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Art in the Park 
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  he Public Facilities District Board demonstrated their commitment to integrating public art within the project by authorizing
the expenditure of $1.31 million for a public art in SAFECO FIELD and its garage. This amount represents .5% of
hard construction costs of the ballpark and garage approved budgets, matching the State’s standards for art in public facilities.
In addition, the Public Facilities District contributed management staff, legal services and other administrative costs,
greatly increasing the value of the art program.
To assist in the development and oversight of an art selection process, the PFD appointed an Art Review Panel made up of PFD Board members, community representatives, local artists and arts administrators as well as the Mariners and NBBJ Architects. Irene Mahler of Mahler Fine Arts was the consultant to the PFD on the art program. The art selection process began with a Call for Artists sent to artists and arts organizations in Washington, Oregon and British Columbia – the primary geographic reach of the Mariners baseball team. Of the almost 100 artists who responded, sixteen were invited to interview with the Panel. Of these, nine were paid a stipend to develop a proposal for an integrated artwork. The nine chosen represented a variety of media, styles and approaches. Eight of these proposals were recommended to the Board for further development. These eight artists were approved by the Board and created the works described below. In addition to SAFECO FIELD itself, art was incorporated within the garage/plaza project. The selection process for this work was more streamlined. About twelve local artists were asked to submit a letter of interest. After interviewing the six interested candidates, the Art Review Panel recommended Donald Fels to work in tandem with the project architects and landscape designers to develop a proposal for integrated artwork. BALLPARK ARTISTS Ross Palmer Beecher 
Seattle artist Ross Palmer Beecher created two large "quilts" made from pieces of found metal stitched together with red wire similar to the stitching on a baseball. Pieces of discarded pop cans and other metal containers create the logos of all Major League Baseball teams. These logos are "sewn" onto license plates of the states from which that team hails, forming one of the quilts. The other quilt makes references to the history of baseball in the Pacific Northwest, recalling the Seattle Rainiers and earlier days of the Seattle Mariners. A series of such images is again made up of found metal and "sewn" onto old Washington license plates. This quilt is bordered with carved fir frames that are painted with familiar scenes from a baseball game. Her work is mounted on facing walls at the Main Concourse level at the southeast entry. Recesses have been built into the walls to hold her works, which are covered with tempered glass frames. Tina Hoggatt 
Issaquah artist Tina Hoggatt created a series of nine porcelain enamel on steel panels, each portraying a figure from the history of baseball representing each of the nine positions on the field. The nine players Tina chose to portray combine to tell the history and rich diversity of the game. They include players from the Negro League, the All American Girl’s Baseball League, and the Japanese Major League in addition to Major League Baseball. These panels, measuring 3 feet by 5 feet are enclosed within steel frames and flag-mounted to columns on the outer side of the upper concourse in the northwest corner. Double-sided, the works can be seen by fans walking the concourse in either direction. Helen Lessick  Seattle artist Helen Lessick created an "ephemeral" public artwork, designed to be enjoyed and even collected by fans at
the game. She designed and printed five series of "baseball cards" with images and text that relay interesting facts about the gear,
rules, and other aspects of the game and its history. Cards were distributed during selected games during the opening season of SAFECO FIELD.
In addition to the cards, Ms. Lessick created five porcelain enamel-on-steel
panels representing a sample of her baseball-card artwork that are permanently hung in the ballpark’s northeast corner at field level.
Ries Niemi  An artist from Bow, Washington, Mr. Niemi designed and fabricated a number of artworks that were included in selected gates
and fences around SAFECO FIELD. Eight stainless steel cutout figures of pitchers captured in various points of the wind-up
and release are integrated within selected fences on the north side of the ballpark facing Royal Brougham Way. In the
northeast corner, the "Batter’s Fence" portrays the trajectories of a number of balls leaving a batter’s bat. A plaque
bearing the name of the hit, such as "bunt" or "pop fly" designates each ball. In the southeast corner, five life-size steel
cutout figures of catchers in various classic poses are integrated within gates and fences. Finally, his signature piece
is prominently located above the northwest entry. Here are assembled ten, life-size steel cutout figures each assuming
a classic pose of one of the nine player positions plus the batter. They are dressed and equipped from various eras of the
game, recalling the grand heroes that can be found at the entry to Greek and Roman churches and arenas.
