Public Art Review issue 19 - 1998 (fall/winter) by forecastpublicart

A PROGRAM OF FORECAST PUBLIC ARTWORKS

PublicArtReview PUBLIC

SERVICE

FOREWORD

D e b o r a h Karasov

While trying to think about art and public institutions in a new way, I've been mulling over turn-of-the-century cities and the different approaches then to civic institutions. T h e City Beautiful movement, which the public first witnessed at the Chicago World's Fair of 1893, sought to improve the condition of urban life by means of civic art and architecture. T h e settlement movement, which most associate with Jane Addams and her neighborhood Hull House, aimed to do the same by means of human example and community organization. Ideologically the major art projects sponsored by the government today are still of the first paradigm, art in a public place, versus art that engages the issues that mark our social life. These opposing approaches, stated anew by critic Patricia Phillips ten years ago, still hold. Little has changed in public institutional programs since the first art in public place programs of the 1960s, save a turn away from the monumental and toward a better-crafted integration with architecture. O u r language, our criteria, our understanding of what is good are indeed from the cosmetic City Beautiful movement. As for the second approach, well, maybe like the settlement work itself, those projects and strategies come from activists outside government. What we have forgotten is to campaign simultaneously to reform our public services. Art for city halls, tunnels, overpasses, government offices, and courts, what educator Paulo Freire calls the beautification of what is already beautiful, are projects that might undeniably be somewhat in the interest of all people, given that the city is a whole, a totality. But they do not reflect the full range of the work of public services, and therefore the full range of what is civic culture. In particular, they do not meet the social needs of families, especially working class and poor, whereas they do meet those of the white-collared classes. I do not want to suggest that we stop responding to the public art commissions of government institutions in these largely downtown areas of the city solely because they are not for all classes. What saddens me is that a progressive public art profession should not feel compelled to find ways to make government art relevant to family populations. Does an artist interested in activist work necessarily avoid the government context? Must we choose between on the one hand beautifying the already beautiful and, on the other, bringing art to the infrastructure in ignored areas of the city, provoking public awareness of sanitation, schools, health care, and family well-being, and caring for the people's own cultural expressions? • • •

Jack Becker

This public service announcement is intended to remind you that Public Art Review is brought to you by the nonprofit F O R E C A S T Public Artworks, based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. This fall F O R E C A S T turns twenty, so we're using this opportunity to toot our horn. In addition to publishing PAR, we award grants to artists, participate in community partnerships, and provide consulting services. Since our early days as an outgrowth of the CETA (Comprehensive Employment Training Act) program, we have sponsored hundreds of artists' projects and produced dozens of events, publications, videos, and educational programs. We want to thank everyone w h o has helped F O R E C A S T get this far. For supporting ten years of Public Art Review, we applaud the National E n d o w m e n t for the Arts, the McKnight Foundation, the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, advertisers, individual donors, and subscribers like you. We're very grateful to our board of directors, PAR advisors, editors, contributors, and volunteers w h o help us stay in print. Here's to the next twenty years! Finally, I'd like to urge you to contribute your two cents worth—literally and figuratively—and tell us what's on your mind. We'd love to hear from you.

( I

A PROGRAM OF FORECAST PUBLIC ARTWORKS

PublicArtReview PUBLIC

SERVICE

features LIBRARY VERSE

READING THE SITE

PERCENT FOR TEMPORARY

Margy Ligon

Harry Reese

Kathryn Ann Bonansinga

ART, SPACE, AND THE CITY 19

EXCERPT Malcolm Miles

THE ART OF SERVICE D e b o r a h Karasov

exhibition BURNING MAN M a r k Van P r o y e n

and project reviews

A GREEN AND PLEASANT LAND

EXPANDING ENVIRONMENTS

FACE TO FACE

Malcolm Miles 2 6

Lenore Metrick

Cynthia Abramson

PUBLIC STRATEGIES Cynthia Abramson

reports and book reviews CAPITAL DILEMMA

PUBLIC ART NETWORK SURVEY

EricWeitz

Jennifer M c g r e g o r - C u n n i n g

listings

board of directors

Twin Cities Advisors: Fuller Cowles,

PUBLIC ART REVIEW

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LIBRARY VERSE

Margy

Ligon

IS N O T

SURPRISING THAT THE AMERICAN

PUBLIC

LIBRARY

WITH

ITS R O O T S

IN T H E

m e d i a o f t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y — i s e x p e r i e n c i n g s o m e g r o w i n g pains t r i g g e r e d b y t h e digital age. T h e c u r r e n t i n f a t u a t i o n w i t h t h e s p e e d a n d a g g r e g a t e o f i n f o r m a t i o n

r e t r i e v e d via c o m p u t e r a n d cable n e t w o r k s is p o l a r i z i n g literary a n d p u b l i s h i n g c a m p s w i t h t h e q u e s t i o n o f w h e t h e r b o o k s a n d libraries will f a d e i n t o an archaic o b s o l e s c e n c e akin t o t h e w a y m e g a m a r t s are systematically l i q u i d a t i n g m o m - a n d - p o p s . S u c h h y p e r b o l e is easily disproved; so far t e c h n o l o g i c a l progress has n o t c o n t r i b u t e d t o t h e d o w n fall o f p u b l i c libraries, b u t r a t h e r has s t o k e d t h e largest library b u i l d i n g b o o m e n j o y e d by A m e r i c a n cities since t h e E i s e n h o w e r 1950s. T h e civic a r c h i t e c t u r e b u i l t d u r i n g E i s e n h o w e r ' s era m a d e s u c h v i r t u e o f simple a r c h i t e c t u r e a n d c h e a p c o n s t r u c t i o n t h a t c o m m u n i t i e s have f o u n d t h e m s e l v e s e n c u m b e r e d w i t h p u b l i c libraries t h a t are i n c a p a b l e o r u n w o r t h y o f r e n o v a t i o n a n d adaptive r e u s e . T h e n e e d f o r c a p a c i o u s " s m a r t s t r u c t u r e s " is c r e a t i n g a library renaissance that is a t t r a c t i n g architects as p r o m i n e n t as M i c h a e l Graves, A n t o i n e P r e d o c k , M o s h e Safdie, a n d J a m e s I n g o F r e e d , w h o are radically r e t h i n k i n g t h e f a m i l i a r b u i l d i n g t y p e t o create n e w civic s t r u c t u r e s t h a t n o t o n l y a c c o m m o d a t e b o t h p r i n t a n d e l e c t r o n i c m e d i a , b u t m a k e m a j o r aesthetic s t a t e m e n t s . A f f i r m e d by i n t e r n a t i o n a l l y

renowned

architects, $ 1 0 0 - m i l l i o n - p l u s b u d g e t s , a n d p e r c e n t - f o r - a r t p r o g r a m s , o n e w o u l d t h i n k n e x t - g e n e r a t i o n libraries w o u l d c o m m i s s i o n p u b l i c art as risky a n d i n n o v a t i v e as t h e i r designs a n d cyberservices. B y t e m p e r i n g m y c u r i o s i t y a b o u t these n e w l i b r a r i e s — a n d m y h o p e s f o r t h e same in M i n n e a p o l i s — i n t o a g e n e r o u s g r a n t f r o m t h e Saint Paul C o m p a n i e s , I was able t o research several o f t h e m t h r o u g h o u t 1997. Visiting P h o e n i x , San Francisco, D e n v e r , P o r t l a n d , a n d V a n c o u v e r , British C o l u m b i a , I f o u n d b u i l d i n g s as u t t e r l y d i f f e r e n t f r o m e a c h o t h e r as t h e old C a r n e g i e s w e r e similar. O n e distinct t h e m e t h a t did e m e r g e , h o w e v e r , was t h e n u m b e r o f m i s s e d o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r r e t h i n k i n g t h e role t h a t art c o u l d play in p u b l i c institutions. Artist, a r c h i t e c t , l i b r a r i a n , a n d p a t r o n s t a n d t o b e n e f i t w h e n art is i n c l u d e d as an essential c o m p o n e n t in t h e i n t e r a c t i v e p a r a d i g m u p o n (left) Ann Hamilton and Ann Chamberlain, Untitled, detail, San Francisco, Calif., 1996. Photo by Craig Mole (inset t o p ) Ann Hamilton and

w h i c h m a n y o f t h e n e w libraries are b a s i n g t h e i r r e i n v e n t i o n . T h e familiar litany o f reasons w h y p u b l i c art so o f t e n falls s h o r t o f s u c cess—decisions by c o m m i t t e e , d i s a p p o i n t i n g responses t o R e q u e s t s f o r Proposals, c o n c e r n s over political c o r r e c t n e s s , a n d e x p e n d i t u r e o f p u b l i c f u n d s — a r e all e x a g g e r a t e d in

