Sun Burst - Solana Beach, CA
Posted by: 
LeoGeo
N 32° 59.505 W 117° 16.320
11S E 474588 N 3650405
Fantastical metal "trees" and fountain with a backdrop of real palm trees near the Pacific Ocean.
Waymark Code: WMA8K8
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 12/03/2010
Views: 3
"Sun Burst" by Wenetta Childs stands in the median of Plaza Street (a different name for the continuation of Lomas Santa Fe Road between Highway 101 and the Pacific coast) in the center of the small beach town of Solana Beach.
It consists of four metal stalks or tree trunks, with a spherical explosion of fantastical metal foliage at the top of each one; the shapes of the elements making up the foliage are different in each of the four. The sculpture is, in one sense, in dialogue with the real palm trees that grow nearby; but it is also reminiscent of gigantic dandelions gone to seed.
The stalks stand inside a circular fountain, the walls of which contain large letters "N" "E" "S" "W" pointing to the four cardinal directions. On the side nearest the ocean, there is a plaque with this inscription:
Plaza Beautification
1965-1967
A Gift to the Community from
SOLANA BEACH
WOMEN'S CIVIC CLUB
with appreciation to
Waddell Austin
Wenetta Childs
and other contributors
Unfortunately the proliferation of traffic lights, lamp posts, and street signs at this intersection at the center of town makes the sculpture difficult to see from some angles (especially from what would otherwise probably make the most spectacular view -- the sculpture with palm trees and the Pacific Ocean beyond it).
TITLE: Sun Burst
ARTIST(S): Wenetta Childs
DATE: Some time between 1965-1967 (according to plaque) or 1968 (acc. to Smithsonian inventory)
MEDIUM: Metal and fountain
CONTROL NUMBER: IAS CA000689
Direct Link to the Individual Listing in the Smithsonian Art Inventory: [Web Link]
PHYSICAL LOCATION:
In the median of Plaza Street, just west of the intersection of Highway 101, Plaza Street, and Lomas Santa Fe Road, Solana Beach, California.
DIFFERENCES NOTED BETWEEN THE INVENTORY LISTING AND YOUR OBSERVATIONS AND RESEARCH:
The name of the city in the Smithsonian inventory is wrong. The correct name is "Solana Beach" (not "Solana"). Also, the inventory does not mention that the sculpture is located in a fountain (as is mentioned in many other entries for sculptures in fountains).
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