Pareidolia People: Sculptural Installation On Park Lane

2024-03-18T00:00:00-07:00
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The six steel structures explore the relationship between people and their environment. The metal ‘people’ are a family of individuals that are shaped by city objects and nature. The public art exhibition on Park Lane in downtown Kirkland is expected to inspire visitors to reflect on their place in urban dwellings as well as their relationship to each other while navigating the city.

Ed McCarthy shares his artistic insight on the commissioned artwork, “The six ‘city people’ are all related by scale, color, material and a common vocabulary of shapes. The sculptures I built are based on objects in the city. Sometimes I can look at individual buildings, mail boxes, light poles, and other urban objects such as bridge piers and see people. Sometimes distorted, sometimes deconstructed, these perceived figures can surface from inanimate objects. This tendency to see patterns in random visual stimuli is more generally known as pareidolia. This body of work explores this phenomenon, albeit with an added touch of bright industrial coatings.”

Launch Event

Join us during the Kirkland Art Walk on July 13th for the official unveiling. More information to come.

About the Artist

Ed McCarthy has a background in architecture and engineering and incorporates structural form into his sculptures. His work attempts to give new meaning to the term “industrial art” by creating sometimes bulky and rugged objects reminiscent of machinery or manufacturing tools. McCarthy creates simple, abstract, geometric shapes.

About Park Lane

Park Lane, a lively two-block street in downtown Kirkland, is designed for lingering, community engagement, commerce and art. Park Lane is a flexible urban corridor that creates a plaza for community activities and events. It has been named among the top five best streets in America by American Planning Association due to its urban design and walkability.

The Making of Pareidolia People – Gallery installation at the Kirkland Arts Center
July 17th – Sept. 8th, 2018

This informative exhibition features maquettes and other paraphernalia from the design and fabrication process of artist Ed McCarthy’s public sculpture series Pareidolia People currently installed on Park Lane in downtown Kirkland.

 

The “Pareidolia People” installation is supported by the City of Kirkland, the Kirkland Cultural Arts Commission, a grant from The Norcliffe Foundation as well as a grant from 4Culture, for sustained support of year-round activities.