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Weekly art hit: “Points of View”

Walking into the north lobby of the Seattle Justice Center on 5th Ave. and James St., you will find two nearly identical cones; one reaching down from the ceiling and the other rising from the floor. Aligned so that their tips nearly touch, Beyette_Davis ESD03.044.06.01the construction is 28 feet tall, with forms and materials (granite and limestone) that are reminiscent of stalagmites and stalactites that one might find in a cave. Around this focal point, fragmented arcs ripple across the floor into the rest of the lobby.

These sculptural forms and series of concentric circles make up Points of View, installed in 2002 and created by a team of four artists: Pam Beyette (lead), Norie Sato, Michael Davis and Richard Turner. This team also created other artworks for the court’s stairwell and other locations to uphold themes related to the work that happens in the building.

Points of View is the focal point of the court’s lobby, and is “intended to suggest the ongoing dialogue, between compassion and justice, natural law and the rule of man….and the difficulty creating true balance within society,” said Beyette, fitting for the building that is home to the Seattle Municipal Court and Seattle Police Department. This piece, especially the circles on the floor, is also intended to represent “the rippling effect an individual’s action has on society at large” according to the artist statement found on the plaque next to the artwork.

The artwork Points of View was funded by the Department of Finance and Administrative Services 1% for Art funds.

Photo by Tom Collicott

Weekly Art Hit is featuring artworks every week from the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and 2000s to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the city’s public art program.