Catch + Release
Artist
Kristin Tollefson
MediumBranch: Mild steel, polyurethane resin beads; Basket: Stainless steel, polyurethane resin beads
DimensionsBranch: 24 x 78 x 33 in. (61 x 198.1 x 83.8 cm)
Basket: 31 x 27 x 27 in. (78.7 x 68.6 x 68.6 cm)
ClassificationsIntegrated Art
Credit LineLibraries for All Bond 1% for Art funds
Description: Catch + Release features a large branch made of woven steel wire and studded with large red and orange polyurethane resin beads or “berries.”. The branch hangs from the ceiling inside the library’s meeting room and gestures towards the large south-facing window and a basket outside in the library’s south garden. Constructed of stainless steel, the basket contains additional resin beads within its vertical ribs. The angled spot lighting on the branch casts a long shadow and pale color fields on the south interior wall, while the basket is lit from below, illuminating the translucent “berries” at night.
Artist Statement: The madrona tree around which the original building and landscape architecture was designed provides the conceptual framework for Catch + Release. The suspended branch and its resin beads mimic the mature fruiting arbutus and invite nature inside the building; outside, the basket captures additional berries. The title, Catch + Release, refers to these actions of fruiting and gathering, paired activities of nature and humans that work as a metaphor for the relationship between library as information provider and patrons as collectors and disseminators.
Watch: Seattle Channel Profile on Artist Kristin Tollefson (2007)
Watch: Seattle Channel Profile on Artist Kristin Tollefson (2007)
