March 6, 1997
Harborview Medical Center artwork helps with healing
As part of the King County Public Art ordinance, one percent of the Harborview construction projects budget (nearly $1 million) was earmarked for art to enhance the medical center. Artists created works integrated into the building’s architecture and design. Other pieces are currently being commissioned and/or purchased for the collection.
A staff and Board of Trustees subcommittee worked with King County to select the artists. The first three artists selected spent weeks studying the Harborview culture, meeting with patients, families and staff to develop a sense of what artwork would be most appreciated and add to the well-being of all who come to Harborview. They created a document that was shared with other artists as they were selected.
The following are brief descriptions of the five integrated works that were unveiled when the West Hospital Wing opens in February. (There are a total of nine integrated works.) Each artist worked with staff and patients who will use the area to ensure the appropriateness of the finished product.
FULL CIRCLE
[1800-square-foot etched stone and terrazzo floor for the main entrance lobby]
Linda Beaumont
The circles represent cells and worlds–the cycles of suns, the creation of earth, and the spiral of life. Quotations, fabricated in brass, arc through the floor surface. The richly patterned tiles and terrazzo include images and ideas from many different cultures.
Linda Beaumont lives in Seattle. Her public art projects include the entryway to the Bailey Boushay House, the Cal Anderson House, Metro Bus Shelter, among others.
KEEP THEM WELL
[Glass zipper wall]
Tad Savinar
The artist collected stories–inspiring quotes, phrases and hopes–from hospital staff, patients and families by placing cards on the food trays distributed throughout the hospital. Although the etched-glass artwork is approximately 37 feet long and 22 feet high, the artist strives to create an intimate space, a chorus of voices. The languages used in the artwork are representative of the four corners of the world: Vietnamese, Spanish, Somali and English.
Tad Savinar lives in Portland, Oregon. He is the recipient of two National Endowment for the Arts Individual Artist Fellowships in Painting and Sculpture. His work has been exhibited at throughout the United States.
HARBORVIEW PILLOWS
[Exterior courtyard adjacent to the main lobby]
Beliz Brother
The spare but elegant elements in the courtyard space include two large, three-ton pillow-like forms that are painted a deep, glossy blue, and a half-sphere steel planter filled with black stalk bamboo.
Beliz Brother lives in Seattle. She is a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Visual Arts Grant, a Western States Arts Foundation Sculpture Fellowship and the Seattle Arts Commission’s Northwest Major Works Award.
A Bridge in Blue/Tree of Lights/Orange Return/Ferry
[ICU Waiting Room]
Jack Chevalier
The integrated art concept for the room is designed to create a living-room feeling in the high-stress area by incorporating arts and crafts style-wainscoting, molding and trim details. Several of Chevalier’s paintings on carved wood, depicting natural and man-made places in the region, are also featured in the space.
Jack Chevalier lives on Vashon Island, Washington. His work is included in numerous collections including: Chase Manhattan Bank, the Bellevue Art Museum, Microsoft Corporation, Seattle Art Museum and UW Medical Center.
HARBORVIEW QUILT
[Cafeteria wall mural]
Deborah Mersky
The 97 linear feet of steel panels have been laser-cut from computerized tracings of the artist’s delicate prints and drawings. Images of boats, insects, birds, plants and flowers weave throughout the artwork, forming a lacy, patterned surface. The artwork brings the beauty and serenity of nature into the often stressful environment of the hospital.
Deborah Mersky lives in Seattle. Her work has been exhibited in numerous galleries and is included in the collections of Microsoft, Safeco Insurance Company, UW Medical Center, Washington State Arts Commission and others. She has also worked as a visiting artist with diverse groups around the Puget Sound area.
