David Franklin

Weaver’s Welcome at the Burke Museum

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How Weaver’s Welcome came to be…

Weaver’s Welcome                                             photo by Myrna Keliher

Finding inspiration at the Burke Museum

The Burke Museum holds a very special place for indigenous people in the Northwest.  It is a must see for anyone interested in the study of the history of the region.  It has long been the home of some of the best minds in Anthropology in the Northwest.  The Burke Museum has been home to such noted experts as Bill Holm, Robin Wright and now Katie-Bunn Marcuse.   The Museum at the University of Washington has long been recognized as the place to find out about just about anything about this region.

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Flight of the Spectrum

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Flight of the Spectrum Sculpture
Flight of the Spectrum is installed at The Seattle World School in cooperation with WashingtonState Arts Commission

Seattle World School

In this school we learn to fly together, no matter where you come from.

A couple of years I was contacted by the Washington State Arts Commission about creating a project for a newly remodeled school in Seattle.  I had no idea at that time what an amazing opportunity this would be, or what an incredible place Seattle World School is.

” It is one of only a few schools in the country designed as a preliminary entry point for immigrant children in their quest for academic achievement and full participation in American society.”

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New Installation “Sculpture in the Garden”

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The Crouching Figure Post
The Crouching Figure

The Back Story

This installation was made for the garden of a neighbor who travels the world collecting and teaching about exotic plants.  He has thereby created an amazing garden at his home in Indianola WA.  We have worked together on several projects over the years.  He was interested in a series of posts for installation in his garden.   He was interested in evoking some of the spirit of the Janseung  (a type of totem-like carving from Korea) that he has encountered in his travels.  Starting  at this point I began to research and draw.

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Drift Inversion Wins PAN Year in Review Award

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Drift Inversion Sculpture
Drift Inversion by David Franklin and Aaron Whelton 2017

Drift Inversion by David Franklin and Aaron Whelton Honored Today at Americans for the Arts Annual Convention

Portland, OR, June 15, 2018—Americans for the Arts today honored outstanding public arts projects created in 2017 through the Public Art Network Year in Review program, the only national program that specifically recognizes the most compelling public art. Chosen by public art experts, the roster of selected projects was unveiled this morning at Americans for the Arts’ Annual Convention in Denver.

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Cultural House of Cards on Seattle’s “The Stranger”

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The Cultural House of Cards on the Cover of Seattle's The Stranger
David Franklin’s Cultural House of Cards on the Cover of Seattle’s free weekly newspaper, The Stranger, for the week of Jan 11-17 2017.

This house of cards symbolizes the fragile cultural structure we build together in our societies, and the beauty within each part of it.

Ever since my wife and I moved to Seattle in 1993 there has only been one source for truly comprehensive coverage of local music and arts, that has been The Stranger, Seattle’s best free weekly paper.  If you are looking for an event, no matter how obscure it’s in The Stranger.   The Stranger has an independent minded perspective  on anything and everything important happening in the city and the world, with a true sense of grit and intelligence.  It’s this creative viewpoint that has always made it the final word in Seattle’s vibrant culture.

The digital version of this week’s Stranger can be seen here.

This is such an honor because of the feeling of acceptance in my local arts community it provides, something that has not always come easy for me.

This piece, The Cultural House of Cards,  sits within the high barbed wire fence of The Green Hill School in Chehalis, WA, but it has refused to stay imprisoned.  WIth a feeling of it having a life of it’s own this project has gained the attention of Hi Fructose Magazine, Montreal’s Mural Festival and now The Stranger.  Its themes are very appropriate to the times we live in and the challenges before us a s a diverse society.

Cultural House of with daughters.
Sitting in the Cultural House of cards with my daughters prior to painting.
The Cultural House of Cards
With my helpers Scott Wipff and Brian Perry after the installation

 

My wife Joanne, my kids, Mike Sweney, The Green Hill School, Kurt Nordquist, Brian Perry, Scott Wipff, Jonathan Areola, and Western Graphics all had important roles in making this Washington State Arts Commission happen.

Thanks to everyone that has enjoyed this project and seen the importance of the message about all of us contained within it,

David

New Public Art For the Port of San Diego

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“And it never failed that during the dry years the people forgot about the rich years, and during the wet years they lost all memory of the dry years. It was always that way.”

John Steinbeck-East of Eden

Cam_07 copy

For the past couple of years I have been working on a major project for the Lane Field North Development in the Port of  San Diego.  The theme is water, and for this place it could not be a more powerful symbol.   The lack of water, and at times the raging overabundance of water has been a force that has shaped California, moved its populations, created riches and hardships, and at time battles between neighbors.  It is also the same story through the West and has driven people in desperation to California for its dream of the promised land.  It could not be a more timeless and powerful symbol, and developments like this could not exist without out it. The Port of San Diego itself exists because of it.

When complete the sculpture will be three stories tall on the South side of the building and four on the North and divided into two 220 foot lengths. Monumental in scale, it has the Pacific Coast Highway on one side and Harbor Avenue on the other.  Cruise ships and aircraft  carriers park nearby and trains pass through the station across the street as well.  It is a great honor to be working on this project with John Portman Associates who designed the building and LFN Developers who are making it all happen, and also to Clark Steel Fabricators who is fabricating and installing the project..

Special thanks to Aaron Whelton, Kurt Nordquist and IDE Engineers who help me realize major projects like this.

 

The first panels of the California Rain sculpture
The first panels of the California Rain Sculpture at Lane Field North in the Port of San Diego

The California Rain Sculpture begins to take shape

Installing California Rain sculpture at Lane Field North
Installing California Rain sculpture at Lane Field North
Land Field North From Pacific Highway in the port of San Diego
The Lane Field North Tower looking southwest from Pacific highway. The arrow points to the artwork which will eventually stretch around three sides of the building around the garage floors.