Annette Coleman

Pinball Wizard

 

Scottsdale Public Art worked with artist Annette Coleman to design and install mosaic artwork enhancements at the Stetson Plaza Splash Pad near Marshall Way Bridge at the Scottsdale Waterfront. The splash pad is a user-activated, low-water-use, plaza-style splash pad intended to attract families to the Waterfront and give them a place to play and relax.  

Coleman’s design, Pinball Wizard, includes a new concrete wall and bench with 30 mosaic spheres and domes of various sizes, along with inset waves of vertical glass mosaic pieces. The artist’s glass is cut into random shapes and in a variety of colors that dance with light in any weather. The mosaic stained glass pieces are embedded in colored concrete that is formulated to last decades. Glass itself is among the most durable of mediums. “The spheres harken back to simpler times as children, playing jacks, shooting marbles, playing four square and competing as pinball wizards,” Coleman said.  

Coleman enjoys creating bright, colorful sculptures based on her connection to nature and love of the outdoors. She believes serpentine shapes help reflect nature’s shapes and become whimsical abstractions of various elements—water, wind, flora, and fauna. Coleman also draws on popular culture, such as television shows and science programs, and she often names her work based on those intersections of commonalities. Pinball Wizard references popular games to evoke a fun and playful nature for the splash pad. 

This artwork contains AR components.

Meet artist Annette Coleman as she describes what inspired her to create Pinball Wizard as 3D mosaic pinballs are propelled into the air and bounce around.

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Media

Enjoy this short video provided by Coleman and Aero Drone Visions on the project:

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Accommodations supported by Hotel Valley Ho.