SELECTED WORK

Blue Lines

2010         29' high, 6' diameter

material: silver powder-coated aluminum, LED lights
site: Nashville Neighborhood Police Station, Fort Worth, TX
file prep and laser cutting: Maley Laser, Cranston, RI
fabrication: Matt Koestner, Bob’s Welding, Jamaica Plain, MA
lighting: Roger Smith, Roger Smith Lighting Design, Phoenix, AZ
sculpture engineering: Renate Woods, R. L. Woods & Associates, Arlington, TX
architect: Perkins + Will
commissioned by Fort Worth Public Art
photographs by Clements/ Howcroft

Seven metal rings are suspended in the “lantern” of the new police station, each comprised of silhouettes of local residents and police officers. Arranged according to age group, the rings create a generational time tunnel when viewed from below. Thematically, the sculpture reflects the Seven Stages of Life found in Shakespeare’s As You Like It, among other cultural references.

At night the sculpture comes alive from the street, the result of intense illumination from floor-mounted LED’s. Bright blue is the default mode, but the rings slowly alternate to a succession of other rich colors.

The title Blue Lines derives from the term “thin blue line”, a phrase acknowledging the police force as a vital membrane separating civil society and criminal elements. Another inspiration is Code Blue, an innovative program in which Poly neighborhood residents work in tandem with law enforcement professionals.