SKYON TRYON
Charlotte, North Carolina, 2014
Temporary Public Art Installation on the underside of the I -277/ North Tryon
Skyon Tryon is under the freeway close to the McColl Center and Innovation Institute. Located under the bridge between 11th and 12th on North Tryon, the work is painted on the horizontal ribs that form the freeway structure. The ribs are a series of linear elements providing a place to draw the circular center form. The blue paint color is safety zone blue and creates a center in the underpass. The color blue references the sky and defines the volume of the space. The light center accentuates the form: is it a sun or an outlet, a window or a slot? This atmospheric piece exudes a brighter, cleaner, crisper place. It adds a simple layer to the experience of passing under the bridge. When I stayed at the 715 Church Street Condominium, I walked to the site for which I would be making a permanent artwork. The walk was short and very unpleasant. This gave me the idea to begin the process of linking North Tryon to the center city.
This project serves to make the viewer aware that while the city is being developed as a new corridor to the north. The pedestrian, bicyclist and vehicular traffic experience is equally important. This art intervention is something to think about, to see, and sense. My hope is that Skyon Tryon will serve to expand the thinking about art, place, and structures both what they are and what they can be.
The process of this piece includes many participants that were organically involved in the project: Charlotte Painting and Ali Bahnmeyer provided support on site to the artist. City staff from numerous departments were involved in the evolution and permitting of this work. The multitude and variety of passerby's passing through the roadway with their colorful garb, comments, and questions helped establish a context for the work as I used the underpass as my street-side studio. The friends I made during my tenure in Charlotte Summer-Fall 2013 were available to me as resources for the work. Within my art practice, this work has given me a chance to study and experiment with a large-scale idea in a temporary context.
Funding by National Endowment for the Arts: Our Town Grant
This project serves to make the viewer aware that while the city is being developed as a new corridor to the north. The pedestrian, bicyclist and vehicular traffic experience is equally important. This art intervention is something to think about, to see, and sense. My hope is that Skyon Tryon will serve to expand the thinking about art, place, and structures both what they are and what they can be.
The process of this piece includes many participants that were organically involved in the project: Charlotte Painting and Ali Bahnmeyer provided support on site to the artist. City staff from numerous departments were involved in the evolution and permitting of this work. The multitude and variety of passerby's passing through the roadway with their colorful garb, comments, and questions helped establish a context for the work as I used the underpass as my street-side studio. The friends I made during my tenure in Charlotte Summer-Fall 2013 were available to me as resources for the work. Within my art practice, this work has given me a chance to study and experiment with a large-scale idea in a temporary context.
Funding by National Endowment for the Arts: Our Town Grant
