Fountain of Wisdom - Seattle, WA - Smithsonian Art Inventory Sculptures on Waymarking.com

Visitors to the Seattle Central Library in downtown Seattle will appreciate the outstanding architectural building that was officially opened to the public in 2004. Standing in front of the library near the entrance is a diminutive-looking sculpture and fountain created by accomplished artist George Tsutakawa in 1957-60.

This sculpture has two AIC datasheets. The link to the other one not listed below is located here.

In reading up on the bio of Mr. Tsutakawa, I discovered a local connection between him and myself. He met his wife, Ayame, at a Japanese internment camp in Tulelake, CA during WWII, which is only a half hour from where I live. He was a U.S. soldier and a translator during the war and his wife was an internee. This camp is now a National Historic Landmark. There's a wonderful writeup on Mr. Tsutakawa's life from HistoryLink.org and the following excerpt is mentioned regarding this fountain he sculpted, his first ever:

He would doubtless have continued to make obos (Japanese term for a pile of rocks) had he not received an unexpected commission that changed the direction of his life as an artist. In 1958, the board of directors of the Seattle Public Library invited him to create a fountain for the new library then under construction downtown between 4th and 5th avenues. They offered a commission of $18,000 ... He told them the total expense probably would be less than the $18,000 they had budgeted, because he planned to have it cast in Japan, where the cost would be half the price of having the work done in Europe. There was at that time no foundry in the Northwest that could handle the job ... He seriously underestimated the costs and complexity of fabrication and installation. He sent inquiries to half a dozen foundries in Japan. None of them replied. "They simply couldn't understand my design as being a fountain," George said. "It didn't squirt water, it had no cherubs, and it was neither stone nor baroque -- the only fountains with which they were familiar" ... He had to change his design to one that could be fabricated rather than cast. Jack Uchida, an engineer and a welding expert at Boeing, worked with him on its creation from sheets of silicon bronze cut to shape by band saws, wrought to form by presses and hammers, and assembled by electric welding. It took nearly two years to complete ... Fountain of Wisdom was dedicated March 1, 1960. Its curving shape combined the stacked appearance of Obos with the suggestion of a Japanese pagoda ... (and would) set the tone for 74 more fountains that followed, in the matte black finish of its curving shapes and open-sided spheres and its softened geometry. The shapes suggest the opening bud of a flower. Tsutakawa spoke of ovoid openings in the spheres as being akin to the eye of Raven in Northwest Coast Native American iconography.

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I personally find Mr. Tsutakawa's fountains both organic in nature as well as being somewhat futuristic, as in the type of architecture (often referred to as Googie architecture) that was very popular during the 50s and 60s. This period piece fits into that category well. There is also another bio on Mr. Tsutakawa's life on the University of Washington's website that can be read here. George Tsutakawa died in 1997.

TITLE: Fountain of Wisdom ARTIST(S): George Tsutakawa DATE: 1957-1960 MEDIUM: Silicone bronze, welded CONTROL NUMBER: IAS WA000051 and IAS 75008663 Direct Link to the Individual Listing in the Smithsonian Art Inventory: [Web Link] PHYSICAL LOCATION: Seattle Central Library 1000 Fourth Ave. Seattle, WA 98104 206-386-4636 DIFFERENCES NOTED BETWEEN THE INVENTORY LISTING AND YOUR OBSERVATIONS AND RESEARCH: The only noticeable difference between AIC's description and my observation is that AIC doesn't show George Tsutakawa's death as being in 1997. *NOTE* AIC has my permission to use the pictures I've provided when creating this waymark for their database. ~Doug Halvorsen (thebeav69)

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