +0000

This sculpture is by Henry Moore and it's called Three Piece Sculpture: Vertebrae. Made in 1968 and owned by the Seattle Art Museum, this piece is sits in the 4th Avenue Plaza across from the Seattle Public Library. And I have to laugh! Not because I think the piece is silly... but because this it sits outside the building where my back doctor is. Let me tell you, I know about vertebrae and what happens when they get worn down!

I like Henry Moore's sculpture. It makes me want to touch it. It looks worn like the Grand Canyon... eroded by the elements over time. Or, perhaps this is the backbone of an ancient giant, and like pebbles at the bottom of a stream, it has been eroded by the flow of people and cars rushing through the streets of Seattle. Was this what Moore wanted us to see? A broken, worn backbone?
Moore often sculpted the female figure reclining. Is this a representation of the essence of that? Is it the core of the figure?
One of the best things about this sculpture is its relationship to the Seattle Public Library building by Rem Koolhaus. I like the way this organic, smooth and curvaceous form balances the geometry and hard lines that make up the library.

One thing to note... in the lobby of the 4th Ave Plaza building, is this fantastic painting. I wonder if this inspired Koolhaus when he was scouting the location for the public library.

Billboard: Ring Finger

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Thu, 08 May 2008 03:23:00 +0000

Is graphic design art? Can a billboard be art? Does it matter? This billboard is on 1st Avenue in Belltown (on the East side of the street looking South). It's on the side of a building that looks like it could be an old hotel. It's advertising a jewelry store that specializes in wedding rings.

I like the bold, simple graphics. The illustration of the hand is elegant and the incorporation of a the word "vacancy" in neon (which lights up at night, of course) is brilliant. It communicates everything with minimal words. The graphic and the text work together to tell a story. And isn't that what good design should do?

Someone once said (and it's probably a someone famous, I just don't remember) that design solves a question, while art poses one. I like that idea. If I agree with and want to stick to that idea, then I guess this is graphic design. Then why is it here on a blog about public art?

Because I really like it.

Location: 1st Avenue, Belltown, Seattle

Sculpture: Olympic Iliad

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Thu, 01 May 2008 21:31:00 +0000

At the base of the Seattle Space Needle sits Alexander Liberman's Olympic Iliad. This orange-y red always makes me look when I walk by. The way the structure seems to cascade to the lawn below, makes me want to walk under it. It's amazing to me that more people don't climb this structure. It reminds me of those playgrounds I used to go to when I was a kid that had those structures made up of tunnels, boxes and slides.

Liberman, an Editorial Director for Conde Naste, made these metal sculptures from industrial objects. I like the balance he creates with these objects. This looks like it was once a solid structure that started to re-assemble itself and stopped... frozen in a precarious way. Move one piece and it would come crashing down. The result are massive tubular shapes that seem to float in it's own sense of space.

A structure that seems to be struggling to stand; to right itself again; to break free and run away.

Location: Seattle Center's South lawn, West of the Space Needle

Statue: Male/Female

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Thu, 01 May 2008 05:54:00 +0000

Here's another Jonathan Borofsky statue titled "Male/Female" outside of Penn Station, Baltimore, MD. I saw this statue for the first time about a year ago. I had know idea who made it, but thought it was pretty interesting. When writing the last post, I checked out Borofsky's website and saw this one listed.

It's a pretty interesting location for such a contemporary statue. I think it fits though. After all we're contemporary people moving through spaces that have been around for ages. Also being outside of Penn Station (a train station) it really reflects (no pun intended) the coming and going of men and women through this space every day. Similarly, the Hammering Man is creating... making something... and he's located outside the art museum. What do they say in real estate? "Location! Location! Location!" I think I like these everyman statues after all.

Statue: Hammering Man

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Thu, 01 May 2008 05:37:00 +0000

This is the statue "Hammering Man" by Jonathan Borofsky. It's dated 1992 and made of painted steel. It is 48 feet high. It's located on the southwest corner of the Seattle Art Museum.

It's iconic to downtown Seattle and more can be read on the Seattle Art Musuem's website. I like the determination and routine this statue represents to me. I like how the finish is fading to a soft black. Interesting juxtaposition of this statue of an industrial worker made of steel in a town of knowledge-based workers.

Location: 1st Avenue, Seattle (by Seattle Art Museum)

Statue: Orpheus

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Thu, 01 May 2008 05:19:00 +0000

This is a statue of Orpheus at Fort McHenry in Baltimore. The placard for this statue reads:

" The heroic bronze figure in front of you is not, as many suppose, a likeness of Francis Scott Key. The statue represents Orpheus, the artful poet, musician, and singer of Greek Mythology.

