From Seattle's earliest days as a Gold Rush boomtown to its celebration of the future during the 1962 World's Fair, local artists have created public art installations--statuary, reliefs and other sculpture--that have become familiar features of the city's landscape. This comprehensive study of 12 Seattle sculptors and their works examines the motivations of the artists and their benefactors, the development of the city's public art policy, and the political forces behind the pieces that are now part of the city's rich history. Biographical details and historical perspective are provided for such artists as Lorado Taft, Alice Robertson Carr, John Carl Ely, Max P. Nielsen, August Werner and James FitzGerald.
From Seattle's earliest days as a Gold Rush boomtown to its celebration of the future during the 1962 World's Fair, local artists have created public art installations--statuary, reliefs and other sculpture--that have become familiar features of the city's landscape. This comprehensive study of 12 Seattle sculptors and their works examines the motivations of the artists and their benefactors, the development of the city's public art policy, and the political forces behind the pieces that are now part of the city's rich history. Biographical details and historical perspective are provided for such artists as Lorado Taft, Alice Robertson Carr, John Carl Ely, Max P. Nielsen, August Werner and James FitzGerald.
The Seattle Art Museum's Olympic Sculpture Park, where Alexander Calder's The Eagle soars over Puget Sound, Roxy Paine's stainless-steel Split glistens in the rain, and Richard Serra's Wake beckons visitors to walk within its towering forms, stands out as an exemplary civic project: an urban park open and free to all and a dynamic green space filled with great art. The innovative design turned a former industrial site on Elliott Bay into a remarkable place that not only celebrates the inseparable nature of art, urban infrastructure, and landscape but also captures the majestic character of the Pacific Northwest. Using the park as a model of how public-private partnerships can create innovative civic spaces, this informative and visually stunning book will bring the Olympic Sculpture Park to a broader audience beyond the greater Seattle area and will be a vital resource for museum professionals, architects, urban planners, students, and general art lovers.
"This book brings you five self-guided walking and driving tours which highlight 41 of Seattle's most popular public art projects. Included are maps and photographs to accompany each tour, along with essays by well-known writers, artists and historians who offer insight to the development and role of public art in Seattle." -- Amazon.com viewed August 14, 2020.
Beginning with the 1899 installation of a stolen Tlingit totem pole at Pioneer Square and stretching to artist Lou Cella’s Ken Griffey Jr. sculpture erected at Safeco Field in 2017, Seattle offers an impressive abundance of public monuments, statues, busts, and plaques. Whether they evoke curiosity and deeper interaction or elicit only a fleeting glance, the stories behind them are worth preserving. Private donors and civic groups commissioned prominent national sculptors, as well as local artists like James A. Wehn (who sculpted multiple renderings of Chief Seattle) and Alonzo Victor Lewis, who produced a number of bas-reliefs and statues, including one of the city’s most controversial--a World War I soldier known as “The Doughboy.” The resulting creations represent diverse perspectives and celebrate a wide array of cultural heroes, dozens of firsts, the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, aviation, and military and maritime service. Author Robert Spalding provides the history surrounding these works. Beyond the words chiseled into granite or emblazoned in bronze, he considers the deeper meaning of the heritage markers, exploring how and why people chose to commemorate the past, the selection of sites and artists, and the context of the time period. He also discusses how changing societal values affect public memorials, noting works that are missing or relocated, and how they have been maintained or neglected. An appendix lists the type, year, location, and artist for sixty monuments and statues, and whether each still exists. Another useful appendix offers maritime plaque inscriptions.
Beginning with the 1899 installation of a stolen Tlingit totem pole at Pioneer Square and stretching to Safeco Field's 2017 Ken Griffey Jr. sculpture, Seattle offers an impressive abundance of public monuments, statues, busts, and plaques. Whether they evoke curiosity and deeper interaction or elicit only a fleeting glance, the stories behind them are worth preserving. Private donors and civic groups commissioned prominent national sculptors and local artists. The resulting creations represent diverse perspectives and celebrate a wide array of cultural heroes, dozens of firsts, the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, aviation, and military and maritime service. "Monumental Seattle" traces the history of these works, exploring their deeper meaning and the context surrounding their creation. It discusses how changing societal values affect public memorials and includes an appendix listing the type, year, location, and artist for sixty, and whether each still exists.
This is a nuts and bolts guide for arts professionals and volunteers creating public art in their communities, with information on planning, funding and legal issues.
