Sky Bloom by Janet Echelman

Sky Bloom

Contemporary Forum Presents

Janet Echelman
Creator of Skybloom – a monumental outdoor sculpture at Taylor near Central and Van Buren

Tuesday, February 10, 2009 7pm

Phoenix Art Museum – Whiteman Hall
Central at McDowell

Everyone is welcome, admission is free
Refreshments will Follow

February 10th will be the first time Janet Echelman addresses a Phoenix audience about Sky Bloom and Contemporary Forum at Phoenix Art Museum is proud to be the site of her debut.

Echelman is an eminent international artist known for sculpting exciting public spaces.  Her work has been installed in a dozen nations throughout Asia, Europe and North America.  She draws much of her inspiration from the history and culture as well as the built and natural environments of each specific site.

Major new parks and artworks have helped to turn urban spaces worldwide into must-see destinations.  The new Downtown Civic Space with its monumental sculpture by artist Janet Echelman will accomplish that in Phoenix.  Rising 110 feet above the ground, Echelman’s sculpture will combine the best of art and engineering. 

Its floral form was inspired by the bloom of the saguaro cactus – Arizona’s state flower.  Built with structural steel tubing and flexible netting made from a woven fiber, the sculpture will be suspended approximately 60 feet above the ground on an armature of steel rings, support poles and cables.  The steel structure will hold the sculpture safely in place, allowing its light weight netting to billow in the wind. The artwork’s predominant daytime colors will be blue and yellow.  Specialized lighting at night will gradually change these colors with the seasons, giving the sculpture a cooler blue tint on summer nights and a warmer red glow in the winter.  This iconic public sculpture and surrounding park will add to a growing list of public and private initiatives revitalizing downtown Phoenix.