" In 1914 Congress appropriated funds for a monument at Fort McHenry to mark the centennial of the writing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and the defense of Baltimore. Orpheus with the Awkward Foot, the creation of sculptor Charles H. Niehaus, was selected from thirty four designs submitted in a national competition.

"Orpheus is depicted playing a lyre, and stands twenty-four feet from head to toe.

"The marble base bears a medallion honoring Francis Scott Key, flanked by a procession of allegorical figures. The pedestal contains a time capsule filled with documents of patriotic and historical interest. In 1962 the statue was moved here from its original site near the fort's principal entrance."

This is a beautiful statue and if you're at Fort McHenry in Baltimore, MD you should check it out.

Location: Fort McHenry, Baltimore MD

Installation: Tacky

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Thu, 01 May 2008 04:26:00 +0000

Okay. I don't know who first invented these inflatable, seasonal decorations... or why. But apparently they are taking over the world. Who said that the movie "The Blob" was a Science Fiction movie?

This is an installation I came across back East, oustide of Baltimore, MD. However, I have seen many of these installations in Seattle too. And, I am sure they can be found, during any prominent holiday, all over the country. However, I am particularly fond of this one. While I think Martha Stewart would be gnashing her teeth and muttering curses, I was stupefied by this display. The sheer magnitude. Whoever did this was HAVING A LOT OF FUN ... (and is a little bit off, if you know what I'm saying)!

But, folks, can we try something a little more original next year? What ever happened to dry ice and plastering your arms to make zombie hands coming up out of fresh graves? Is our world too politically correct that we have to decorate with these innocuous, inflatable, cartoons? And think about the environment people! How much energy are we wasting keeping these things inflated and lit up? Really!

Location: At a family restaurant in suburb of Baltimore, Maryland

Mural: Poster Graffiti

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Thu, 01 May 2008 04:13:00 +0000

The wall across from the Bubble Gum Wall in Post alley is covered with poster graffiti. I especially like the current exhibit. It's all about repitition and scale. Really great.

Location: Seattle, Post Alley (under Pike's Place Market)

Typography: The Lusty Lady

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Thu, 01 May 2008 03:57:00 +0000

This post will surely get a lot of hits by those searching for something other than a blog about public art. And, it will probably annoy, upset, or amuse people. Whatever. I don't want to hear about your thoughts on strip clubs, exploitation of women, etc. Go find another blog to talk about that.

This isn't about the art going on inside (and yes they have erotic photography and art shows in their lobby). This post is about the marquee itself. I love it! An old school kind of marquee with some of the cleverest phrases I've seen in advertising. They are playful and irreverent. And they change pretty frequently. They are always about something very culturally topical. When the Seattle Art Museum (located across the street) opened their show of Roman Art from the Louvre, the phrase was "Julius Sees Her".

I also like the lettering of their logo. A great script typeface. Perhaps that "u" could be just a bit closer to the first "L", but otherwise great motion, approachable, and playful. Love the Art Deco letters with which they write their taglines. Read more about the Lusty Lady on Wikipedia.

Location: 1st Avenue, Seattle (across from the Seattle Art Museum)

Sculpture: Belltown Lights

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 17:01:00 +0000

I first saw these light posts returning from getting my afternoon fix of Skee-Ball at the Seattle Center. Walking to catch the bus and carrying two medium-sized, stuffed animals (bright green frogs). My prizes for $3 worth of Skee-Ball. (It's the only sport at which I truly excel).

It was a nice night and...then...I saw this across the street.... and hated it. It looks unfinished; like someone had some extra metal bars laying around a construction site and decided to bamboozle the city with some "public art". Constructionist Art. Perhaps they're not finished....

Then, I thought about what I was looking at a bit more.... and I kinda started to like it. It's actually perfect for Seattle, which has seen so much downtown construction over the past few years. It seems everywhere you go someone's building something. I also thought, these light posts kinda poke fun at this in a tounge-and-cheek sorta way. This is probably not what the artist had in mind; but, it's what I see and this is my blog (ha ha).

The artist is Kurt Kiefer and they are dated 1996. Apparently, these are supposed to "reference the process of removing Denny Hill (the "Regrade," which took place in the early 1900s)." I guess the artist did a pretty good job communicating his ideas, because if I "got it", then.... I also read that, the "light fixture brackets with neon clocks, refer to construction scaffolding and bracing used during the dismantling of Denny Hill." *Read on the Seattle.gov website.

Funny, I didn't connect them with the first round of major construction this city went through. But maybe these speak of the continual change a city under goes through construction.

Most of these don't have clocks attached to them. That's why I like this one the best. I like the balance. Plus, I think more light posts should have clocks... especially light posts near a bus stop. That would not only be decorative, but also functional. Here's a picture of another light post in a more appropriate environment.

