Recently, an unexpected surprise appeared in my mailbox. A note from Alan Storey with a link to a video about his new work in Bellevue, Washington. Thanks, Alan.I was introduced to Alan Storey's work last year while visiting my kids in California. While there I visited an exhibition of Storey's work at C4 Gallery in LA. I only had a very small amount of time and that is the only gallery I got to visit while there. Lucky for me. It was my introduction to this artist and his installations. See my previous blog post about that visit here.
This new piece titled Compass, a 63-feet tall compass needle, is installed at the balcony of Bellevue's City Hall.
He says this work was inspired by the history of boating and compass manufacturing in Bellevue, Washington. This "63-foot-tall compass needle...points to beautiful views beyond. Welded in a Northwest studio, Compass is nestled into a gentle inward curve of the city hall balconys guardrail where it turns in place to continually frame new views of surrounding vistas. As Storey explains, the Compass represents direction over changing perspectives of time."
As I investigated further I found that Storey is one of three artists whose work is installed at this location. Below is a image of The Silver Root by artist Dan Corson.
Located in the black reflecting pool at the northeast corner of the Bellevue City Hall plaza is Dan Corson's The Silver Root. click here
This bronze sculptural tree root painted silver is cast from actual tree roots that were dug from this area in the 1800's by immigrant workers. The Silver Root, while reminding one of earlier times in this area, serves also as metaphor for the work and activities that take place in the present city hall.
Below are images of Current the terrazzo concourse floor in Bellevue City Hall.
Inside Bellevue's City Hall is where you find Current, Linda Beaumont's piece, a terrazzo floor that flows the length of the concourse of the building's main floor. Beaumont work is in part a response to an underground river that flows in the area. "Echoing the steady, smooth movement of a river current, the river serves as a visual metaphor for the flowing of ideas and activities within. It is a world created with thousands of tiny pieces that come together to tell a beautiful story." Click here to see more.
The information in the descriptions above is taken from Bellevue, Washington's YouTube site.
Again a huge thank you to Alan Storey for connecting me to his new piece as well as to the work of Linda Beaumont and Dan Corson. These site specific pieces are fine examples of the way thoughtful and creative artists weave history of location into their creative efforts. Congratulations to the artists and the city of Bellevue for this beautiful site. Their efforts certainly do make me wish to travel there to see for myself.
