A sculpture for the
Mission Street Light Rail Station

The site of South Pasadena's Mission Street Light Rail Station has an unexpectedly calming, small town ambiance. Trees, grassy areas, and rustic monuments to the past, define the park where light rail once again connects this community with the greater Los Angeles Area. I installed a 10 feet tall, walking man sculpture at the main entrance to the Mission Street Station. The walker's eye-catching scale, familiar posture, and dynamic use of the human form are an engaging symbol for a community moving ahead, but resolutely committed to doing so in its own manner. Built of sheared, annealed bronze strips welded together around a supporting armature, the sculpture combines twisting, woven, fluidity with a bundled energy that recalls muscles with their potential for movement and feeling. The latticed quality of the construction allows sun light to sparkle and dance through the sculptural space, shifting constantly between the internal and external realms, and imparting a yielding, open quality to the figure.The image of a walking figure, in ordinary dress, relates to all who pass through the site, and accentuates the pedestrian nature of the Mission Street area. The outstretched arms and legs of the sculpture echo the trunks and branches of the adjacent trees, establishing a relationship between nature, the walker, and light rail that reinforces the positive ecological impact of the site. The entire installation includes a plaza and "green belt," bringing the grass of the adjacent park to the front of the station entrance.The walker's placement atop antique granite blocks that were once part of a rail bridge, integrates smoothly with the existing historic monuments and literally builds upon the foundation of the past.

"Astride-Aside's" dynamic presence is a celebration of everyday life, emphasizing movement and direction in an ever-changing urban world. It reinforces the very human nature of the site, and symbolizes a community assuredly growing with proud individuality.