Ann Chamberlain, Untitled,

a p u b l i c library setting. P e r h a p s m o r e t h a n a n y o t h e r p u b l i c i n s t i t u t i o n , t h e p u b l i c

detail, 1996.

library, d u e t o its clear a s s i g n m e n t t o s t o c k p i l e t h e w i s d o m o f all ages a n d t h e w o r d s o f

Photo courtesy San Francisco

e v e r y o n e , historically has sustained itself as a h o t b e d o f d i f f u s e d p u b l i c o p i n i o n . T h i s is

Art Commission

r i g h t f u l , a clear sign o f a j o b well d o n e . T h e p r o b l e m i n h e r e n t t o b e a r i n g s u c h a cross is

(inset b o t t o m ) Ann Hamilton and

that, j u s t as r i g h t f u l l y b u t n o t n e a r l y as tidily, this p o s i t i o n m a r k s o u r m u n i c i p a l shelters

Ann Chamberlain, Untitled, 1996.

o f k n o w l e d g e as t h e o n e place w h e r e a l m o s t every citizen feels e n t i t l e d t o d e c r e e w h a t

Photo courtesy San Francisco Art Commission

his o r h e r p e r s o n a l tax dollars can a n d c a n n o t b u y L i b r a r y b o o k s have b e e n regularly p r o t e s t e d , b a n n e d , b u r n e d , d e f a c e d , a n d s t o l e n in t h e n a m e o f r i g h t e o u s i n d i g n a t i o n , m o r a l h i g h g r o u n d , a n d misused p u b l i c f u n d s . C a n n o t t h e s a m e b e said f o r art? O l d P u b l i c A r t R e v i e w . FALL. WINTER. 98

stigmas a b o u t elitism d i e hardest, it seems, in t h e p u b l i c realm, w h e r e m a t t e r s are u l t i m a t e l y c o m p l i c a t e d by t h e m o r a l b o o m e r a n g that o n e artist's w o r k o f g e n i u s (literary o r visual) is a n o t h e r p u b l i c patron's o b j e c t o f disgust. It leaves little w o n d e r as t o w h y so m u c h o f t h e p u b l i c art f o u n d in p u b l i c libraries is b l a n d a n d

uninspired.

W a t e r e d d o w n t o q u e n c h t h e masses, a w o r k that c o u l d p r o v o k e t h o u g h t a n d f e e l i n g is dismissed f o r a n o t h e r t h a t likely w o n ' t p r o v o k e at all. T h a n k f u l l y , d u r i n g m y travels I did disc o v e r s o m e c o m p e l l i n g e x c e p t i o n s t h a t suggest an e x c i t i n g d i r e c t i o n f o r p u b l i c art in libraries. O n m y t o u r t h r o u g h t h e n e w P h o e n i x C e n t r a l Library, staff r a t h e r p r o u d l y a c k n o w l e d g e d that t h e i r eclectic c o l l e c t i o n o f p a i n t i n g s h a d b e e n d o n a t e d by a local gallery, a n d that t h e 1960s v i n t a g e p u b l i c s c u l p t u r e , II Cubo, h a d b e e n r e l o c a t e d f r o m a civic c e n t e r plaza. T h e architect h a d gamely

installed

t h e large

cube-shaped

sculpture

l o o k as if it h a d fallen o u t o f t h e sky a n d l a n d e d w h e r e it sat o n o n e p o i n t e d c o r n e r , c r a c k i n g t h e floor in t h e process. T h i s s t r u c k m e as a particularly

appropriate

a n a l o g y f o r all t h e sculptures that have b e e n

dropped

i n t o p u b l i c v e n u e s over t h e years w i t h disregard f o r their surroundings. Upon

reaching the top floor of the

P h o e n i x Library, I f o u n d w h a t I felt its m o s t p r o v o c a t i v e installation. A l t h o u g h n o t c o n s i d e r e d o n e o f their s a n c tioned

works

of public

art, t h e

uppermost

story,

d e s i g n e d by a r c h i t e c t W i l l B r u d e r , w e d s space a n d design to

create

the

largest, b r i g h t e s t ,

and

perhaps

most

u n i q u e l y i n t e r a c t i v e r e a d i n g r o o m in N o r t h A m e r i c a . C o v e r e d by a s u s p e n d e d r o o f system o n l y possible in a climate w i t h an a n n u a l average rainfall o f six inches, t h e space is flooded b y s u n l i g h t g l o w i n g t h r o u g h glass panels topping the perimeter of the roof. Two long columns of slender pillars, e a c h c r o w n e d by a skylight, reflect t h e sun, w h i l e b o t h e n d s o f t h e r o o m are solid glass w i n d o w s , o f f e r i n g readers spectacular v i e w s o f t h e desert landscape. T h e harsh s o u t h w e s t e r n sun is d e f l e c t e d b y a h i g h - t e c h l o u v e r e d s y s t e m r e m i n i s c e n t of F r a n k Lloyd W r i g h t ' s canvas sails at n e a r b y Taliesen West. T h i s w a r m , i n v i t i n g r e a d i n g r o o m u n d e r g o e s an a f t e r n o o n t r a n s f o r 06

m a t i o n that a m e n d s it f r o m c o m f o r t a b l e a n d a p p e a l i n g to d o w n r i g h t mystical. B r u d e r , w h o t r a i n e d as a s c u l p t o r in t h e A r i z o n a D e s e r t d u r i n g t h e e a r t h - a r t era, is clearly aware of t h e p o w e r o f i n c o r p o r a t i n g n a t u r a l a n d celestial p h e n o m e n a in t h e built e n v i r o n m e n t . S u c h a d r a m a t i c use o f light a n d space has m a d e t h e r o o m t h e ideal v e n u e in w h i c h t o c e l e b r a t e t h e s u m m e r solstice. E a c h year t h e i n t e n s e sun of J u n e 2 2 is c e r e m o n i o u s l y w e l c o m e d i n t o t h e r o o m , s e e m i n g t o dissolve its walls a n d ignite its