I wonder what people will think of these lights in 5 years.

Location: 2nd Avenue in Seattle's Belltown Neighborhood

Sculpture: Nose Bench

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 23:35:00 +0000

You take the left nostril, I'll take the right and when we catch our breath, we'll continue up the hill. This is a bench, half-way up the hill from Pike's Place Market to 1st Avenue. Made of metal, tractor seats and paint. To me, it looks like a nose. I like the elegant line that makes up the bridge of the nose. The tractor seats are comfy! (As tractor seats are likely to be.) And the seats fit in nicely with the whole Farmer's Market thing.

Try them out. It's a long steep hill and after you eat your way through the market (like I usually do) you'll need a little breather.
Location: Pike's Place, Seattle

Mural: Keeping Watch

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 23:18:00 +0000

I walk around a lot. I've always felt that's the best way to see and learn about a place. Too much is missed by riding around in a car. This is a mural that is probably not seen by many, which made it extra fun to find. And made me wonder... was this commissioned (free or otherwise) or is it graffiti? It can be found under the 1st Avenue on-ramp to Highway 99. Those who walk from the ferry terminals, up the stairs to 1st are lucky to have something to divert their attention. Hopefully, they notice it.

It also makes me wonder if these giants are sitting in their living room, watching out their window at what happens in this loading dock/parking lot/ dead-end street. Or is it the windshield of a great cement car we're looking into?

I love the colors and the geometry of this mural. The expressions on the faces made with lines. What's the distance between the two figures say? Makes me think this is view is routine to them.

I also like how the grime from the cement and road above has run down the face of the mural and added a bit of organic paint. Kinda like it is a windshield.

Location: Under the 1st Ave on-ramp to 99. Seneca and Post St.

Mural: Crane Shadows

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 19:46:00 +0000

So... Late one afternoon, I'm meeting a group of people, that I don't know all that well, at a Starbucks on 1st Avenue South in Seattle. I'm a bit distracted... nervous about the meeting, tired from working on a bunch of freelance projects, worried about how little money I'm making, etc....

I park my car in the back lot, and walk to the 1st Ave entrance and I look over at the building across the street. At first, I thought these were just shadows from the Port cranes on this building. But then I realize that a) The cranes are across Highway 99, several hundred yards behind the building and b) there is no way these are shadows. Then I noticed the front of the building.

The simplicity in the use of solid fields of black, the highly graphical nature, the relationship to it's environment all make this a must see mural. It's hard to tell where reality becomes fiction. Viewing it from the right angle creates a seamless sight-line from the cranes in the distance to the shadows painted on the building. It's bold and intriguing.

I have to do a bit more research and learn whose behind this awesome mural. A sign on the front door advertises artists lofts.

Location: 1900 block of 1st Avenue South. SODO district of Seattle.

Bubbling Artists

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 17:03:00 +0000

I think this wall best represents why I decided to start blogging about public art.

From a distance, you may notice the texture. You might notice that something is awry. You can choose to ignore it, or start to look at it closer. If you do, you'll start to notice a space transformed...purposely. You might notice that people have taken a material and used it as a means of self-expression and of collective expression.

From a distance, I look at public art and wonder how to recognize/define it. Is it Free? Or commissioned and paid for? Accessible to large amounts of the public? Outside of an art museum or gallery; or part of? How does it transform and relate to it's surroundings? What does it communicate? What do I like about... what don't I like?

Looking closer at the wall, I notice it's components. This start to become visible. This is the infamous Bubble Gum Wall in Seattle's Post Alley.

I've lived in Seattle for almost 12 years now, and have heard of the wall--but, never visited. This is another goal of this blog - to explore ; find things in obvious places, hidden locations and everything in between. I want to stretch my idea of public art (and as cliched as it is, art itself). I like this wall, because it repulses and fascinates me at the same time. It is both personal and collective. From a distance, it's about texture and what that can communicate.

Up close, you see typography, abstract painting (is that Van Gogh's ear?), and mini sculptures and collages. You are reminded that people have put the material with which they create, in their mouth (one of the filthiest parts of our bodies) and mixed it with their saliva, making it pliable, to communicate something. Communicating, consciously or not, to themselves and to others. This wall started with boredom and rebellion of waiting in line, and grew into a collective participation.

I also want to share what I find and hear what others think about the subject posted. I won't like everything. You won't like everything. This isn't academic, the writing won't be brilliant. This is meant to be fun and interesting. I hope you'll find it so.

And check out the Bubble Gum Wall in the north end of Post Alley, underneath Pike's Place Market. It's...

Location: Post Alley, Seattle

Welcome

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:56:00 +0000

Hello! This is a new site dedicated to public art. More to come soon