Official Kenneth Michael Zeran Website - Portraits

“Turning Point”

A Painting
by
Kenneth Michael Zeran
(American, b. 1946)

60” (152.4 cm) X 48” (121.92cm)
Enamel and Acrylic on Canvas

‘Turning Point’ captures an important moment in the history of Seattle that will be forever remembered in sporting lore. The rich and colorful painting stirs the viewer and ignites the emotions felt on that memorable evening.

The painting has an impressive provenance. It has been featured in prime time on national television on the FOX Television Network during its live broadcast of the 49ers-Seahawks game. It has also been featured by the Seattle Times. Evening Magazine has broadcast a feature about it including interviews. Rarely has a painting received such media attention.

Created with a spectacular flair, the American artist Kenneth Michael Zeran’s talents are on display having rendered the sporting world on an international stage. His landmark works have covered virtually every major sporting event and scene. Having worked closely with LeRoy Neiman for forty years, Zeran’s skill is on display in this epic.

The setting is Seattle’s Century Link field and the National Football Conference Championship Game between rivals San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks on January 19, 2014. The scene captures the moment when Seattle player Richard Sherman deflects a pass that dramatically secures a victory for Seattle that would set the city into a prolonged celebration culminating in a downtown parade attended by nearly a million people after a convincing Super Bowl victory.

The point of view provides all the iconic elements at play. An illuminated stadium on a grand stage with a full moon sky filled with bursting fireworks above a city landscape. A silhouetted Seahawk soars into a pyrotechnical explosion of Seahawks colors and red, white, and blue.
The cascading Emerald City’s skyline is erupting with the Space Needle, Smith Tower, Columbia Tower, Train Station with clock and Venetian motif in a downtown cavalcade.

Inside the panoramic stadium is a spectacle of exciting color. All the important elements are there. The owner Paul Allen, Head Coach Pete Carroll, and General Manager John Schneider, and players are depicted on a video screen along with an image of the World Record crowd noise set at the stadium. The epicenter is an homage to the ‘12th Man with a flag above the ‘Hawk’s Nest’ and ‘Go Hawks’ banner.

Above the crowd are the stadium’s iconic architectural structures and lighting with hanging banners of past team championships. Below is a colorful ring of community support and corporate suites. The ring includes the scoreboard and clock showing “:26”- the exact game time.

The foreground of the painting presents the action from field level in the end zone painted in Seahawk colors. Seattle’s ‘Legion of Boom’ members are prominently displayed with a ‘Sea Gal’ cheering them on. The San Francisco 49er key players share the stage. The artist has included in a mysterious touch. The eye in the Seahawk logo is looking straight up at the ball being touched. It is the turning point.

The artist included historic references to the historical moment. At the bottom of the painting is a series of numbers and symbols which document the setting*. The Longitude and Latitude of the spot where Sherman jumped. The universal time, to the hundredth of seconds. (The viewer will also note the local time on the face of the train station clock). The temperature. The crowd count. The decibel noise. The amplitude seismic reading of the earth’s movement in response to the noise. The date of January 19, 2014.

“Turning Point” fulfills the role of Fine Art in providing the culture a lasting image of a special moment shared by so many.

(*Data was provided by Google Earth, Atmospheric Sciences Department at the University of Washington, and the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network located at the University of Washington.)