P u b l i c A r t R e v i e w . FALL. WINTER. 98

structural pillars i n t o h u g e r o m a n candles. F o r a f e w d r a m a t i c m i n u t e s , t h e g a t h e r e d library visitors

aren't

necessarily c o n c e r n e d w i t h t h e f i n e r p o i n t s o f p u b l i c art, b u t t h e y d o k n o w t h a t s o m e t h i n g has a l t e r e d a t r a d i t i o n ally q u i e t a n d staid p u b l i c i n s t i t u t i o n i n t o a s e t t i n g f a v o r able t o c o m m u n a l c e l e b r a t i o n . T h e y leave w i t h t h e sense t h a t P h o e n i x C e n t r a l L i b r a r y is a v e r y special place. An

equally

impressive

project

D e n v e r ' s n e w p u b l i c library displays m o r e in c o m m o n w i t h t h e g r e a t p u b l i c m u r a l s o f t h e 1930s t h a n Bruder's solar-powered

r e t r e a t . C a l i f o r n i a artist

R u s c h a has c r e a t e d a m a j o r cycle o f s e v e n t y

with Ed

murals

t h a t d r a w t h e i r i m a g e r y as m u c h f r o m C o l o r a d o h i s t o r y as f r o m t h e A m e r i c a n i c o n s R u s c h a has e m p l o y e d since his o w n m i g r a t i o n west in t h e 1960s. F o r this r e a s o n his m u r a l s are equally a p p e a l i n g t o v i e w e r s i n t e r e s t e d in e i t h e r t h e m y t h o s o f t h e r u g g e d p i o n e e r age o r c o n t e m p o r a r y art history. R u s c h a h a d already p r o d u c e d a series o f m u r a l s f o r t h e M i a m i D a d e P u b l i c L i b r a r y w h e n his e n t r y was selected f r o m t h e m o r e t h a n f o u r h u n d r e d submissions for the D e n v e r commission. Painted off-site over a t w o - y e a r p e r i o d , t h e r e s u l t i n g p i e c e is an e p i c p a n o r a m a installed a b o v e t h e library's m a i n e n t r y hall a n d a d j o i n i n g a t r i u m s . Its c o n s i s t e n t style a n d e t h e r e a l airbrush technique provide a smart contrast to Michael Graves' e x u b e r a n t a r c h i t e c t u r e w i t h its d i z z y i n g array o f e x t e r i o r shapes a n d v o l u m e s a n d its i n t e r i o r p a l e t t e o f t w e n t y - t w o d i f f e r e n t pastel colors. R u s c h a ' s m u r a l s also i m p a r t d i r e c t i o n a l clues f o r p e o p l e w i t h i n t h e b u i l d i n g ' s i n n e r m o s t spaces. Easterly, f o r e x a m p l e , t h e s u n rises o v e r i m a g e s o f w a g o n trains a n d railroad cars r o l l i n g a l o n g f a c i n g parallel walls i n t o t h e proverbial w e s t e r n sunset. I n d i v i d u a l panels, w h i c h can b e s t u d i e d m o r e i n t i m a t e l y f r o m balconies surrounding the atriums, present a m e d ley o f i m a g e s that refer t o t h e g o l d r u s h , as well as t o t h e veritable m o t h e r l o d e o f i n f o r m a t i o n t o b e m i n e d i n t h e l i b r a r y T h e panels also display w o r d s y m b o l s t h a t e v i n c e the evolution of language by appearing abstracted, c o a lesced, o r dissipated d e p e n d i n g o n o n e ' s v a n t a g e p o i n t . It is an especially a p p r o p r i a t e w o r k f o r t h e D e n v e r P u b l i c Library, w h i c h serves as t h e r e p o s i t o r y o f a m a j o r c o l l e c t i o n o f historical W e s t e r n p a i n t i n g s . R u s c h a ' s

murals

provide a cool, c o n t e m p o r a r y c o u n t e r p a r t to that partic-

ularly r o m a n t i c i z e d A m e r i c a n g e n r e . Denver's R u s c h a murals r e m i n d e d

o f a m o r e m o d e s t installation in an u r b a n M i n n e a p o l i s n e i g h b o r h o o d , w h i c h d e m o n s t r a t e s t h a t p u b l i c art c a n ( t o p a n d b o t t o m ) Will Bruder, Phoenix Central Library Reading Room, Phoenix, Ariz., 1995. Photos courtesy the artist

P u b l i c A r t R e v i e w . FALL. WINTER. 98

i m a g e s a n d t r a n s f e r r e d t h e m o n t o t h e glass t o assemble an a r t w o r k that c o n f e r s n o t o n l y w h o they are a n d w h e r e t h e y live, b u t also t h e library's vital place as t h e c o m m u n i t y ' s cultural h e a r t . Of

all

the

facilities

visited,

San

Francisco's n e w M a i n P u b l i c Library (SFPL) d e m o n s t r a t e s t h e m o s t m i n d f u l e f f o r t t o a m a l g a m a t e v i s i o n a r y design, m o d e r n f u n c t i o n , a n d p u b l i c art i n t o a lively s t r u c t u r e w i t h an intricate, e n g a g i n g i n n e r space. Its varied a r t w o r k s , progressive a r c h i t e c t u r e , a n d a r d e n t

response

t o t h e digital age have d e e m e d it a m e c c a o f sorts f o r p u b l i c art followers a n d library enthusiasts alike. SFPL's risk t a k i n g has g e n e r a t e d

some healthy

a b o u t c o n t r i b u t i n g t o a climate o f e t h n i c

controversy separation.

A p r o d u c t of t h e c o u n t r y ' s largest capital c a m p a i g n f o r a p u b l i c library, SFPL features " a f f i n i t y r o o m s " â&#x20AC;&#x201D; s p a c e s specially d e s i g n a t e d f o r t h e e t h n i c c o m m u n i t i e s

that

c o n t r i b u t e d to its massive f u n d r a i s i n g e f f o r t . Also, t h e d o m i n a n t p l a c e m e n t o f c o m p u t e r s has g e n e r a t e d w i d e spread d e b a t e a b o u t h o w c o n t e m p o r a r y libraries w o r k and for w h o m . T h e n e w b u i l d i n g features f o u r m a j o r p u b l i c art c o m m i s s i o n s that differ greatly in t h e i r quality, Ed Ruscha, murals, Denver Public Library, Denver, Colo., 1995. Photo by the author Arnaldo Pomodoro, II Cubo, Phoenix Central Library, Phoenix, Ariz., 1967 (installed in 1995). Photo by Clara Sida-McCoy Courtesy the Phoenix Arts Commission

b e p r e s e n t e d in e v e n t h e m a n i f e s t space o f a C a r n e g i e library. W h e n t h e H o s m e r C o m m u n i t y Library, o n e o f t h e oldest in t h e M i n n e a p o l i s P u b l i c Library system, u n d e r w e n t a $3 million restoration, a concert of c o m m u n i t y s u p p o r t c a m e f r o m sectors n o r m a l l y rivaling f o r public

dollars. A c t i v i s t s f r o m b o r d e r i n g

city

wards

p o o l e d political a n d financial resources t o insure that t h e b e l o v e d castlelike c h a r m a n d c h a r a c t e r o f t h e 1916 l a n d m a r k w e r e p r e s e r v e d t h r o u g h an e x p a n s i o n t o a c c o m modate a much

needed

technological

upgrade. This

c o m m u n i t y participation extended to the creation of a g r a n d w i n d o w that has b e c o m e t h e focal p o i n t o f t h e library. U s i n g clear, t e x t u r e d , a n d b e v e l e d glass, Saint Paul artist M i c h a e l Pilla c o n t r i v e d an e n g a g i n g p i e c e w i t h a m u t e d palette a n d abstract design t h a t subverts n o t i o n s a b o u t t h e o p a q u e colors a n d literal

imagery

regularly associated w i t h stained glass. C e n t r a l t o t h e w i n d o w ' s design are t w o c o l u m n s o f a m b e r tiles c r e a t e d b y area residents w h o span t h e d e m o g r a p h i c s . In w o r k shops led by t h e artist, n e i g h b o r s c r a f t e d t h e i r

P u b l i c A r t R e v i e w . FALL. WINTER. 98

own

depending on taste.The works range from the obliquely self-referential to t h e literal, f r o m t h e s u b l i m e to t h e patently commercial. M a c A r t h u r

