Satellite Train Station
Flower Wall is located in the South Satellite Train Station.
Blum’s creations provide a similar feeling despite being bold, sculptural elements. Her pieces exist somewhere between representation and technical model; their large scale abstracts them and allows viewers to see them as abstractions. The flowers blend Western and Eastern themes, apt for a port to the Pacific Rim.
Blum’s flowers describe the spectacular blend of environmental serendipity and technical wizardry of the Northwest. The flowers seem varied and handmade with a spin of fabrication. The use of cast aluminum (durable material used in air industry) is meant to suggest the high tech/low tech balance the Pacific Northwest strikes.
Information courtesy of Nancy Blum
Artist
Nancy Blum
Date
2004
Medium
Cast sculpture (resin and aluminum)
Dimensions
The piece covers a wall 77' wide, each flower is anywhere from 12" - 24" in diameter
Blum's piece consists of 65 resin and aluminum flowers placed in an undulating and scattered fashion to reflect the behavior and movements of waiting travelers.
Interested in merging motifs of Eastern and Western art, Blum builds layer upon layer of line, color, or form to create a kinetic density. Her work, publicly and privately commissioned, monumentally large or intimate, has underlying vibrations and rhythms that makes her work elegantly “experiential.”
"In my drawings and sculptural installations, lush, active plant and insect life sprawl unpredictably across the page or wall. The work depicts the intensity, autonomy, and mystery of the natural world." – Nancy Blum
Born in Champaign, Illinois, Blum attended the University of Michigan to earn her B.A. She later received an M.F.A. from Cranbrook Academy of Art. Nancy worked on public art projects for the Metro Transit Authority in New York and the Charlotte Area Transit System in North Carolina. Her work has been featured in solo exhibitions and galleries across the U.S. including at the Boise Art Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Work by Nancy Blum
Completed in 2001 and sited in Pioneer Square, Blum's City Light, City Bright is a hatch cover that features a similar flower theme that is visible in the piece at the Sea-Tac Airport.
At the Airport
Blum used unexpected materials, aluminum and resin, to represent nature. See how Erin Shie Palmer also used unconventional materials to articulate a Northwestern wooded forest. Click on the STQRY link below to see Clearing.
Nancy Blum's glass flowers give us exposure to feelings of growth, abundance, and natural beauty.