My work is deeply committed to integrating the fine arts with architecture and nature in materials that the general public can relate to and understand. I believe that art should be a regular part of our daily lives.

In creating a commission for a public space, an artist must respond with flexibility and ingenuity. The ideal circumstances is when the artist's current work closely relates to the demands for a specific site.

Exactly such a situation occurred in my design and execution of the doors and panels for San José (see above). I was working on a series called the Rhomboid Variations which were simplified geometric paintings and sculptures that used change in colors to explore spatial depth. Bill Valentine, a principal with Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum in San Francisco, suggested that I investigate Moorish design as a source reference for the lobby since the Moors had settled San José. I discovered that their basic principles closely paralleled my philosophy in general, and specifically on the Rhomboid Variations. A further challenge materialized when it was realized that only three sets of elevator doors were visible since the judges' elevator was concealed for security reasons. The architecture of the courthouse has great symmetry, and I was pressed to balance the space accordingly.

Pamela Joseph