Separated United Forms
Two cast bronze sculptures
7' h x 12' w each, 2009
Sculptor
David Schafer was commissioned through the City of Pasadena Public Art Program for New Private Development requirement of Pacific Medical Buildings located at 70 W. California. The artwork,
Separated United Forms encompasses two large-scaled cast bronze sculptures, 7’ x 12’ each that are anticipated to be installed in Summer 2009.
The two rounded sculptures are undulating and organic with references to a life-form. The development process involved the selection a small Henry Moore sculpture from the collection of the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena which was scanned using 3D scanning technology. Moore believed his sculptures evoked growth and suggested a living life-form, or the vital life force. The forms of the sculpture were then manipulated by scaling, rotating, superimposing, and doubling.
Revival
Stone and glass mosaic mural
15' h x 5' w each, 2009
Artist Anne Marie Karlsen created two mosaic wall murals titled Revival that are strongly influenced by the history of the Raymond Theatre and the site at 129 N. Raymond Avenue developed by Buchanan Raymond, LLC. Each mural contains a single form composed of abstract imagery. Karlsen play homage to the historic theatre by appropriating the classical Grecian urn motif as the primary icon for the artwork. The artwork is 59”w x 181” h and presents multiple experiences for the viewer: close-up one can experience the asymmetry and beauty of the mosaic elements (Italian glass, marble and granite) and their colors, form various vantage points and distance, the composition becomes symmetric and shapes emerge that relate to the historic theatre building next door. The tactile nature of the mosaic is inviting to the touch – discovering the variety of shapes, forms and textures.
Artist Gwynn Murrill completed three public artworks at The Montana, a mixed-use development located at 345 East Colorado in the heart of Pasadena in 2008.
The artworks, Bighorn Fountain, Raptor Intaglio and Cougar Intaglio, are based on the natural environment and wildlife common in the American West. Murrill was inspired by the arid climates set in and adjacent to mountains common to many locales in settings as disparate as the City of Pasadena and the state of Montana. Pasadena’s history is rich with artists focused on the region’s natural splendors for inspiration. The Montana artwork builds upon this tradition by furthering it within a contemporary idiom, one respectful of the past but committed to progress in art.
Bighorn Fountain
Bronze and anamosa limestone
10'7" x 12' in diameter, 2008
Bighorn Fountain is a life-size cast bronze sculpture of a native San Gabriel Mountain bighorn sheep poised atop two columns of rough-hewn limestone blocks. Water gently pours down the inside faces of the blocks providing a sense of respite during warm weather.
Raptor Intaglio 
Carved limestone
18' x 80', 2008
Raptor Intaglio is the most visible artwork, and Murrill's largest to date, is a dramatic intaglio carving into the limestone panel sections that are situated above the building's main entrance on Colorado Boulevard. Two large-scaled eagles (one is approximately 9'6” and 42' long, the other approximately 15'6” high and 22' long) are carved into the limestone, creating a flowing narrative for the building's façade. While playing on a long-tradition of architectural ornamentation, Murrill's approach is strictly contemporary in its reductive language and manipulation of scale.
Cougar Intaglio
Carved limestone
8'6" x 20', 2008
The Cougar Intaglio carving was inspired by the arid climates set in and adjacent to mountains common to many locales in settings as disparate as the city of Pasadena and the state of Montana. An additional large scale, intaglio of a cougar (approximately 8'2” and 19'4” long) is carved into limestone panels measuring 8'6” high by 20' long, on the Euclid Street façade of the Montana.
The project, initiated by developer Charlie Munger and MS Property Company, was designed and managed by Nakada + Associates, Inc., with landscape architects Korn Randolph and art consultant Marc Pally for the City of Pasadena Public Art Program.
Whole Flow Stainless steel and recycled water
18’h x 6’ w x 50” d, 2008
“Whole Flow” (Processio Pasadena) is a sculpture by artist
Buster Simpson for Whole Foods Market that functions both as an artwork and as a working example of water preservation and sustainable uses of natural resources. The fountain will run on gray water from the condensation from a series of freezer units.
The sculpture is fountain is a series of fourteen stacked stainless steel bowls measuring 50” diameter and 12” deep. The artwork forms and provides a vertical aeration system for the water cascading from one bowl to the next allowing oxygen to enter the water and promote a cleansing process. This procession is one of healing and of art, a journey of restoration infrastructure, serving as a model and catalyst, and suggesting a procession of paradigm shifts for Pasadena recharging the valley watershed.
Commissioned in 2005 by Bellevue Ventures LLC with infrastructural assistance from Whole Foods Market, art consultant Marc Pally worked with landscape specialists Korn Randolph, Fabrication Specialties, LTD., and Simpson Studios to create an example of sustainable artwork.
317 Paces and 2 Stops (and 4) Cementitious Terrazzo
2,500 square fee, 2009