Thom Ross Seattle artist Thom Ross chose to capture "The Defining Moment", the most spectacular instant in the Mariner’s history as of the day Safeco Field opened – the moment that Griffey crossed the plate on Edgar Martinez’ double into left field to score the winning run that beat the Yankees in the 1995 playoffs. Ross’s work is based on a photo from the Seattle Times that captured the action of the throw home, the slide and the umpire’s call while ecstatic players leaped in the background. Each of these figures is cut and painted stainless steel, mounted in relief to a wall at the top of the northwest entry stairs on the main concourse level. The figures in the background are mounted closest to the wall with Griffey extending furthest. Certainly a crowd pleaser, this work brings a hometown element to the art collection. Stable  The artist group of Linda Beaumont, Stuart Keeler and Michael Machnic worked together to create a site-specific artwork
involving many elements in the southwest entry rotunda. The centerpiece of their work is a dramatic sculpture hanging from
the center of the ceremonial rotunda behind home plate. Up above fans entering the ballpark are a thousand translucent
bats molded of polyprop resin and mounted to brushed aluminum spiraling forms. Lit with flickering incandescent light, the
piece conveys the power and movement of the swing of the bat. Fans enter the rotunda through gates designed by the
artists. The gates are adorned with geometric steel patterns that evoke references to the field of play. Each gate set includes
an ellipse -- the pitcher’s mound -- in which text from the literature of baseball is etched.
The floor of the rotunda is colored with a rich mixture of sea foam greens and blues, suggesting a churning sea. Lighter colors at the floor’s center evoke whitecaps and waves breaking against the grand stair which is colored with a rich earth tone. This uninterrupted color of the grand stair as it marches upward heightens the contrast of the bright green of the field, seen for the first time at the landing of this stair. Here at the landing point, Stable designed a terrazzo compass rose, twenty-seven feet in diameter. This timeless icon to navigating at sea, referenced in the Mariner’s current logo, will capture elements of the history of baseball including the history of this ballpark. Thirty-two mirrored cast glass rings, embedded within the terrazzo, surround stainless steel disks which are etched with the signatures of the inaugural team, thus providing a time capsule of the moment SAFECO FIELD officially opened. In addition, quotes from the rich literature of baseball ring the compass rose, enticing fans to step back into the legend and myth of the game. Gerard Tsutakawa  Seattle artist Gerry Tsutakawa created a cast bronze sculpture of the abstract form of a catcher’s mitt or old-fashioned
baseball glove. Standing nine feet tall and about twelve feet wide, this mitt identifies a natural place for fans to meet
friends before or after the game. At the base of the "thumb", an aperture appears as an abstract symbol of the baseball in
the mitt, where the ball is to be caught, or a hole where a fast ball burned through. Located just outside the northwest entrance
to the Ballpark, the sculpture has become an icon of SAFECO FIELD and is enjoyed by all, whether a ticket-holder or not.
Gu Xiong  Chinese-born, Canadian artist Gu Xiong created a 24-foot long porcelain enamel on steel mural to be located in the northeast
corner of SAFECO FIELD on the main concourse level. This painting, representative of Gu Xiong’s vibrant style of densely layered
imagery, tells the story of the fans as well as the players of the game. The mural is divided into three parts, with the
larger center panel painted with the diverse crowd of people who come to the ballpark. Interspersed among the enthusiastic faces
are painted generic baseball cards, portraying classic poses found by players on the field. On the right panel is
portrayed all manner of objects that might catch a foul ball in the stands – ranging from a mitt, to a hat, bell or pop cup. On
the left panel is depicted the array of items consumed or discarded at a game, such as hot dogs, popcorn boxes, and pop cups.
On both side panels, Gu Xiong has painted the portraits of more than 40 of baseball’s greatest players. The combination of
historical reference and bright and active imagery has many fans stopping to look deeper and repeatedly into this commanding
work.
GARAGE/PLAZA ARTIST Donald Fels  Donald Fels resides in Fall City, Washington. He produced a series of a metal relief sculptures of a hand gripping a baseball to
throw each of six basic pitches. Approximately 3 ½ feet by four feet and made of laser cut, etched, powder coated steel and
aluminum, the pitches are mounted to every fourth column of the garage's exterior. On the other 18 columns, Fels has
etched one of the many rich idioms of baseball that have become commonplace in the American dialect. These include "out
of left field" and "right off the bat". The idioms are sand blasted into the concrete columns and appear at eye level for
the fans walking to SAFECO FIELD along the west façade of the garage. Finally, Fels inlayed into the plaza sidewalk
the outlines of a batter's box and pitcher's mound. Fans can position themselves at either point, imagining themselves
playing on a big league field.
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