Art in Public Places - Kingston High SchoolThree Stories Building, by artist Frank Samuelson, was recently installed in Washington's Kingston High School.
The artwork consists of nine canvases, each painted partly in trompe-l’oeil style to resemble windows. Fashioned in a grid pattern and centered on a high wall in the school’s entranceway, the overall effect is that of looking up at a building facade.
The view through the windows has been turned inside out; it is not into the interior of the building but outside to a surreal landscape with light representing a full day, from the pink glow of sunrise to a star-filled sky. In the center of this “view” is a pyramid made of organic material, purposefully ambiguous, which unifies the entire painting.
Within each canvas is one or several painted “enigmatic objects” - a pencil, the letter “S”, a steam ship, eyeglasses, a baseball, for example - everyday objects and symbols which relate to the school’s students and community. Several of the objects were suggested by students in a questionnaire that Samuelson created and circulated in the school.
An article, 'Three Story Building' an art portal in Kingston High School, by Rebecca Pirtle, appeared in the Nov. 4, 2008 edition of the Kingston Community News.
Artwork acquired through Washington State’s Art in Public Places Program becomes part of the State Art Collection - a collection of over 4,600 works of art located at state agencies, public schools, colleges and universities throughout the state. | ||||