Fellowship

Ann

an i n s t a l l a t i o n

Hamilton

has c o n t r i b u t e d

recipient

secures h e r classification as g e n i u s . W o r k i n g w i t h Francisco artist A n n C h a m b e r l a i n , H a m i l t o n t h r e e - b y - f i v e - i n c h cards f r o m t h e o r i g i n a l

that San

salvaged one-hun-

d r e d - y e a r - o l d card c a t a l o g u e a n d sent t h e m t o over t w o h u n d r e d San Francisco residents w h o w e r e asked

s h o w a n d tell, u s i n g t h e cards as canvases, h o w t h e b o o k s h a d t o u c h e d t h e i r lives. H u n d r e d s w e r e r e t u r n e d , a n n o tated in a d o z e n languages a n d a d o r n e d w i t h calligraphy, drawings, a n d a n e c d o t e s c o n v e y i n g t h e b o o k s ' p e r s o n a l a n d universal m e a n i n g s . As in all o f H a m i l t o n ' s w o r k , t h e c r e a t i o n process was m e t i c u l o u s , ritualistic, a n d d e e p l y researched. H a m i l t o n t h e n i m b e d d e d t h e cards in artisans plaster, a n d t h e y w e r e installed o n t h r e e stories o f t h e library's p r i n c i p a l wall. T h e installation acts as t h e spine o f t h e massive b u i l d i n g , a n d t h e e n g r o s s i n g assemblage of cards r e n d e r s t h e p i e c e p e r s o n a l a n d i n t i m a t e , despite its i m p e r i a l size. T h i s rare a n d r e m a r k a b l e composition, a departure from Hamilton's

distinctly

e p h e m e r a l pieces, will r e m a i n in t h e library as a p e r m a n e n t installation. In a w i d e l y discussed New Yorker piece, " T h e A u t h o r vs. T h e Library," critic N i c h o l s o n B a k e r Michael Pilla, stained glass window, Hosmer Community Library, Minneapolis, Minn., 1997. Photo courtesy Meyer; Scherer & Rockcastle, Ltd.

c o n d e m n e d San F r a n c i s c o f o r w e e d i n g

two-hundred-

t h o u s a n d o l d e r b o o k s f r o m its library c o l l e c t i o n a n d f o r r e p l a c i n g its card c a t a l o g u e w i t h an o n - l i n e

system.

T h e r e is n o d i s p u t i n g that t h e libraries b u i l t d u r i n g t h e 1990s have dramatically c h a n g e d h o w t h e s e m o s t p r i z e d of public institutions operate and h o w w e e x p e r i e n c e them. Whether

t h e c h a n g e s h a v e b e e n s u c c e s s f u l is

d e p e n d e n t o n t h e passing o f t i m e a n d t h e w a g e r i n g o f o p i n i o n . In k e e p i n g w i t h t h e l o n g t r a d i t i o n o f p u b l i c art m e m o r i a l i z i n g a significant m o m e n t in t h e collective memory, Ann

Hamilton's

contradictory

attitudes

Untitled

about

the

wall c a p t u r e s destined

role

our of

libraries in t h e i n f o r m a t i o n age by p o i g n a n t l y p r e s e r v i n g a vestige o f t h e n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y s y s t e m a n d t r a n s f o r m i n g it i n t o t h e s t r u c t u r a l a n d c u l t u r a l c o r e o f a d e c i d e d l y t w e n t y - f i r s t - c e n t u r y place.

Margy Ligon is the executive director of the Friends of the Minneapolis Public Library. A 1997 UN Fellowship from the Saint Paul Companies funded the travel and research upon which this article is based.

P u b l i c A r t R e v i e w . FALL. WINTER. 98

READING THE SITE

Harry

Reese

N J A N U A R Y 1 9 9 1 , 1 WAS A S K E D BY J U D F I N E , A R T I S T A N D F R I E N D , T O A S S I S T H I M W I T H A N

OUTDOOR

c o m m i s s i o n t o create a p e r m a n e n t art installation w i t h i n t h e e n t r y l a w n o f t h e Los A n g e l e s C e n t r a l Library. A f t e r a d e v a s t a t i n g fire in 1 9 8 6 in w h i c h b o t h

books

a n d b u i l d i n g s w e r e destroyed, t h e library was rebuilt f o l l o w i n g t h e o r i g i n a l design a n d c o n s t r u c t i o n f r o m t h e 1920s. O u r c o l l a b o r a t i o n resulted in a w o r k o f art t h a t retains t h e characteristics o f t h e o u t d o o r site, w h i c h h a d b e e n d e s i g n e d by B e r t r a m G r o s v e r n o r G o o d h u e , a r c h i t e c t also o f t h e o r i g i n a l 1 9 2 6 C e n t r a l Library. C u l m i n a t i n g t h r e e years o f p l a n n i n g , p u b l i c p r e s e n t a t i o n s , design, f a b r i c a t i o n , a n d installation, Spine was c o m p l e t e w h e n t h e library o p e n e d t o t h e p u b l i c in O c t o b e r 1993. M y p e r s o n a l r e f l e c t i o n s o n this p r o j e c t f o c u s o n t h e s u b j e c t o f r e a d i n g in a p u b l i c art c o n t e x t . I s h o u l d e m p h a s i z e t h a t this p r o j e c t was a w a r d e d t o J u d F i n e o n a c o m p e t i t i v e basis, a n d h e was c o m p l e t e l y responsible f o r t h e fully realized art p l a n . It was, a n d c o n t i n u e s t o be, m y pleasure to have c o l l a b o r a t e d w i t h h i m o n t h e p r o j e c t a n d o n t h e w r i t i n g of t h e b o o k , Spine: An Account

of the Jud Fine Art Plan at the

Maguire

Gardens, Central Library, Los Angeles, p u b l i s h e d by t h e Los A n g e l e s L i b r a r y A s s o c i a t i o n in D e c e m b e r 1993, f r o m w h i c h I will freely q u o t e (in italics). T h e b o o k , Spine, explicates t h e research t h a t w e n t i n t o t h e art plan a n d reveals o u r interest in m a t c h i n g ideas w i t h images. W e w e r e n o t necessarily i n t e r e s t e d in p r o d u c i n g n e w images. All o f t h e i m a g e s a n d texts f o u n d in t h e w o r k are already p a r t o f t h e cultural m a t r i x . F r o m t h e C u b i s t s a n d Dadaists t o t h e i n s t a n t surrealism o f P h o t o s h o p users today, artists o f this c e n t u r y have m i n e d t h e vaults o f p r e v i o u s a n d c u r r e n t cultural p r o d u c t s f o r t h e shape a n d s u b s t a n c e o f t h e i r i m a g e r y . T h e a e s t h e t i c o f collage, a central t e c h n i q u e o f t w e n t i e t h - c e n t u r y visual art, features t h e use o f diverse images that t h e artist i n t e n d s t o r e p r e s e n t s o m e w h o l e . T h e b o o k , t h e n , serves as a m o d e l f o r o u r process as well as a w i n d o w i n t o o u r t h o u g h t s . A valuable r e s o u r c e t h a t set t h e t o n e f o r Spine was A People's History

the United States, H o w a r d Z i n n ' s brilliant a n t i d o t e t o c o n v e n t i o n a l h i s t o r y t h a t e x p o s e s u n d e r r e p r e s e n t e d p o i n t s o f v i e w t h r o u g h o u t A m e r i c a n history. Z i n n ' s b o o k r e i n f o r c e d o u r r e l u c t a n c e t o associate significant cultural w o r k w i t h g o v e r n m e n t leaders, p o l i t i cians, a n d o t h e r p e o p l e in p o w e r . T a k i n g clues f r o m Z i n n , w e s e a r c h e d f o r f u n d a m e n tally i m p o r t a n t r e f e r e n c e s t h a t w e r e generally u n r e c o g n i z e d f o r t h e i r c u l t u r a l value. R a t h e r t h a n c e n t e r o u r narrative o n h i s t o r i c o r m y t h i c personalities, w e f o u n d r i c h [ t o p ] Jud Fine, overview,

sources in t h e s h a p e o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n over t i m e , specifically, in p a l e o g r a p h i c i m a g e s ,

Maguire Gardens, Central Library,

writing, print, and m o d e r n typographic and pictorial representations.

