Black Lightning - Seattle, WA
N 47° 37.227 W 122° 20.902
10T E 548964 N 5274321
This abstract sculpture resides within the Seattle Center grounds and near the famous Seattle Space Needle.
Waymark Code: WMG8FE
Location: Washington, United States
Date Posted: 01/28/2013
Views: 22
Black Lightning is a large, abstract sculpture created by
Ronald Bladen in 1981 (he died of cancer in 1988). There is a bronze plaque at the base of the sculpture that reads:
Black Lightning
Ronald Bladen
1981
Funded by Seattle Center Bond Issue 1% for Art funds
and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts
Administered by the Seattle Arts Commission
Charles Royer, Mayor
Seattle.gov has a very good description of this sculpture and says the following:
Ronald Bladen's striking monumental sculpture 'Black Lightning' stands in the shadow of the Space Needle, its simple z-shape outlining the iconic form of lightning. Sharp edges formed from the juncture of acute angles create alternating planes of light and shadow, animating the black steel bolt with the flicker of contrasting illumination. The sculpture is supported by two polygonal bases reminiscent, in their angular solidity, of blacksmith's anvils. Bladen described 'Black Lightning' as "mainly a visual experience," a statement strengthened by the play of light, shadow and space that the massive sculpture evokes by means of simple shapes and basic black.