You Are Here
Artist
John Fleming
MediumColored concrete, ADA Solutions detectable warning panels, aluminum rods, solar LED lights, and reflective glass beads
Dimensions4’ x 4’ squares
ClassificationsIntegrated Art
Credit LineSeattle Department of Transportation 1% for Art funds
Description: For the sidewalk artworks, Fleming created two modern, abstract designs incorporating words: ‘WHERE ARE YOU? ‘ and ‘YOU ARE HERE’. He chose colors typical for SDOT signage used around the city. Both versions use detectable, textured dome-warning panels, which provide a flat backboard for the art. Aluminum rods acted as dividers between colored sections of cement. Glass beads were embedded in some of the concrete to provide a “headlight catching” surprise. At night the solar light makes a strong marker for YOU ARE HERE.
Artist Statement: Fleming’s two artwork designs were inspired by making site visits to proposed sidewalk art locations. After viewing the proposed sites, “I found that many were in the middle of nowhere. This triggered the idea ’WHERE ARE YOU?’ and ’YOU ARE HERE’. I liked thinking that this art seemed to come from nowhere.
My sidewalk art uses material common to the public right-of-way. But it uses this common material in a surprisingly uncommon way. Yellow detectable warning panels are found at the sidewalk corners of most Seattle streets. In my artwork, I combined these durable dotted panels with the messages ’WHERE ARE YOU?’ and ’YOU ARE HERE.’ Used in this new way, the colorful sidewalk panels become unique markers in your neighborhood.
