Black Sun (sculpture)

Black Sun
Black Sun
Artist	Isamu Noguchi
Year	1969
Type	Sculpture
Medium	Granite
Dimensions	2.7 m diameter (9 ft)
Location	Seattle
	47°37′48″N 122°18′55″W / 47.629943°N 122.315195°W
Owner	City of Seattle

Black Sun is a 1969 sculpture by Isamu Noguchi located in Seattle, Washington's Volunteer Park. The statue is situated on the eastern edge of the park's man-made reservoir, across from the Seattle Asian Art Museum. The view from the sculpture includes the Space Needle, Olympic Mountains, and Elliott Bay.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Many mistakenly believe Soundgarden's hit single "Black Hole Sun" was inspired by Noguchi's sculpture, as the band took their name from another outdoor public art work in Seattle, A Sound Garden, and the resemblance of the song's title to Noguchi's work. However, singer-songwriter Chris Cornell attributes the song's inspiration to a misheard news broadcast.^[4]

References edit

^ Farr, Sheila (May 13, 2005). "Is public art disappearing?". The Seattle Times. Retrieved Mar 10, 2021.
^ Tannesen Burnham, Liona (May 27, 2006). "Liveliness, diversity are valued hallmarks of Capitol Hill area". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
^ Farr, Sheila (June 5, 2005). "Noguchi: Artist without a country has a place in Seattle". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
^ Anderson, Kyle (June 3, 2014). "Chris Cornell tells stories behind classic 'Superunknown' songs". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 30, 2021. I had misheard a news anchor, and I thought he said 'black hole sun,' but he said something else. So I was corrected, but after that I thought, 'Well, he didn't say it, but I heard it,' and it created this image in my brain and I thought it would be an amazing song title. It was a thought-provoking phrase, and it became that song. That was a title that came before music, so the music was the inspiration that came from the images created by those words.