Image Emergence: Promenade of Clouds

Craig Cree Stone

Image Emergence: Promenade of Clouds by Craig Cree Stone is an integrated public artwork located on the South Block of The Promenade in Downtown Long Beach. Following the theme of flight from The Promenade Mid Block, the first experience for visitors to the South Block is to be up among the clouds—the five shining stainless steel sculptures straining to break free of the ropes holding them. The stainless steel sculptures, which vary in size from 16′ x 12′ x 3′ to 14′ x 6′ x 2′, include a swan constellation cloud, solar sail cloud with cast shadow, solar eclipse cloud, bird flock cloud and mosaic cloud. Twelve major cloud-shaped images and several smaller images are permanently stained into the concrete surface of the plaza. During the day, shadows cast from the sculptures create additional cloud-shaped images on the plaza surface that interact with the stained images, changing position with the movement of the sun throughout the day and year. At night, the freestanding sculptural elements are illuminated to create images that are evocative of constellations.