Los Angeles, Calif., 1993. ÂŠ Photo byJayVenezia [ b o t t o m ] Jud Fine, Labyrinthodont,

O u r goal was to represent t h e cultural a n d g e o g r a p h i c diversity that constitutes o u r w r i t t e n c u l t u r e today a n d u p o n w h i c h t h e m o d e r n library d e p e n d s in its efforts t o store i n f o r m a t i o n , e n c o u r a g e l e a r n i n g , a n d u n d e r s t a n d t h e global e n v i r o n m e n t . I. THE BOOK AS METAPHOR

Maguire Gardens, Central Library, Los Angeles, Calif., 1993. Photo courtesy

FORECAST

O n e o f o u r first decisions was t o c o n s i d e r t h e site as a b o o k , w h i c h is p e r h a p s t h e m o s t familiar aspect o f a library. O f c o u r s e , a p l a c e is n o t a b o o k : it isn't

P u b l i c A r t R e v i e w . FALL. WINTER. 98

J u d F i n e , Post-Literate

Scallop,

t i o n , s u c h as r o c k d r a w i n g s , E g y p t i a n h i e r o g l y p h i c s , d i f -

Maguire Gardens, Central Library,

ferent

Los Angeles, Calif., 1993.

language

Constructivist

Photo by t h e artist

alphabets,

typography

Morse

code,

f r o m archaic t i m e t o

and the

present. This decision represents a rejection of the tradip o r t a b l e ; it d o e s n ' t have a scale d e t e r m i n e d

the

tionally a c c e p t e d c a n o n o f w o r l d l i t e r a t u r e a n d t h e w i s -

h u m a n body. Physical space d o e s n o t m o v e sequentially,

d o m o f t h e p r o v e r b t h a t can b e c o m m i t t e d to m e m o r y .

t h e w a y b o o k s m o v e in space a n d t i m e . In an o p e r a -

T h e q u o t a t i o n s that w e s e l e c t e d f r o m m a n y

tional sense, h o w e v e r , a specific place m a y f u n c t i o n like

and times were n o t limited to c o n t e m p o r a r y typefaces

a b o o k . T h e o r g a n i z i n g p r i n c i p l e of Spine is based u p o n

b u t w e r e p r e s e n t e d in t h e i r o r i g i n a l t y p o g r a p h i c o r p i c -

this a n a l o g y : The two extreme scalloped entry points

flank

t o g r a p h i c f o r m s . W e w a n t e d to suggest that proverbial

like endsheets and function for the work

w i s d o m c o m e s i n t o o u r lives n o t s i m p l y as t r a n s p a r e n t

the entrance physically as a frontispiece, graphically,

giving

conceptually,

Scribes"â&#x20AC;&#x201D;which

follows

a premonition

Accordingly,

The

the intellectual

pattern

the step risers with

like pages. They

of what is to follow:

and materially.

by Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue..

"Well

of the

their text

reveal their particular

composition

information

a book unfolds through time and space in a gradual

o f t e n playful, visual p a t t e r n . E i g h t y selected texts express d i f f e r e n t aspects o f h a n d - p r o d u c e d o r m e c h a n i z e d

communica-

are

tion, f r o m handwritten Mayan inscriptions to c o m p u t e r

the way

w o r d s a n d icons. T h e y fit i n t o f o u r a s c e n d i n g levels o f

sequence

and chronology. The succession of three pools offers a 12

a n d d i s e m b o d i e d i n f o r m a t i o n b u t also as g r a p h i c , a n d

established

.can be seen as the title page.

cultures

kind

t h e site; e a c h o n e represents a d i f f e r e n t era o f t e c h n o logical capability a n d g r a p h i c r e p r e s e n t a t i o n . T h e selec-

of plot structure; one can easily divide them into three interre-

t i o n s w e r e p h o t o e n g r a v e d o n t o c o p p e r , brass, a n d s t a i n -

lated chapters, each with its distinctive imagery and characters.

less steel plates, a n d t h e i r recessed images w e r e

Water circulates through the pools like the continuous

w i t h e n a m e l p a i n t . T h e plate surfaces w e r e given a

narrative

flow of time.

p a t i n a , a n d t h e n b o l t e d t o t h e c o n c r e t e steps. M y p r i m a r y task was t o

recommend

i m a g e s a n d texts t o b e e n g r a v e d u p o n t h e step risers t o the

library

filled

e n t r a n c e . Initially, w e p r o p o s e d

use

W h i l e t h e b o o k as an o b j e c t presents

p r o m i n e n t q u o t a t i o n s f r o m literary a n d p h i l o s o p h i c a l

a specific f o r m a n d visible s t r u c t u r e , t h e c o m p l e t e e x -

s o u r c e s o n t h e steps. W e d e c i d e d instead t o use as o u r

p e r i e n c e o f a b o o k is always d e t e r m i n e d by t h e reader.

s o u r c e m a t e r i a l distinctive visual f o r m s o f c o m m u n i c a -

The

P u b l i c A r t R e v i e w . FALL. WINTER. 98

II. ARTISTS' BOOKS

intense

isolation

of private

r e a d i n g allows

the

v i e w e r t o p a r t i c i p a t e in a novel way, t o b e c o m e p a r t o f

lates t h e senses a n d abstracts w o r d s f r o m t h i n g s . T h e e v o -

t h e b o o k ' s c o n t e n t . T h e c o n t e n t o f t h e b o o k is n o t

l u t i o n o f p r i n t i n g a n d t h e spread o f literacy o v e r t h e

o n l y w h a t is w r i t t e n

c e n t u r i e s c o n t i n u e d t o isolate vision t o t h e e x c l u s i o n o f

or pictured within

the

book.

C o n t e n t is also t h e creative t r a n s a c t i o n b e t w e e n v i e w e r

all o t h e r senses.

a n d artifact.

By the twentieth century, technological Despite

their original

purposes,

the

innovation

had

already

reading

t e x t selections in Spine suggest a r e a d i n g o f t h e site t h a t

Twentieth-century

is visual, r a t h e r t h a n verbal. If a visitor c a n n o t translate

techniques for rapid production

t h e o r i g i n a l l a n g u a g e , t h e i m a g e f u n c t i o n s m e r e l y as a

image reproduction, and a corresponding dissolution

sign t h a t m a n y v i e w e r s m a y n o t b e able t o i d e n t i f y at

tency of the sentence through photography,

all. T h i s k i n d o f visual r e a d i n g is closer t o an artist's

zines,

b o o k t h a n to a c o n v e n t i o n a l b o o k .

ganda.

printing

changed

advertising,

is characterized

experimental

habits:

by the growth

of texts, high quality

poetry,

visual

of the po-

newspapers, and political

magapropa-

E l e c t r o n i c c o n d i t i o n s have m o d i f i e d t h e visual

space o f p r i n t c u l t u r e b y o p e n i n g u p a m u l t i s e n s o r y m a t r i x o f sensibility in w h i c h l a n g u a g e can b e v i e w e d ,

III. MARSHALL MCLUHAN

T h e w o r k o f Marshall M c L u h a n

and

a m o n g o t h e r things, as an a e s t h e t i c o b j e c t :

his son, E r i c , has h a d a p r o f o u n d i m p a c t o n m y way o f

communication

through

thinking, working, and teaching. A fundamental concept

the post-literate

(electronic) period in which we currently

of McLuhan's, either ignored

Everyday

or misunderstood

moving

pictures

Emotional

examples from the past forty

m a n y critics, is t h e c o n c e p t o f "visual space." Visual space, M c L u h a n

satellites, computer networks, and international

ancient

G r e e c e as a b y - p r o d u c t o f t h e p h o n e t i c a l p h a b e t : it iso-

marks live.

