Alaska-inspired art will soon line Juneau’s downtown waterfront.
Starting Sept. 27, the city will install a series of 10 sculptures called Aquileans along the Seawalk from Marine Park to the Mount Roberts Tramway building. California-based artist Cliff Garten said he drew inspiration from a whale fluke and an eagle’s wings. “Set against the landscape of mountains and ocean,” Garten said in a release, “the sculptures will create a recognizable character for the waterfront and bring a contemporary aesthetic to the social and economic life of Juneau.”
The stainless-steel sculptures stand 20 feet tall, and will be illuminated with color-changing LED lights at night. They’ll reflect and refract sunlight during the day. Garten’s work is in public spaces around the world, and his Ethereal Bodies 8 display in San Francisco was recently named one of the best public art projects of 2017 by Americans for the Arts.
The installation of these sculptures is part of the City and Borough of Juneau’s 1 percent for Art program, which requires one percent of the project construction cost of the cruise berths to be spent on art for the facility. The art selection process started in 2014 and the Assembly granted final approval in spring 2015.
