Great Blue

Title: Great Blue

Artist: Matt Babcock

Date: 2015

Location: 620 Tyler Street

Materials: Powder coating, stainless steel

Acquisition: 1% for the Arts

"I'm a sculptor who builds with metal," says Babcock, "My goal is to create complex, changing impressions using simple forms and materials. When I was five my dad set me up with a workbench and tools. I spent countless hours making things that I thought of as functional, even though the function was often mysterious or imaginary. I have experience and training in architecture, engineering, metal fabrication, mathematics, and art history. My art reflects my lifelong interest in nature and how things work." 
The piece is an illuminated street clock located in the historic Uptown neighborhood, at the site of the local farmer's market, Jefferson County Community Center, and other community gatherings. The area is known for its bird life, including great blue herons. Matt Babcock is a Seattle metal artist who creates abstract visions of natural and human subjects, focusing on their essential elements to tell a visual story.