Bayview Station was made by artist George Trakas created in 1987. However, its message is definitely not stuck in the 1980s. The work did not initially strike me as art but more of an architectural installation. But upon exploring the work I could see the creativity in the piece and in the works of  George Trakas in general. This installation is a wonderful blend of the creative elements of art and the imaginative ideas in architecture. However, the blending of the many ideas brings the docks to earth and away from the water.

Bayview Station is reminiscent of a dock on the first impression. The installation overlooks the Bellingham bay and the homes below. The structure of the sculpture is much like a dock. There are metal and wood pieces with many complexes angles in the work. Also, the poles and rocks in the work are reflective of a seaside shore.

This work is not a dock on a hillside.

The Bayview Station is a compacted mix of planking fitted to the hillside. The work is art because it comes from a creative place in architecture and sculpture.

The work is located on a hillside by the underground coffeehouse on the campus of Western Washington university. This is on the north end of campus near the PAC building. In 2015 the work received a fresh coat of paint to update the worn wood of 1980 for today’s students. The stylistic choices are not strictly reminiscent of the 1980s or of the 2010s. The work is timeless from a particular artistic era. Bellingham in the 1980s and now is not challenged by this piece. Bayview Station was a site-specific installation. This means the work was meant to be where it is specifically. The work is adapted to its location in its shapes and forms. The angles concave inward where the hill does and concave outward where the hillside does. The timing of the work is not as important as the location and the community it belongs too.  That community is western, Bellingham, and the people who interact with the work. Very much of the character of Bellingham is the bay and the shipping in this region. Therefore they were brought into this piece and amplified. The land on the hillside overlooking the bay is part of this community.

Where the work was placed makes it not confrontational to the viewers. Some works on the campus are meant to be physically confrontational. These sculptures on the campus block walkways and views. They are meant to engage the body and movement in the art. However, Bayview Station’s location is not argumentative. Someone need to intentionally walk to it up a ramp to interact with it. The engagement of the body and the movement around the installation is not an obstruction to people. Someone does not simply view the work of George Trakas. They are meant to interact with and climb on and walk it. His work is a seamless transition from structure to are and back.  This work is peaceful while experiencing it physically. It is easy to climb it and view the pay. I think the view is the bay is part of the art. This is because the installation of this kind of art is meant to be a glue between ideas.  And the people interacting with that area is part of the work itself. The community in Bellingham and the community of student is a part of the work’s themes.

The placement of rocks between sections of this work is the only thing that is meant to be an argument. It demands the attention of the people interacting with it. Someone must be conscious when walking across the planks because the break in the planks is full of rocks.

It forces the people to be present while with the art.

This idea of breaks in the dock and rocked underneath could also relate back to the community.

So what is Bayview Station trying to say? It attests to Bellingham and Western as a culture. It connects the people here to the land on western campus and in Bellingham. Bayview Station ties the Bellingham bay to the community and the land and most importantly ties in the people. Bayview Station is meant to comment on how all these ideas work off one another to create an image of this area and how it fits in the grand scheme of art and of the community.

Writing and Research: Hanna Bridgham

Digital Media: Nate Pollak