Christopher Paul Jordan and his andimgonnamisseverybody sculpture (Image: @theampmemorial)
The only regret might be that you’ll never get to hear what it would sound like if Christopher Paul Jordan’s “20 x 20 x 3 ‘ aluminum, bronze and steel sculpture celebrating the lives of loved ones who have passed on throughout the AIDS crisis” were powered up, the bass dropped, and the mic fired up.
The artist, sculptor, and inventor’s “centerpiece” work for the AIDS Memorial Pathway is now in place on the northern end of the Capitol Hill Station plaza as the pathway project is ready for its official dedication — marking a new Pride weekend event for you to add to your Capitol Hill calendar.
https://twitter.com/cpauljordan/status/1399093693450051587
Fabricated over recent months and installed last week by Bellingham’s Architectural Elements, Jordan’s andimgonnamisseverybody is a giant X made from speakers, a 20 foot by 20 foot structure, designed by the artist to represent X as a positive symbol turned on its axis to erode the perceived binary between HIV positive and HIV negative people and symbolizing a solidarity between the two. Jordan told CHS after his selection last year that “the general attitude that a lot of folks have is, ‘Well it doesn’t really affect me, I’m negative.’ There’s a respectability culture around HIV negative status that sees itself as separate from the crisis, as some people have access to healthcare and support they need.”
The newly installed work joins other recently installed elements of the pathway connecting the plaza to Cal Anderson Park. CHS reported previously on the We’re Already Here installation from design firm Civilization that has added colorful, provocative signs to the area around the station development with messages based on research of messages from “collective action” — protests, demonstrations, rallies, and campaigns — from activism around the HIV/AIDS crisis.
More art will extend the pathway into Cal Anderson Park.
The $2.9 million public-private pathway project has been powered by developer Gerding Edlen, Sound Transit, SDOT, Seattle Office of Arts and Culture, and Seattle Parks and Recreation along with major support from community fundraising. The project manager is Jason Plourde.
Plourde, meanwhile, has announced a Pride Weekend dedication ceremony for the pathway:
Join us on Saturday, June 26 to celebrate the completion of The AMP: AIDS Memorial Pathway.
The AMP DEDICATION
Saturday, June 26
Noon – 3pm
On the plaza at the Capitol Hill Light Rail StationWe invite the public to drop by during these hours to visit and experience this unique place of remembrance and reflection in Seattle.
See the artwork, talk with the artists, and learn about The AMP!
This event will have ASL interpreters available.
You can find CHS’s roster of Capitol Hill 2021 Pride celebrations and events here.
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This is contemporary brutalism, it’s just as unsightly today as it will be 50 years from now.
Fifty years? I’m wondering what it’s going to look like after just one year of sun, rain, snow, graffiti, and bird poop.
Oh for god’s sake. Just stop. Visit the artist’s Instagram site (linked in the article) to review the commentary reflecting the thoughts and feelings he invested in his art during the process of creation. It’s enlightening.
Picasso, Dali, and Pollock were just as scorned during their lifetimes by folks who were unable accept that which wasn’t considered traditional or mainstream. Good art is supposed to make you uncomfortable. Good art is supposed to challenge you. Good art is supposed to make you think…good art is not supposed to just be pretty.
Good art doesn’t look like it should be in a Hard Rock Cafe.
You might want to look up the actual meaning of certain words before using them in a way that makes you look like you really don’t know what you’re talking about…just saying.