Sun Garden turns a daily route into a changing experience of color and light.
At Mill Avenue underpass in Tempe, Arizona, movement has always been part of the experience. Cars, bicyclists and pedestrians travel through the corridor every day, linking Downtown Tempe, Arizona State University, nearby neighborhoods and schools. With Sun Garden complete, this familiar route now has a brighter identity while still serving the people who move through it each day.
Created by artist Joe O’Connell and Creative Machines, the artwork brings sculpture, color and light into one of Tempe’s most traveled gateways. Fifteen nature-inspired forms rise from the terraced planters along the west side of Mill Avenue. During the day, the steel and dichroic acrylic sculptures catch the Arizona sun and send shifting color across the walls and sidewalk. As the light changes, the artwork changes too, giving people a different view depending on the time of day.
The underpass may be most striking after dark. At night, lighting turns the sculptures into glowing rainbow of illumination along the corridor. What once blended into the background now has a myriad of hues adorning the passageway adding a sense of warm to greet those who pass through the area. The evening response has been especially strong, with people saying the project gives them a reason to drive that way on purpose.
Shaped for a corridor that people use every day, Sun Garden answers a clear public desire for a more inviting underpass at all hours. It remains a working piece of infrastructure, but now offers moments of color, surprise and connection along the way.
Sun Garden shows what public art can do when it is fully integrated into part of the site. It can turn a pass-through into a place people remember.
For more information about Tempe Public Art, please visit: tempe.gov/PublicArt
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