The Philosophical Promenade, (sculpture).

The Philosophical Promenade, (sculpture).

Beckley, Keith, 1952- , sculptor.

Evans, Dennis, 1946- , sculptor.

The Philosophical Promenade, (sculpture).

1988. Dedicated 1989.

Digital Reference:

Concrete, bronze, granite.

24 stations. Overall installation: approx. L. 100 ft. x W. 27 ft.; Each concrete square panel: approx. H. 3 ft. x W. 3 ft.; Each relief panel: approx. H. 18 in. x W. 18 in.

(On plaque east of installation:) THE PHILOSOPHICAL PROMENADE/1988/KEITH BECKLEY DENNIS EVANS/Funded by/Seattle Engineering. Sewer Dept. & Seattle Water Dept./1 % for Arts Funds/City of Seattle/CHARLES ROYER/Mayor (On first panel on south side of walk:) THAT WHICH/THE CENTER BRINGS/REMAINS AND WAS THERE/FROM ETERNITY/NIETZSCHE (On second panel:) SUDDENLY A FLASH OF/UNDERSTANDING A SPARK/THAT LEAPS CROSS TO THE/SOUL./PLATO (On third panel:) YOU CANNOT LOOK/FOR THE ANSWER/YOU MUST BE/THE ANSWER/RITA MAE BROWN (On fourth panel:) HE WHO LOOKS INSIDE/DREAMS/HE WHO LOOKS OUTSIDE/WAKES/C.G. JUNG (On fifth panel:) BUT THE HEART GLOWS/AND A SECRET UNREST/GNAWS AT THE ROOTS/OF OUR BEING/C.G. JUNG

(On sixth panel:) ALL THAT IS ABOVE/ALSO IS BELOW/HEAVEN ABOVE HEAVEN BELOW/ANONYMOUS (On seventh panel:) EVERYTHING GOES/THE WHEEL OF BEING/EVERYONE RETURNS/ETERNITY ROLLS/NIETZSCHE (On eighth panel:) HE HAS HALF/THE DEED DONE/WHO HAS MADE/A BEGINNING/HORACE (On ninth panel:) HIS REWARD/IS WITH HIM/AND HIS WORK/BEFORE HIM/ISAIAH (On tenth panel:) THE WAY/THAT CAN BE TOLD/IS NOT/THE CONSTANT WAY/LAO TZE (On eleventh panel:) CROOKED/IS THE/PATH/OF ETERNITY/NIETZSCHE (On twelfth panel:) IF A MAN WOULD/PERSIST IN HIS FOLLY/HE WOULD/BECOME WISE/WILLIAM BLAKE

(Across the sidewalk between every two stations, embedded in narrow concrete bands, bronze lettering beginning with the south end:) TWILIGHT/CARE/HOME/JOURNEY/DESCEND/BELOW/ABOVE/SKY/ASCEND/WAY/GATE/DAWN unsigned

Sidewalk installation consisting of 24 stations, 12 on each side of the walkway. Each side is identical to the other; one side runs east to west, the other runs west to east. Each of the stations is marked with a rough-hewn granite rock situated in the center of a concrete square panel. The panels are flush with the sidewalk. Beside each concrete panel, embedded in the sidewalk, is a bronze relief panel raised slightly above the horizon of the sidewalk. Each relief panel depicts a different abstract scene, including a figure walking up a river with wind blowing on him, a figure pushing a wheel up a mountain, a figure crawling across a sword which spans a chasm, a figure holding a walking stick and lantern, and a figure walking a path between two poles. Across the width of the sidewalk, between corresponding stations, are thin concrete bands.

Allegory -- Arts & Sciences -- Philosophy

Figure -- Full length

Literature -- Jung

Literature -- Nietzsche

Literature -- Horace

Religion -- Old Testament -- Isaiah

Literature -- Plato

Literature -- Brown

Literature -- Lao Tze

Ethnic -- Chinese

Literature -- Blake

Outdoor Sculpture -- Washington -- Seattle

Administered by City of Seattle, Seattle Arts Commission, 312 1st Avenue North, Seattle, Washington 98109

Located I-90 Lid, Martin Luther King Way South & South Atlantic Street, Seattle, Washington

Funding for the installation was provided by Seattle Engineering Department One Percent for Art and the Washington State Department of Transportation. The installation is located along a pedestrian/bike path and is designed to be read by viewers coming from either direction down the path.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Washington survey, 1994.

Seattle Arts Commission's "Fieldguide to Seattle's Public Art", 1991, pg. 174-175, unpaginated foldout.

Seattle Arts Commission's "Fieldguide to Seattle's Public Art", 1991, pg. 175.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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