Bloom [2015]
Highway traffic lights, steel, 22 x 24 x 24 m
Calgary Municipal Land Corporation, St. Patrick’s Island, Calgary
Bloom is situated in relation to existing paths throughout the island. Tilted after an elaborate polyhedron, the tall poles extend their extremities in a stellation. Like a burst of rays, the asymmetrically arranged streetlights reveal all possible outward directions as they concentrate strength inward. The projected light connects the artwork to paths on the island and, in turn, creates a node or point of focus. By illuminating important routes, the radiant shape helps the urban dweller orient themselves within the city. The sculpture introduces oblique lines in the landscape, as if the existing cityscape was folded around a center core. Bloom can also be experienced from afar as a landmark and point of orientation.
Credits: Michel de Broin
Lafontaine Iron Werks Inc (fabrication); Quantum Engineering Inc (engineer); Thomas Porostocky (photo)