Mark Bennion, Tidewater (2002)
Mezzanine Plaza Installation
April 9, 2005 - April 7, 2007
Mark Bennion is a painter and sculptor living on Vashon Island. His work is simple, geometric and quiet. A recent exhibition of his work at William Traver Gallery, Tacoma, resulted in the offer of his Tidewater sculpture for display at the Museum. Three eight foot high welded steel sculptures resembling large, rectangular doorways are installed in the mid-level plaza pool.
"The original concept of the Tidewater project was to take the sculptures to a beach location and video and photograph them as the tide covered and uncovered the work. Using the tide cycle as a metaphor for the cycle of birth, death, and birth, I was trying to provide an opportunity to question our place in the world.
"One of the pleasant surprises of the original installation was the interaction of the geometric shapes with the changing natural environment. The subtleties of light, wind, rain, and water patterns juxtaposed against the simple geometry of the sculptures evoked a heightened awareness of the surroundings.
"In bringing the sculptures to the reflection pond at the Museum of Glass, I am again providing the opportunity for this simple geometry to interact with the changing environment of light, shadow, wind and reflection. These shapes are the simplest of forms, the beginnings of architecture. They bring memories of doors, portals, exits, entrances, Malta, Stonehenge, Crete, and gathering places from around the world. As if from some distant memory, they are at once familiar. An ancient innocence of simplicity."
