cloudsandclunkers - Peter Shelton

Where is it?

Concourse A

This piece can be found in the wedge between Gates A-9 and A-10.

About the Art

Fiberglass “clouds” are suspended from the ceiling, while identically shaped cast iron “clunkers” occupy the stepped, wedge-shaped metal platform below. The clouds and clunkers are made from the same mold. When experienced in the wedge, the references to human and industrial shapes become complementary forms, suggesting balances between light and heavy, translucent and opaque.

It is Shelton’s intent to present this location as an opportunity for reflection, particularly at the west apex of the wedge where the clunkers reside. Responding to the architectural environment, the sculptural setting quiets the current of the bustling concourse.

"I like to think of my work as a threshold between in and out, object and space, heavy and light." – Peter Shelton

The Details

Artist

Peter Shelton

Date

2003

Medium

Two-part sculpture (cast iron, polymers, stainless steel)

Dimensions

Both the clouds and the clunkers range in size from 2' to 5' in all three dimensions

Did you know?

The steps are intended to serve as seats or bleachers “on which travelers may sit amongst the clunkers.”

About the Artist

Shelton's pieces allude to the dialogue that occurs between different materials and settings. Rendering the same design in a variety of media, Shelton carefully investigates the dynamic qualities of light and dark, of the ethereal and the earthbound.

Short Bio

Born in Troy, Ohio, and raised in Tempe, Arizona, Shelton has become a key participant in the American Post-Minimalist movement. Studying the whole gamut of subjects including anthropology, sociology, and theatre while as a pre-med major, Shelton graduated from Pomona College in Claremont, California, with a degree in art.

Peter has exhibited extensively throughout the world in both solo and group exhibitions. His first solo exhibition was in 1979 at the Wight Gallery at the University of California at Los Angeles. He has been exhibited at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Irish Museum of Modern Art, and the Portland Art Museum.

Similar Artwork

Work by Peter Shelton

ROCKshadow is a permanent piece at the CenturyLink Stadium West Plaza in Seattle that comments on the relationship between the positive and negative of an object.

At the Airport

Watching how travelers interact with cloudsandclunkers in the bend? See how Trimpin's On: Matter, Monkeys, and the King affects the movement of airport visitors. Click on the link below in the Connected Stories module and experience its whimsy for yourself.

cloudsandclunkers - Peter Shelton

The steel floor tiles, a pyramidal stairway leading to a corner window, and the whimsical hanging forms will stop observant travelers in their tracks.