years include still pho-

tography, black-and-white

asserts, w a s i n t r o d u c e d

television,

and images

color television, banking

global where

money moves at the speed of light. Jud Fine, Grotto Fountain, Maguire Gardens, Central Library, Los Angeles, Calif., 1993. Photo by t h e artist

P u b l i c A r t R e v i e w . FALL. WINTER. 98

tail

ft nomtrr

n e u t r a l . W e a c c e p t e d a l p h a b e t i c r e a d i n g as a s u b l i m i n a l

1F WiSlBIl w e r s i l a " k a j l:i n u n n Es, o i a n i

g r o u n d that f u n d a m e n t a l l y c a n n o t b e separated f r o m t h e J U L V , 1 " " D S C kiP' N P_D<3LSr b

AWFUL STACK OF W0PD3 0

w o r l d w e have i n h e r i t e d . B u t t h e shape o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n is c h a n g i n g .

l.i h e u r a cit S a r u r n o cosi o '

In a t i m e d o m i n a t e d by r e a d i n g , w e t h i n k o f ourselves as texts. In a t i m e d o m i n a t e d by t e l e vision a n d film, w e t h i n k o f ourselves as actors, playing roles. T h e artist t o d a y is t h e p e r s o n w h o invents t h e m e a n s (tools a n d their artifacts) t o b r i d g e biological i n -

h e r i t a n c e ( p e r c e p t i o n ) a n d t h e e n v i r o n m e n t s c r e a t e d by

t e c h n o l o g i c a l i n n o v a t i o n (spatial awareness created by

Jud Fine, The Growth of Print,

habits such as w r i t i n g , r e a d i n g , w a t c h i n g m o v i n g i m -

Maguire G a r d e n s , C e n t r a l Library, Los Angeles, Calif., 1993.

ages). O u r tools p r o v i d e t h e m e a n s f o r c h a n g i n g o u r

Photo courtesy

p e r c e p t i o n s o f ourselves w i t h i n t h e w o r l d a r o u n d us.

FORECAST

O u r installation is n o t m e a n t t o b e read IV. LOOKING AT AND LOOKING THROUGH

as w r i t i n g , j u s t as t h e dialogues o f Plato a n d t h e o r a t i o n s

In p r e p a r i n g texts for t h e steps, w e a n -

o f C i c e r o w e r e n o t m e a n t t o b e read in w r i t t e n f o r m ,

ticipated a perceptual tension b e t w e e n " l o o k i n g at" the

b u t t o b e h e a r d . T h e natural h u m a n b e i n g is n o t a w r i t e r

t e x t as a p i c t u r e a n d " l o o k i n g t h r o u g h " t h e text in o r d e r

o r a reader, b u t a speaker a n d a listener a n d , m o s t i m p o r -

t o r e a d . T h e classical m o d e l for r e a d i n g b o o k s , first a r t i c -

tantly, an observer. A l t h o u g h literacy is p o p u l a r l y c o n s i d -

u l a t e d by B e a t r i c e W a r d e in 1937, c o m p a r e s g o o d t y -

e r e d a universal s o l u t i o n t o social, political, o r e c o n o m i c

p o g r a p h y t o a crystal goblet: t h e f u n c t i o n o f t y p o g r a p h y

ills, critic G e o r g e S t e i n e r has a r g u e d that w e have little

is t o p r o v i d e t h e t r a n s p a r e n t c o n t a i n e r t h r o u g h w h i c h

p r o o f t h a t a t r a d i t i o n o f literary studies in fact m a k e s an

t h e r e a d e r c a n see clearly t o t h e essence o f t h e w o r d . A n artist w h o r e m o v e s t e x t f r o m n o r -

i n d i v i d u a l m o r e h u m a n e . Oral traditions emphasized

per-

sonal memory

em-

and individual

training. Writing

mal b o o k r e a d i n g a n d places it in an e x p a n d e d e n v i r o n -

phasized

ment

tems of writing usually were the possession of a special class

immediately

converts typography to

iconogra-

logic, consensus, and communication.

by hand

presents

its

and tended to support

c o m p l e x i t y n o t o n l y successively, as in o n e w o r d

of knowledge.

phy. L a n g u a g e

in a p u b l i c

art c o n t e x t

Complex

sys-

hierarchies of learning or aristocracies

p h r a s e at a t i m e , b u t also simultaneously, in t h e c o m -

Artistic research is rarely p u b l i s h e d , p r e -

p l e t e p i c t u r e o f t h e t e x t t h a t it reveals. The steps depict

s e n t e d , o r discussed. T h e results of that r e s e a r c h — t h e

specific pictorial patterns of language as it has been represented

w o r k s o f art in their various g u i s e s — a r e n o t necessarily

by various people patterns for

throughout

recording thought

more than speculations

recorded time. The were [our] primary

of what

innovative

m o r e i m p o r t a n t t h a n t h e processes that led there, b u t

concern,

t h e y are t h e f o r m a l m e a n s that t h e p u b l i c e x p e r i e n c e s .

the respective people

were

trying to say.

Artists are principally c o n c e r n e d w i t h effects, a n d any p e r m a n e n t art installation such as Spine m u s t stand o r fall o n its o w n m e r i t s at its l o c a t i o n , n o t o n t h e m e r i t s o f its w r i t t e n e x p l a n a t i o n . At its best, w r i t i n g by t h e artists

V. READING THE SITE

W e w e r e b o r n i n t o a w o r l d that has

d o e s n o t e n d all a r g u m e n t s o r speculations; it r e n e w s u n -

b e e n m a d e f o r us. O u r g r a n d p a r e n t s a n d t h e g e n e r a t i o n s

d e r s t a n d i n g , addresses lived e x p e r i e n c e , inspires f u r t h e r

b e f o r e t h e m lived in a w o r l d m o r e o f n a t u r e t h a n c u l -

research, a n d keeps t h e m y s t e r y alive. It circulates.

ture. F o r m a n y p e o p l e today, i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t 14

the

The last step is blank because the future

world comes m o r e f r o m the preponderance of c o m m u -

unknown.

n i c a t i o n m e d i a — t e l e p h o n e , n e w s p a p e r s , radio, t e l e v i -

Chinese philosopher, Kung, who remembered "the time

sion, c o m p u t e r n e t w o r k s — t h a n f r o m o b s e r v a t i o n , e x p e -

historians left blanks in their writings"

rience, and imagination.

did not know. The absence of any marking

on these steps

reminds us of what we are still contemplating,

what we need

B y f o c u s i n g o n t h e visual f o r m s

Canto

XIII,

Ezra

Pound

writes about

to express what

the when they

c o m m u n i c a t i o n , r a t h e r t h a n o n c o n t e n t , o u r installation

to know in order to survive as a species, and what remains to

m a k e s a subtle d e m a n d o n t h e viewer's p e r c e p t i o n o f t h e

be discovered.

ways p e o p l e have c o m m u n i c a t e d over t i m e . In Spine, w e w e r e n o t c o n c e r n e d w i t h w h e t h e r r e a d i n g , e i t h e r as a

Harry Reese is a book artist and chair of fine arts at University of

cultural h a b i t o r a psychic p h e n o m e n o n , is g o o d , b a d , o r

California-Santa Barbara.

Public Art R e v i e w . FALL.WINTEIi.98

THE ART OF SERVICE

D e b o r a h Karasov

Editor's note: The following cludes these Minneapolis-based

discussion of public social service institutions

participants: Mary

Kirby, volunteer coordinator, Women of Nations

Lee H a r d e n b e r g h , performance artist; Jane

Eagle's Nest Shelter for battered women,

Paul; Kelty M c K i n n o n , landscape architect for Dahlgren, Shardlow and Uban, and N a n c y N a g l e r , program officer, Minneapolis at the home of Mary Lee

in-

Foundation.

