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Dan Corson's Oscillating Field, photo by Corey Scherrer

ACTivating art in Seattle

Sound Transit is the public transit system for the Central Puget Sound that opened this past summer and it’s not just providing transportation. With it has come a great temporary art program called STart that is aimed at mitigating the grit, noise, and chaotic impact of the stations ongoing construction in Seattle neighborhoods by incorporating temporary public art in the ongoing construction sites. Many communities nationwide are looking for creative solutions to ride out the transition period of construction. Sound Transit has been leading the field with model temporary art programming that creates artworks collaboratively with the community that benefits both residents and businesses throughout Seattle’s neighborhoods.

The transit agency allocates one percent of project construction costs to art and both temporary and permanent public artworks are budgeted through this one percent ordinance. Many of Sound Transit’s projects have already been completed and the collection includes free-standing, functional, and temporary art. Sound Transit recognizes the value that artists can bring to every aspect of planning and building an integrated transit system. Artists’ creative thinking and unique perspectives assist in showing the connections between communities and how riders relate to buses, trains, and light rail.

The Outreach Department wanted to avoid contentious community meetings and asked STart to commission artwork installations by individual artists/artist teams. Essentially, Sound Transit went straight for a mitigation solution that everyone wanted. A year ago, the STart program started working with artists to create installations in empty business storefronts slated for demolition in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. Rather than witness a boarded up building creating a dead zone in the middle of an active neighborhood, the temporary artwork program offered the dual benefit of providing space for artists to exhibit site specific works, and the community—the gift of art that activated the neighborhood during construction.

After the success of the temporary storefront installations, neighbors, and stakeholders were so happy with the program they overwhelmingly supported Oscillating Field for the Capitol Hill transit station construction site. A temporary public art work designed by artist Dan Corson, the installation was created with the help of many volunteers and is up through November 2009.

In the daytime, Oscillating Field takes the form of a grass field, a hedgehog’s back, or a glowing yellow mist, while at night it transforms into a thousand surfaces for the dynamic play of an emerald green laser. Every night between 5:00 p.m.–11:00 p.m., the lasers illuminate the sculpture with a range of dynamic patterns and animations. Viewers contemplate the light show from outside the fence.

Like the previous storefront installations, Oscillating Field has kept the dark, one-square-block area active and interesting to passers-by. The adjacent retail and restaurant neighborhood has been impacted by the demolition of many businesses, and the temporary art project has transformed the empty block into a spectacle that attracts people to the Broadway neighborhood area.

The $13,000 temporary project had to hurdle many obstacles in a short amount of time. Corson’s ¼” fluorescent green fiberglass rod was to be cut in lengths from 3’8” to 8” in 6” increments, with the tips painted orange. At first, the manufacturer only had four-foot lengths. Through generous volunteer help, Oscillating Field has been installed twice, the second time during chilling thunderstorms! The local electric company had allowed the project to be powered from street lights used for holiday lighting, but then changed their mind at the last minute. The installation is now powered by generators. The end result is a crowd pleaser with many positive comments. Click here to check out images of the installation.