WEST art piece in The Bridge District

Описание: The WEST installation is a very playful work that acts as an identifying or gateway element on the river. The river is a defining feature of the City’s history and geography and so it also refers to West Sacramento controlling its narrative. The Mill Street Pier was originally built to transport agriculture products on the river. It reinforces the River Walk as a distinctive and exciting area. The work is about the primacy of orientation and identity in two ways--the resident and the visitor. The first component is comprised of 4 hollow lit letter forms, approximately 4 feet high that spell out the word WEST, and will appear to be floating out in the river. The letters are beautifully crafted from various metals and finishes and have a plane of light within.

The artwork is elevated above sightlines and installed on a cantilevered structure at the end of the pier. The letters are on a motorized platform that is triggered to move by both a motion sensor and a timer allowing two positions, one facing West Sacramento, and the other turned 90 degrees to face downtown Sacramento. The motion detector is activated when people are approaching the end of the Pier.

When people walk down the Pier, at first they see the word WEST facing them (they can take their photos from the center of the Pier with WEST as a backdrop.). As they approach the end of the pier, the word WEST turns 90 degrees, opening up the full vista across the river to them, while showing the word WEST to downtown Sacramento. The artwork makes West Sacramento the subject by turning the name WEST toward visitors entering the Pier while showing its back to viewers across the river. However, it then turns and shows the name WEST off to Sacramento and river boaters when visitors are on the Pier, acting as an entry feature.

The second orientation element is glittering steel bands on the remnant pylons surrounding the pier which orient the viewer to the ebb and flow of the river-- daily, yearly, and in relation to drought vs. rainfall and tidal movement. Each is three inches in height, placed three feet apart vertically and stamped (cut out) with the water level number in feet at three-foot increments starting from the zero base line of the US Geological Survey stream-gauge standard levels. These bands will be reflective of the light and water and serve as both a visual element and a measuring device. They can be seen from the Pier, but also from across the river and from boats on the river. There will be an educational sign installed to explain the installation and bring attention to the issues of the river tides, drought and water conservation.