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Updated: SuttonBeresCuller set sidewalk aglow

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Untitled-1Commuters crossing the platform at the Seattle Streetcar’s Westlake Hub station are likely to do a double take. SuttonBeresCuller just put the finishing touches on a new public artwork that’s embedded in the sidewalk at the stop at Westlake and Olive Way.

The neon sculpture – titled Sequence/Consequence – is twisted into the form of a double helix and sits just below the sidewalk’s surface. If you look down through the etched glass hatch cover, the animated light sculpture appears to spiral downward into the ground.

The double helix is a befitting symbol for the cluster of biotech and medical research centers in the nearby South Lake Union neighborhood. The artist team of John Sutton, Ben Beres, and Zac Culler—collectively known as SuttonBeresCuller—designed the artwork so that mirrors would “skew the perceptions of depth and size, creating a seemingly endless field of light.” Watch a time-lapse video of the installation in progress.

The artwork was commissioned with Seattle Department of Transportation 1% for Art funds.

Update: We listed the wrong neighborhood for the artwork. It’s  located on the South Lake Union Streetcar line in the downtown retail core.

Volunteers needed to help Fremont Bridge talk back

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CALLINGvolunteersSeattle artist Kristen Ramirez is wrapping up her summer residency at the Fremont Bridge with a temporary art project celebrating the daily rhythms and sounds of the bridge. Bridge Talks Back, a sound artwork, opens Saturday, Sept. 26 with a celebratory performance at the bridge from 1 to 4 p.m.

Ramirez is recruiting volunteers to be part of the fanfare at the opening event. If you want to lend a helping hand, literally (sign waving is involved), contact Kristen Ramirez, or visit her blog to learn more.

Pedestrians, bicyclists, boaters and motorists will hear Ramirez’s three-minute audio composition while stopped during daytime bridge openings. The sound collage includes clips of boat horns, bird songs, bridge bells and more. A version of the soundscape – including residents’ recorded musings about the bridge – will also be available via cell phone to people waiting for the bridge to close. And it’s a busy bridge indeed, opening an average of 35 times a day!

The temporary project, which was funded with Seattle Department of Transportation 1% for Art funds, will run through April 2010. Read more about Ramirez and her bridge residency in this month’s issue of Seattle Magazine, which christened Ramirez a Spotlight Award winner. The annual award is bestowed on a handful of up-and-coming artists to watch.

Seeking portable works by mid-career artists

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The Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, in partnership with Seattle Public Utilities (SPU), seeks to purchase available artworks from midcareer artists for SPU’s Portable works collection. Midcareer artists are considered artists who have been working professionally for at least 10 years and have a significant exhibition history. Artworks in all media will be considered. Application deadline is September 30. Go here for information on how to apply.

Image: Anna Fidler, Loveful Heights (detail), 2004, mixed media, 6″ x 38″. Seattle Public Utilities Portable Works Collection. Photo by the artist.

Grade’s changing sculpture to stir conversations about water

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Artist John Grade began installing a temporary sculpture at the Bitter Lake Reservoir this week. The sculpture—titled Mantle—evokes the image of a water tower. It will gradually take shape over the course of several weeks. In September, the artwork’s wooden frames will cradle a spherical cloud-like form. Grade is creating the cloud with a corn-based polymer. The “cloud” will gradually biodegrade when exposed to rain and ultimately disappear. Over the course of about six months, viewers will see the temporary installation change, offering a means of framing and examining the role water plays in our urban lives. Mantle will be on view through January 2010 at the North Seattle reservoir, near the intersection of North 138th Street and Linden Avenue North.

Grades temporary project is part of Water Calling—a series of short films and temporary public art projects designed to get Seattleites thinking about environmental stewardship and urban watersheds. The projects were commissioned with Seattle Public Utilities 1% for Art funds and managed by this Office.