Saint

Minneapolis;

It took place on August

12,

1998,

Hardenbergh. I. SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS

EBORAH KARASOV: THIS ISSUE O F PUBLIC ART REVIEW

DEALS W I T H PUBLIC I N S T I T U T I O N S , B U T

q u i t e frankly I have b e e n h a v i n g a difficult t i m e w i t h that topic. Typically,

w h e n w e t h i n k of public institutions, w e t h i n k o f t h e n o n d o m e s t i c

ones—

libraries, utilities, g o v e r n m e n t offices, c o u r t h o u s e s . It may b e f o r reasons o f p o w e r a n d for t h e fact that these institutions m o r e readily l e n d themselves t o expressions o f u n i t y and celebratory values. At any rate, it seems that they've received a lot of a t t e n t i o n in t h e art w o r l d . Yet, public institutions that c o n c e r n themselves w i t h social service p o p u l a tions d o n o t s e e m to receive the same a t t e n t i o n , a l t h o u g h t h e y p r o v i d e m a n y c h a l l e n g ing o p p o r t u n i t i e s for public artists. I've invited y o u h e r e to discuss, first: Is this c h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n fair? If so, are t h e r e o t h e r public institutions in a d d i t i o n to t h e typical d o w n t o w n institutions that are equally i m p o r t a n t for artists? If it is n o t t h e c o r r e c t c h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n , w h y is this

w o r k b e i n g o v e r l o o k e d by t h e art world? W h a t are s o m e i m p o r t a n t aesthetic issues related to these spaces? Jane Kirby: T h e Eagle's N e s t Shelter is a culturally specific o r g a n i z a t i o n for n o t o n l y w o m e n , b u t all N a t i v e A m e r i c a n s . So, m o s t o f o u r space is taken u p by c u l turally specific images. W e are full of art a n d w e use art in m a n y ways to heal p e o p l e . W e engage the children that reside w i t h us in art. As far as public a r t w o r k is c o n c e r n e d , w o r k that presents a g r a n d e r image that m o r e p e o p l e see, w h a t I t h i n k of are o u r p o w w o w s , w h i c h are h u g e c o m m u n i t y events. T h e y ' r e dance, they're design, they're b e a d w o r k . For o u r m o s t r e c e n t p o w w o w w e hired an artist w h o p a i n t e d o u r tepees. T h e images w e r e selected by t h e residents themselves a n d actually p u t u p as part o f a public p r o c e s s — t h e

women

h e l p e d — t h r o u g h o u t t h e t w o - d a y event. I have also recently hired a m u r a l artist, w h o is

w o r k i n g w i t h t h e w o m e n and the children, a n d t h e y m a y p a i n t t h e w h o l e place. M y p o i n t is that every culture s h o u l d use art in their institutions if t h e y w a n t to r e m a i n alive and intact. Nancy Nagler: I t h i n k y o u r e x a m p l e is a rarity, t h o u g h . At least a m o n g social service agencies that serve p o o r people, t h e r e is b e g i n n i n g t o b e m o r e o p e n n e s s toward l o o k i n g at inclusion of art. B u t it still tends to b e a o n e - p o s t e r - o n - t h e - w a l l k i n d of thing. I d o n ' t t h i n k that in t h e design o f social service agencies, m u c h less in t h e d e sign of h o u s i n g for p o o r p e o p l e , t h e r e is a lot of c o n s i d e r a t i o n given t o w a r d t h e use o f a r t — t h e i m p a c t of color, h o w p e o p l e feel in the space.

P u b l i c Art R e v i e w . FALL.WINTEIi.98

Kelty McKinnon: T h e c o n n e c t i o n

be-

t w e e n w h a t Jane and N a n c y are saying is very interesting. J a n e is saying that art is d o m e s t i c

Native

A m e r i c a n culture because it's i n t e g r a t e d i n t o daily life. It's n o t seen as a separate activity that's purely an expression of p o w e r o r purely for d e c o r a t i o n . A n d N a n c y is saying that t h e m a k i n g of art and the use of art can b e c o m e an e m p o w e r i n g t h i n g that binds p e o p l e to t h e place they're in.Yet o u r culture looks at the institution as the grandiose architecture, the grand statement

p o w e r â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a culture that's u n i f i e d a n d has n o conflict. A n d public art is used at those institutions because o u r c u l ture wants to embellish and celebrate t h e m . 1 certainly d o n ' t t h i n k that the g o v e r n m e n t sees o t h e r kinds of i n s t i t u t i o n s â&#x20AC;&#x201D; b a t t e r e d w o m e n ' s shelters, homeless shelters, welfare agenciesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;as places to be celebrated. Nancy Nagler: As y o u w e r e

talking

a b o u t art as an e m p o w e r i n g and a creative activity, I was r e m i n d e d of t w o projects. O n e was called

Shooting

Back, w h i c h was a p r o j e c t w i t h professional p h o t o g r a p h e r s and homeless kids. T h e p h o t o g r a p h e r s t a u g h t the kids h o w to use cameras w h i l e they t o o k p h o t o s of their e n v i r o n m e n t s that t h e n w e n t o n display. A n o t h e r very similar p r o j e c t w i t h homeless y o u t h was part of a n a tional traveling p h o t o g r a p h y exhibit. Projects like these go b e y o n d the t e a c h i n g and t h e creative capacity that art allows. T h e y also raise a level of legitimacy w i t h a p o p u lation that w e t e n d to see as b e i n g largely recipients and as n o t h a v i n g a healthy capacity to give back to society. Projects like these give t h e m that avenue t h r o u g h art that transcends social a n d e c o n o m i c disparities in society. S u d d e n l y w e see t h e m as b e i n g artists and n o t just p o o r kids, n o t j u s t recipients. T h e r e have also b e e n a n u m b e r of t h e Bethany Nez, age 14,Janelle, Shooting

ater p r o g r a m s that have s p r u n g u p w h e r e artists have

Back,Window Rock, Ariz., 1992.

w o r k e d w i t h homeless kids. T h e r e is a danger, t h o u g h ,

Photo courtesy Minnesota Museum of W e s t Side Drama Team working

American Art

with Alberto Justiano, Theatre of the Oppressed, Saint Paul, Minn., 1995.

A n d , particularly, I w o u l d

argue

h o u s i n g that t h e m e r e fact of any f o u r walls a n d a r o o f is of far m o r e c o n c e r n t h a n l o o k i n g at h o w t h e f o u r walls 16

a n d r o o f l o o k . O f even m u c h less c o n c e r n is w h e t h e r p o o r p e o p l e have b e e n involved in the actual design or w h e t h e r they c o n t r i b u t e pieces of it to m a k e it m o r e personal. W h e r e art can have a t r e m e n d o u s i m p a c t in s o cial services is in h e l p i n g identify personal identity and g i v i n g p e o p l e s o m e sense of space as their o w n and s o m e sense o f c o n t r o l . T h e r e is a very u n c o m f o r t a b l e j u x t a p o s i t i o n in a lot of social services b e t w e e n private space a n d public space, a n d art can have an i m p a c t o n distinguishing w h a t is one's o w n .

