"Dance of the Earth-Sky Electrons"

The two tall painted aluminum sculptures represent electricity. The tall pylons reach to the sky like the poles that hold up the electrical wire that drives the light rail. The tops of the poles have sparks or bolts like lightning. Cut out of the center of the pylons are variations of the spark theme with three sparks connecting in different combinations.

Chain Lightening (The 12 Glyphs), 1994, in the Collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts

Philip Larson is a sculptor and printmaker.

Trained as an art historian, Philip Larson turned to art-making when he was 29. A passionate devotee of Chicago and Prairie School architecture, his sculptures and prints frequently display a geometrical patterning reminiscent of the architectural ornamentation that adorns buildings of Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright and their followers.

Larson has also created a piece on display at the Walker Art Center’s Sculpture Garden titled, Six Crystals.

Triskelon (The 14 Glyphs), 1994

As part of the original construction, Larson had designed a paver pattern for the 30th Avenue, Bloomington Central and Ft. Snelling Station platforms. The designs were installed, but unfortunately, the paver bricks did not hold up well with the severe Minnesota winters and the heavy foot traffic of a transit system. Artist Richard Elliott had also designed paver platforms for six additional stations. The only remaining platform paver design exists at American Boulevard Station.

Original paver design at 30th Avenue Station