Views on Fifth salmon art serves as reminder that building stands on Squaxin Island land

The enormous steel salmon on the façade of Views on Fifth building mark the spot through which the fish swim on their annual journey upstream and serve as bold reminders of the area’s significance to the Squaxin Island people.

Designed by Squaxin Island/Pueblo of Acoma artist Joe Seymour, the colorfully lit installation is quickly becoming a symbol of downtown Olympia, and the project has won Seymour the Olympia Downtown Alliance’s second annual Design Award.

“With the placement of the building and the welcoming nature of the salmon project that Joe put together, it really feels like a gateway to our downtown,” said Todd Cutts, executive director of the alliance.

“It’s very iconic for the location, because there’s so much meaning,” said Ken Brogan, Views on Fifth’s developer. He and his wife, Julie Brogan, sought out a Squaxin Island artist after learning about the history of the land.

Seymour, whose work combines devotion to Coast Salish traditions with a willingness to experiment, aimed to give the Brogans a design that would not only honor the site’s history but also define Olympia.

Three of the salmon — each 19 feet tall — swim upstream, while a fourth circles below, waiting its turn. “When I put them in their final places, I realized that that was an exclamation point,” he told The Olympian.

Seymour has been a professional artist since 2006, working in media from carving and weaving to photography and glassmaking. He painted a mural with Olympia artist Ira Coyne commemorating the 2012 Canoe Journey on the now-demolished Les Schwab building on Percival Landing. He designed utility box wraps for the City of Olympia and Puget Sound Energy.

Now, he’s shepherded the salmon from design through fabrication to installation.

“This whole project was something I’d never done before,” he said. “I’d never worked with steel, and I’d never worked that large before. There was a lot to learn.”

Growing up in New Mexico and California, he was steeped in the culture of the Acoma, his mother’s people. It wasn’t until 2003, when he joined the Canoe Journey to Tulalip, that he became fascinated by the other half of his heritage.

“I was able to carve my first paddle,” he told The Olympian. “I was exposed to the traditional songs. I’d never really sung songs. I didn’t really know what I was doing.

“There was something in me that came to life,” he said. “After the canoe journey, I asked one of my cousins to teach me how to make drums.”

He soon began studying art at The Evergreen State College and made the decision to devote himself to art in 2005 after working with glass artist Preston Singletary at The Longhouse.

Studying new techniques and tackling new challenges has been a major theme for Seymour. Currently, he’s working on his carving skills and preparing to teach a class on studio art and indigenous culture at the University of Washington.

And he wants to do more public art, including painting another mural. “I want to see more Coast Salish art in this area,” he said.

The installation at Views on Fifth was certainly a giant step in that direction.

“It was maybe a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” he said, then interrupted himself. “Hopefully not a once in a lifetime.”

This story was originally published March 2, 2021 at 5:45 AM.