Artists & Communities Host Site: Allied Arts Council of Yakima Valley
5000 West Lincoln
Yakima, Washington 98908
Web site: http://alliedarts.artsyakima.org/index.html

Millennium Artist:
Wen-ti Tsen
Multidisciplinary Artist
Massachusetts
E-mail: tsenevans@earthlink.net

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Water is the lifeblood of Washington's Yakima Valley. Traditionally, the irrigation water that flows from the Cascade Mountains provides a life source for the agricultural economy of the Valley. In recent years, many area residents felt a need to reach for better communication between neighboring, but diverse, Valley communities. In this sense, water became a way to cleanse and soothe differences. In many cultures, water is a representation of the spirit, a circulating element that generates and regenerates.

With the importance of water to the Valley in mind, Millennium Artist Wen-ti Tsen partnered with the Allied Arts Council of Yakima Valley on an Artists & Communities residency project that put water as its central theme.

In Yakima, Tsen consulted with community residents of all ages and backgrounds, soliciting ideas for elements depicting the social, economic, and physical environment of the region. He then translated these ideas into the design of a sculptural Millennium Plaza slated for installation in downtown Yakima.

Site construction of the Millennium Plaza, entitled "Water of Life," commenced in November 2000. It is anticipated that the work will be completed and formally dedicated sometime in 2001.

The plaza covers an 80' x 80' area that was historically the center of the city. Its design is based on a series of concentric circles that suggest coming together and continuity. Sculptural elements include a group of four large basalt blocks that form an arc with water trickling down each face. This and other water elements in the sculpture represent water flowing from the Cascades.

Additional sculptural elements include a sculpted segment of the Cascades. Tsen envisioned this as representing people's ability to transform nature into a resource. Two sloping concrete walls zigzag on either side of the plaza resembling irrigation channels in texture. The walls house glass cases that hold "power objects" created by community members that hold significance to the past, present, and future of the Valley.

In the center of the plaza, seven basalt columns function as pedestals for bronze castings of tools used in the Valley, such as a Singer sewing machine, a Yakama Indian basket with berries, and an apple-harvesting bag. The plaza's front features a three-spout water fountain with a bronze sculpture of an apple orchard.

Encircling the top of the plaza is a ring of light made of fiber optics with changing, circulating colors. The movement and rhythm simulate those of the circular "friendship" dance at a powwow. The artist and Arts Council see this element as a representation of the coming together of people in the Valley and the healing of nations.

Commenting on his residency and artistic process, Millennium Artist Wen-ti Tsen said, "the day I came to Yakima, an 80-year-old man said to me, 'Everybody has a story.' As I was leaving, a 15-year-old girl from Yakima County Juvenile Detention Center wrote: 'Everyday is a journey of finding out who and what we are.' I have listened to the stories and depicted the voices. New things will happen: children will run in the fountain, people will gather, music will play, and new friendships will be made."

MILLENNIUM ARTIST BIO

Wen-ti Tsen is an internationally-known painter, sculptor, mixed-media artist, and educator whose public and community work has been featured through various community and cultural organizations including the University of Massachusetts and the City of Boston. For over 30 years, Tsen has led artist-in-residence activities and received commissions both in the U.S. and abroad.