SAM FALLS Artist Statement
P
roposal Statement
For Cityline Sunnyvale, Falls will create a monumental sculpture, 30 feet tall, using an I-beam and brightly glazed ceramic tiles. The ceramic will incorporate imagery that references the local environment, specifically the Redwood trees that anchor the heart of Cityline and the surrounding Bay Area, along with their native undergrowth. This totemic structure will serve as a beacon or icon for those approaching Cityline along Washington Ave and Frances St, and it will pay homage to the redwood tree, once named Vargas,
that stood at the center of the site. Given the historical longevity of ceramics, Falls envisions the artwork as a fossil of the local flora, a monument to the area’s pre-human inhabitants and a tribute to their significance for centuries to come.
Juxtaposing the organic with the man-made, the piece will feature two distinct sides with unique imagery.
Conceptually, the colors will reflect the overarching goals of the artwork: one side connected to the grand tapestry of the earth and land scape, and the other representing the passage of each day. Looking south at the sculpture towards the park, Falls envisions the glaze transitioning in an organic gradient from earth tones to verdant greens of a redwood canopy, to oceanic and astral blues, mimicking the c olors of the forest floor and the sky. Looking north at the sculpture from the park, the colors will evoke the hues and tones of a day passing, from sunrise to sunset. The artwork also functions obliquely as a sundial nodding to the artist’s interest in the passage of time. As the sun traverses the sky, the public will witness a shadow cast by its singular form, reminiscent of standing beneath a Redwood tree and encouraging prolonged engagement with the work.
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Proposed Artwork - Rendering SAM FALLS
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Proposed Artwork - Rendering SAM FALLS
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