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New Art Installation at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

An art installation hanging above the Foundation campus comes alive at night

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This article originally appeared in the June 2015 issue of Seattle magazine.

Seen in Daylight, the new art installation at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation might easily be mistaken for an oddly placed safety net. But when night falls, it becomes an immense, iridescent jellyfish hovering above the campus and shifting in the breeze. Unveiled in February, “Impatient Optimist” is an aerial net sculpture (120 feet long, 80 feet wide, 40 feet deep) created by Massachusetts-based artist Janet Echelman, who knows her way around a giant net—she’s installed similarly stunning works across the globe, including at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, B.C.

The ephemeral artwork is suspended between two buildings and composed of ultra-lightweight polyester fibers, which in the evening capture colored LED lighting projected from below. “The sculpture is a physical manifestation of connectedness,” Echelman says. It has particular relevance to the setting, she says, because “the number of knots alludes to the notion that the work of a single foundation member can affect a million lives.” Free and open to the public at all times. 500 Fifth Ave.

 

SENSORIUM Takes on Our Screen Addiction

SENSORIUM Takes on Our Screen Addiction

Dance, drag, and immersive art collide in an eight-week exploration of our phone-obsessed lives, with a few surprises along the way. 

What do drag queens, smartphone addiction, art installations, and an old luggage shop have in common?  According to longtime Seattle choreographer Alana O’Farrell Rogers, a lot.  “There’s no dead time anymore,” says Rogers, explaining how the proliferation of smartphones fills the empty spaces that once served as time for rest or connection. Where we snuggled…

Salt-N-Pepa on Breaking Barriers and Staying Power

Salt-N-Pepa on Breaking Barriers and Staying Power

Ahead of their performance at Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture gala, the hip-hop pioneers talk about creative ownership, connecting with new generations, and the songs that still resonate.

The Museum of Pop Culture (MOPOP) will host its annual ICONS of Pop Culture Gala in Seattle on October 22, honoring five artists and institutions whose work has helped shape entertainment and culture.  This year’s honorees are martial arts and film legend Bruce Lee, fashion designer Jeremy Scott, the video game franchise Halo, hip-hop pioneers…

Studio Sessions: Christopher Paul Jordan

Studio Sessions: Christopher Paul Jordan

Drawing on childhood memories, neighborhood history, and salvaged materials, Christopher Paul Jordan’s latest show at Cornish’s Behnke Family Gallery explores how the past stays with us.

Start in the middle. It’s good advice for telling a story, and a way into Christopher Paul Jordan’s paintings. By the time you encounter them, their materials have already been something else, and who knows what they might move on to become. The Tacoma interdisciplinary artist works with salvaged objects, including screens, picture frames, canvas,…

Rearview Mirror: Wedding Bells, A Furniture Launch, and the Symphony’s New Look 

Rearview Mirror: Wedding Bells, A Furniture Launch, and the Symphony’s New Look 

Things I did, saw, ate, learned, or read in the past week (or so).

WEDDING BELLS I’ve been a bit absent from this column lately, but I think I have a pretty good excuse: I got married! It’s already been three weeks since my September 19 wedding, but I’m still reflecting on the magic of the day. My fiancé, well husband now (I can’t get used to saying it!),…