Public Installations Inside

Lunar Drift

Rebecca Cummins and Paul DeMarinis, 2014. Electronics, aluminum, glass; archival inkjet prints on acrylic and mechatronics, 2 walls, overall 11 h. x 26’ w. Funded by WWU in partnership with one-half percent for art law, Art in Public Places Program, Washington State Arts Commission

Miller Hall - Collaborative Space

Lunar Drift features two pointing mechanisms that move slowly over time to track the position of the Moon and the Sun, wherever they are located—above or below the horizon, in daylight or night, clear skies or overcast. The formally and mechanically minimal design of this slow-moving kinetic sculpture refers to the history of scientific instrumentation. It is calculated to perform a singular task of tracking but as it follows the planetary movement of the spheres, the sculpture is intended, in the artists’ words, to “offer viewers a heightened awareness of their spatial and temporal place in the universe and of the artistic and poetic possibilities of science and technology.” The sculpture is supported by accompanying wall graphics consisting of photographs that were captured over the course of 2014 showing the phases of the moon and the Bellingham sky.

Middle Fork

Claude Zervas, 2015. Four channel video, 60"h x 60"w. Funded by the WWU in partnership with one-half percent for art law, Art in Public Places Program, Washington State Arts Commission.

Performing Art Center - lobby

Seattle based artist Claude Zervas (b. 1963) is best known for his light and video installations focusing on the north-west topography and topology. His video work in the PAC lobby shows aerial views of four bends in the Nooksack Middle Fork, which supplies water for the City of Bellingham via pipe and tunnel division into Lake Whatcom. Zervas used a drone to fly his video equipment so he could capture peaceful images of the river flowing through the forest. The video segments are shown on four monitors arranged in a rough circle, giving, in Zervas' words, an impression of “an impossible circular river that flows back into itself indefinitely.” Quoting the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus' famous dictum, “Everything flows,” Zervas adds, “and so will this river.”

Pyramid, Snake, Doll, Floating Circle, Swirl, Circus, No.9, Sun, Balloons, Star, Turquoise, Zebra, and Moon

Alexander Calder, 1972-74. Dyed and braided maguey fiber. Sun measures 10' x 12' while the other vary from 4’x 6’ to 5' x 7'. Gift of Dr. Niels Laursen.

Performing Art Center - left entrance to the Concert Hall

The thirteen handwoven tapestries were created by the sculptor Alexander Calder (1998-1976) as part of a charitable relief program to help victims of a devastating earthquake that hit Nicaragua in 1972. Calder was an activist and a humanitarian and was enthusiastic about supporting the cause. He provided gouache drawings that artisans in Nicaragua and Guatemala then reproduced, using a centuries-old weaving technique. Hundreds of local weavers and villagers participated in the project, gathering natural vegetable fibers, mostly Maguey and Jute, braiding and dying them and spinning them into strong, coarse threads that was then used for the tapestries. The geometric shapes and the simple colors—red, blue, black and yellow—are reflective of Calder’s well-known sculptures and share with his mobiles a sense of space and movement. The tapestries were conserved in 2012 in a workshop where students worked under the direction of a conservator.

Quiet Field

SMATE - lobby: Richard Gilkey, Quiet Field, ca. 1970. Oil on masonite, 5.75'h x 20'w. Funded through the WWU Capital Art Program.

Richard Gilkey (1925-1997) was a native of Bellingham and spent his career between the Skagit Valley and Seattle. Considered a younger member of the Northwest School, he was deeply influenced and encouraged by the artists Morris Graves, Mark Tobey, and Guy Anderson. He was inspired by their mystic philosophy and, like they, he sought to capture “universal aspects of reality and consciousness through light and form." The large painting at SMATE (which was originally commissioned for Bond Hall) is a strong example of Gilkey’s abstract style. It speaks to the unity of energy in all forms, with a surreal floating black oval infusing it with symbolic meaning. The canvas is covered by diagonal brushstrokes of white, black, gray and brown waves, recalling the characteristic wind-blown grasses of the artist’s landscape paintings.

Offshoot and Couplet

Communications Building - lobby: Chris Bruch, Offshoot and Couplet, 1992. Steel and enamel. 24'h x 36'w x 35"d and 92' x 15w x 12"d. Gift of the artist.

Cris Bruch said, “I was snooping around on an abandoned pier and found an old roll of steel banding, which I took back to the studio and began working with. The material is tempered steel, very springy, and it was familiar from years of working in lumberyards. I ended up etching it and painting it and then writing on it with paint markers. I would write everything I could, cut the material at the end, and then begin making a sculpture with it. The writing and the tension within the material led to thoughts about grammar and syntax, about the tension in language between meaning and nonsense, about orthodoxy and heterodoxy, about dogma and heresy, and about digression...”