Photo & Text Copyright 2006 Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved, including reproduction or republishing.
In quilt design, the Tumbling Blocks pattern is achieved through manipulating light, medium, and dark diamond shapes to form stylized "cubes" which tease the eye. While out walking I came upon this huge installation of tumbling white figures imposed on dark diamond shaped segments. They are seemingly ready to collapse like a Jacob's Ladder toy. It was fun to just happen upon this. I wanted to link all the diamonds in my mind's eye to see if the figures might form secondary patterns. I Googled the address, but no info. I Googled my own phrase "tumbling figures building Seattle" and up popped information on Seattle artist Michael Spafford, b. 1935, and this work, which is really named Tumbling Figure - Five Stages! This piece is from 1979 and used to be installed at the old King Dome before its demise. I think it works very nicely on this parking structure at 6th and Jackson, with the uphill elevation showing it to great advantage. Spafford is professor emeritis of art at UW. He, his wife and son (artists Elizabeth Sandvig and Spike Mafford) have been awarded the Mayor's Art Award for 2006.
6 comments:
Good detective work, Kim. Are you a quilter, too? It's probably the best design I've ever seen on a parking ramp! Good shot, too.
cet immeuble est tres beau. les figures sur l'immeuble me font penser a un magasin de sport.
this building is very beautiful. the figures on the building make me think has a store of sport.
What a fascinating find. I like things that catch one off guard.
Kate, thanks so much, Yes, I'm a quiltmaker and a member of the Contemporary QuiltArt Association here in the Pacific Northwest (if I remember to renew my dues, which are due this month, that is. . . ;^)
Olivier, merci!
Lavender Lady, it's nice to meet yet another quilter among our CDPB family. It is great that the county sought and found new homes for all the major installations that had resided at the old King Dome.
Photowannabe, thanks. It is really fun when this happens. And here in Seattle it seems to happen a lot for me. There is so much public art, and little of it has any clue around it, so it's fun to go sluething to find out. . .like those manhole covers for City Lights I literally stumbled upon.
-Kim
nice photo of something stumbled upon!:D
great shot!!
:)
...Jing
Post a Comment