Artist Martha Jackson Jarvis has installed a sculptural artwork entitled Union by on the southeast corner of 23^rd Avenue and Union Street in conjunction with the 23^rd Avenue Corridor Improvements Project in the Central Area. The work was commissioned by the Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS) in partnership with Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT).

The piece is a sculptural seating arrangement with forms inspired by West African and Native American symbols. The totemic nature of the sculpture establishes a memorable sense of place, and multi-color mosaic tiles cover the sculpture’s base and seating elements. Jackson Jarvis was asked to investigate the concept of “place,” highlighting historically relevant narratives of the neighborhood and its residents, taking into account the changing demographics of the Central Area, as well as geography, topography, and environment.

Jackson Jarvis worked with SDOT designers, staff of several city departments and community members to develop the proposal for the artwork. Community residents and business owners wanted the artwork to serve as a gathering place, identifier, and gateway for the neighborhood.

Jackson Jarvis grew up in Lynchburg, VA and Philadelphia, PA and currently resides in Washington, D.C. Her work explores issues of conservation and people’s relationship to natural materials and landscapes, drawing uncommon analogies between disparate forms, objects and materials to construct narratives of real and imagined landscapes. Jackson Jarvis studied at Howard University and received her BFA degree from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University and MFA degree from Antioch University. Her sculptures have been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in galleries and museums throughout the United States and abroad, including the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.; the Studio Museum of Harlem, N.Y. Snug Harbor Cultural Center in Staten Island, N.Y.; Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem, N.C.; Anacostia Museum in Washington, D.C. and the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, Russia.

The funding for this project comes from Seattle Department of Transportation 1% for Art funds.

In honor of February as Black History Month, we’re featuring Troy Miles’ series of decals on signal boxes – metal boxes at intersections with traffic lights – in Seattle’s Central District neighborhood. In 2010, Seattle graphic artist and Central District resident Miles designed three unique decals—Inside, Straight Out the CD and Jackson Street Jazz —that pay tribute to the neighborhood’s heritage. There are 26 large vinyl decals (40” x 21″) and 42 small decals (35.5” x 11.5″) around the neighborhood.

Inside depicts a streetcar scene on Jackson Street circa 1940 and pays tribute to the diverse populations that have lived in the Central District throughout its history.

Straight Out the CD pays homage to the history of the civil rights movement and local landmarks in the Central District, including images of William Grose, one of the first African Americans to settle in the Central District; local civil rights activist Edwin Pratt; and neighborhood cultural arts institution Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute.

Jackson Street Jazz includes images and names of local musicians and references the roots of Seattle’s jazz scene in the nightclubs and restaurants along Jackson Street in the ‘30s to ‘50s, as well as jazz greats heralding from Seattle.

Check out the neighborhood and see if you can spot one!

The project is part of the Seattle Department of Transportation Art Plan and was funded by SDOT 1% for Art dollars.

IMAGE: Troy Miles; Inside, Straight Out the CD and Jackson Street Jazz; 2010; decals mounted on signal boxes in Seattle’s Central District neighborhood. Photos by Vaughn Bell.