EDMONDS – A series of streetlights inspired by lanterns used in Asian festivals was selected Tuesday as art for Edmonds’ planned International District.
“Eight Paths of Light” by Seattle artist Pam Beyette will feature eight light poles painted red and fitted with a cylindrical glass chamber around the light, embossed with images of lanterns or streamers.
Red-colored profiles of human faces would extend from the cylinder, catching the breeze and allowing the lights to rotate.
Beyette’s idea was chosen from among three submitted to the city. The others featured street banners and two large pillars, both with electronic moving images.
The selection was unanimous among a five-member selection team consisting of one member each from the Edmonds City Council, Edmonds Arts Commission and Edmonds Sister City Commission, along with a business owner and an art consultant.
Panel members believed Beyette’s concept “had the potential for reflecting the diverse international nature of the site perhaps more than some of the others,” said Frances Chapin, city cultural resources coordinator.
The street lanterns will hang above Highway 99 near Ranch 99 Market and Boohan Plaza, south of 224th Street SW.
The concept will be refined and adjusted before the art is installed sometime before the end of 2007, Chapin said.
“I’m so excited,” Beyette said Tuesday. “I’m really looking forward to refining the proposal.”
Beyette has done artwork in a variety of media for public agencies around the Northwest. Examples in Snohomish County include “For Rhyme or Reason,” a tile installation at Mountlake Terrace High School, and “Tree and Wetland Shelter,” a steel-and-granite sculpture at the University of Washington’s Bothell campus.
Edmonds this year received a $316,000 federal grant to promote a portion of its stretch of Highway 99 as an international district. The area from 224th Street SW to 238th Street SW has several businesses owned by immigrants from Asia and elsewhere.
Of the grant, $100,000 goes to the art, while the rest is budgeted for replacing street lighting and signs, revamping a median at Highway 99 and 76th Avenue W., and adding seating at a bus stop in front of the Ranch 99 Market.
Reporter Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439 or sheets@heraldnet.com.
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