Conscious Choice Seattle: All Together Now

August 2005 | Feature Story

All Together Now

Seattle’s bounty of public art is a group effort of artists, businesses, nonprofits and leading-edge city officials

By Heather Nordell

Going up the fluorescent yellow escalator of the new Central Library, a large crack in the wall catches your eye. Inside, close-up video streams of unsettling, ghostlike faces and mouths speak in a low mumble.

It’s hard to make out much of what those faces are saying. You wonder if they are talking to each other or you.

Whew, that’s no ho-hum escalator ride.

The hip among us will recognize the large crack in the wall as the work of renowned video artist Tony Oursler. His surreal installation is just one in an impressive art lineup selected to complement both the literary collection and heralded energy-saving, environmentally-friendly building design of Rem Koolhaas.

Seattle prides itself on a commitment to public art. Our year-old Central Library is a lead example. So is the synergy between government and the private sector.

The city government is a long-time sponsor of public art. Local businesses commission and support art projects. Non-profit organizations continue to make significant public art contributions that go right to the soul of our community and fly in the face of reduced funding after Sept. 11.

Some encouraging statistics: During the last five years, the city’s Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs has commissioned 78 art projects. For new qualifying city development projects, the city earmarks one percent of their total budgets to integrate public art into the project.

One recent example is the work titled “Return,” at City Hall, by artist Beliz Brother. The 74 glass panels enclose the public reception room—each panel containing images of the city’s natural and built environment.

Art squared

In addition to Tony Oursler, the Central Library houses conceptual artist Ann Hamilton’s 7,200-square-foot hardwood floor of eleven languages within the Literacy/ESL/World Languages Collection, Gary Hill’s video installation and Mandy Greer’s whimsical soft sculpture in the children’s section.

For 20 years, the Fremont Arts Council has evoked public art and is the creative force behind the Summer Solstice Parade. Fremont artists gave life to Seattle icon the Fremont Troll.

What’s more, the International District’s central Firehouse 10 will be home to a sculpture mural by Gloria Bornstein, the local artist who created the whale backs and whale tails at Seattle Center.

And artists are most certainly not an after-thought or mere window dressing. They are consulted during the planning phases of city projects.

“Artists have a role in the discussion of what a community is and what it can be,” says Jim McDonald, director of the Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs. “They should be at the table with businesses, developers, planners and architects to help bring a new vision to the possibilities.”

Museum public art is also underway. In the summer of 2006, Seattle Art Museum will open its third site with a new downtown Olympic Sculpture Park. This 8.5-acre green space, designed by Weiss/Manfredi Architects, will have water and mountain views and host approximately 20 works from local and international artists.

“Publicly-sited art gains meaning from the site context,” says Lisa Corrin, artistic lead for the Olympic Sculpture Park. “Like architects, artists provide rooms with lots of windows that look into the landscapes within ourselves and society that we may not notice without them.”

Corrin promises nothing short of world-class status.

“This park will be like no other in the world,” she says. “Soon, it will join other evolutionary projects for Seattle such as EMP, the Seattle Library, the new opera house, and SAM’s expanding museum.”

Change factor

Art is also a vehicle for social and personal change. ArtWorks is a local organization that empowers the lives of young people through professional opportunities in the arts. About 300 young artists participate in ArtWorks classes, shows or public art programs each year. The organization boasts 350-plus murals created since its founding 10 years ago.

ArtWorks clients include Washington Mutual, the U.S. Federal Courthouse, Sound Transit, Port of Seattle, Starbucks, Metro and local schools.

“Since working at ArtWorks, I have learned to paint, meditate and imagine,” says one ArtWorks youth artist named Jenelle. “It helped me make a difference in my life by wanting to work with people who have been through difficult situations.”

“Many kids in our programs had done graffiti, an expression not appreciated by their community,” says Laura Harper, director of ArtWork. “We give them the skills and opportunity to express themselves in a way that is appreciated by their community. Their public art contributions give them pride and confidence.”

Heather Nordell is a contributing writer and columnist for Evergreen Monthly.

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