Artist: Blue McRight
Project Title: Luminaries
Date Completed: 2003
Commissioned by: State of California, Department of Health Services
Project Location: Main Lobby of the Department of Health Services,
Capitol Area East End, Sacramento, CaliforniaLuminaries is comprised of two groups of hanging aluminum light sculptures. Their placement establishes a relationship between the two groups that charges the space and includes the entire lobby as part of the art. Each hangs from the ceiling along the curved walls; a group of three near the east wall and a group of seven near the west wall. Both numbers are rich in symbolism.

The individual forms of the sculptures are organic shapes executed in industrial materials. They embody both nature and culture, which in turn symbolize the essence of California — its history, its light, its natural beauty, its technologies and customs. Their rounded curves echo the elliptical plan of the lobby. The east wall group, suspended from curving stems, projects patterns of shadows onto the wall. The west wall group, of translucent acrylic with aluminum mesh and tubing, reveals the patterns of shadow on the inside surfaces of the sculptures. All utilize low voltage halogen lamps and are responsive to variable light conditions.

A quotation by American author Willa Cather (1873 – 1947) inscribed on panels mounted on the west wall expands the experience of place by referencing natural cycles. Cather poetically describes the powerful sight of the sun setting and the full moon rising at the same time, as the viewer watches from the center of a level field, much as a viewer on the level lobby floor perceives the light sculptures, floating at different heights on either side of the space. Thus, the artwork metaphorically connects the viewer to the world outside.