Luke Blackstone Tacoma Preservatory of Fluid Moment (um) Location: Tacoma Dome Station, Tacoma, Washington steel, aluminum, copper, glass, preserving jars, rainwater, found objects, electronic and electromechanical devices 22 ft.  high 2001
This sculpture is a permanent outdoor sculpture at the Tacoma Dome Multi-modal Commuter Rail Station, and was designed to use rainwater as a means to refer to the interaction between mechanical and fluid time. At various times throughout the day, a mechanical “wing” lowers a copper plate to the floor, where electromagnets pick up steel filings in a certain pattern. The pattern abstractly displays a digit, which refers to the actual hour of the day. After a few minutes, the electromagnets begin to gradually lose power, causing the digit to “dissolve” and drop back to the floor. The frequency of this cycle increases with the amount of rainwater that has recently fallen in the city of Tacoma.