P u b l i c A r t R e v i e w . FALL.WINTER. 98

Photo by the artist

that it b e c o m e s a r e q u i r e m e n t for these marginalized

that s u f f e r i n g of any k i n d â&#x20AC;&#x201D; s o c i a l s u f f e r i n g â&#x20AC;&#x201D; i s an i n t e -

g r o u p s to publicly e x p o s e their lives. Suddenly, t h r o u g h

r i o r e x p e r i e n c e that y o u d o n ' t m a k e public. W h i c h is

these n e w art skills, their lives b e c o m e public and t h e y

different f r o m w h a t y o u ' r e saying. At best, expressing

d o n ' t have that c h a n c e to preserve w h a t is private. In

that e x p e r i e n c e in public m i g h t m e a n h a v i n g an o u t -

o t h e r words, w e s h o u l d n ' t assign: T h i s is w h a t w e w a n t

d o o r space that is s o m e h o w designed o r m a n i p u l a t e d by

you to do. Instead w e n e e d to give t h e m the f r e e d o m

the p e o p l e w h o are using that i n s t i t u t i o n . O f t e n t i m e s

that art and the creative process s h o u l d allow. W e should

w o m e n ' s shelters will j u s t have an asphalt c o u r t y a r d w i t h

teach t h e m t h e skills of art so that they can express

m a y b e a play s t r u c t u r e f o r t h e c h i l d r e n , a n d it's s u r -

w h a t e v e r it is they w a n t to express.

r o u n d e d by c h i c k e n w i r e w i t h s o m e b a r b e d w i r e o n t o p

Deborah Karasov: Are y o u saying that,

for safety. T h e s e spaces pose an interesting d i c h o t o m y . At

in these projects, the artist is d e f i n i n g t o o m u c h w h a t the

t h e same time, I see w h a t y o u ' r e saying, that t h e private

project and p r o d u c t will be?

e x p e r i e n c e is f o r c e d i n t o t h e public realm t h r o u g h s t o -

Nancy Nagler: Yes. Also there's an as-

ries that are told.

s u m p t i o n m a d e that the only t h i n g t h e kids really have

Nancy Nagler: I d o n ' t m e a n to i m p l y

to talk a b o u t is their homelessness o r their poverty. W e

that a n y t h i n g like d o m e s t i c abuse o r homelessness is

d o n ' t really give t h e m t h e f r e e d o m to b e able to create

okay in o u r society. B u t it is i m p o r t a n t n o t to say that

w h a t e v e r it is that they w a n t to create. In that process, it's very o r i e n t e d t o w a r d a specific p r o d u c t , as o p p o s e d to the goal b e i n g to give t h e m t h e skills to d o w h a t e v e r

Susan W a r n e r , La Placita, Saint Paul, Minn., 1990. Photo by t h e artist

they w a n t to, l i f e - t e a c h i n g and l i f e - l o n g skills. Jane Kirby: T h i s topic is p u s h i n g m y b u t t o n s tremendously. T o o o f t e n w h e n w e say " p o o r p e o p l e " it is e q u a t e d w i t h nonartists. T h e idea is that p o o r p e o p l e are n o t artists. T h e fact is, p o o r p e o p l e just d o n ' t have m o n e y . P e r i o d . That's the o n l y t h i n g w e can say a b o u t b e i n g p o o r . I w o r k w i t h w o m e n w h o d o t e n d to be p o o r e r , and there are ways that these w o m e n m a k e art w i t h o u t anything, every day, in e v e r y t h i n g t h e y do. W e c o u l d argue m e n do, too, b u t I t h i n k in this N a t i v e A m e r i c a n society w o m e n t e n d to b e artistic all the time. II. PUBLIC SPACE

Nancy Nagler: I t h i n k that o n e of t h e biggest downfalls in social services is t h e advance of t h e cubicle. You're talking a b o u t p e o p l e c o m i n g in b a r i n g their life stories and misery, and it's public. A n d , w i t h i n a n u m b e r of t h e very large institutional shelters, t h e r e is again t h e sensation that n o t h i n g is y o u r o w n . T h e r e isn't a place to p u t w h a t you o w n . A n d y o u r w h o l e w o r l d is o p e n e d u p for public view. I've b e e n f o r t u n a t e e n o u g h never to have had to apply for public assistance, b u t I can i m a g i n e h a v i n g to stand in line for h o u r s and h o u r s as a part of this massive society in w h i c h y o u get very little personal a t t e n t i o n . T h e feeling of t h e place is g r i m . T h e r e is n o sense that this is an okay place to be. W i t h the lack of private space a m o n g p e o p l e and t h e lack of their o w n stories, they are exploited. Kelty McKinnon: Your m e n t i o n of p r i vate space is interesting, because o f t e n o u r first i m p r e s sion is opposite, that public, n o t private, space is at a bare m i n i m u m in institutions these days. W o m e n ' s shelters, alt h o u g h n o t always public institutions, represent t h e idea

Public Art R e v i e w

FAU. WINTER. 98

m y art has b e e n negligent of w h a t you were talking a b o u t earlier, of letting the a r t w o r k c o m e f r o m t h e p e o ple, like allowing the w o m e n to d e c i d e w h a t their tepees should l o o k like and allowing kids to p h o t o g r a p h w h a t they w a n t to p h o t o g r a p h . In contrast, I c o m e in and say, Well, this is m y idea, and I w a n t you guys w h o w o r k for NSP [ N o r t h e r n States Power] to drive these bobcats. We're g o i n g to w o r k o u t patterns w i t h the eight of us a n d p u t t h e m to music. T h e r e is s o m e

collaboration

here, b u t hardly w h a t you have b e e n talking a b o u t . Nancy Nagler: O f course n o t e v e r y t h i n g needs to b e a collaboration. Artists also n e e d to b r i n g in an outside critique of w h a t is h a p p e n i n g in t e r m s of the institutionalization of a variety of populations.

III. CAUTIONARY

REMARKS

Deborah Karasov: I ' m very interested in N a n c y ' s c r i t i q u e of w h e n artists c o m e in w i t h p r e c o n c e i v e d n o t i o n s . Are there o t h e r c a u t i o n a r y remarks? O r is it really just: B e careful n o t to be patronizing? Kelty McKinnon: I t h i n k there's m o r e to it. O n e of the dangers m i g h t b e a k i n d of pacifying art that shows life as pleasant and beautiful and e x c i t i n g . T h e artist needs to w o r k f r o m a critical perspective and to a c k n o w l e d g e the realities of the p e o p l e w h o are in these institutions, involving t h e m in m o r e than a superficial way so that t r u t h can b e spoken and p e o p l e can start to discuss t h e issues in a realistic way. Mary Lee Hardenbergh: To m e

the

basic q u e s t i o n i s : W h a t is t h e i n t e n t i o n of the artists; w h y are they d o i n g a public piece? If y o u â&#x20AC;&#x201D; t h e a r t i s t â&#x20AC;&#x201D; w o u l d you are a bad p e r s o n because s o m e t h i n g bad h a p p e n e d

really take a l o o k at that honestly and b r i n g it o u t in

to y o u . O u r society does say that. It transfers t h e fact of

y o u r w o r k , that w o u l d really b e g o o d . Nancy Nagler: I have b e e n

t h e b a d e x p e r i e n c e to the idea that t h e p e r s o n is bad. It

a b o u t friends of m i n e w h o live in poverty. T h e y d o n ' t

w h e n you have a bad e x p e r i e n c e .

perceive, even t h o u g h the M i n n e a p o l i s Institute of Arts

Deborah Karasov: M a r y Lee, d o you

is free and o p e n to t h e m , that they are w e l c o m e . T h e r e

w a n t to talk a b o u t the potential for p e r f o r m a n c e to

really is a h u g e class separation w h e n w e t h i n k a b o u t art.

w o r k w i t h these issues?

thinking

s h o u l d b e okay to express the feelings that you have

W e n e e d to m a k e sure that the art doesn't

become

Mary Lee Hardenbergh: Well, the h o u r s

s o m e t h i n g t o o specialized, that w e d o n ' t treat p e o p l e

a n d h o u r s of standing in l o n g lines c o u l d be a p e r f e c t

like they're t o o stupid to e n j o y Chagall o r that they

o p p o r t u n i t y for a p e r f o r m a n c e . For instance, you c o u l d

aren't e d u c a t e d e n o u g h to be able to l o o k at aVan G o g h .

exaggerate the w a i t i n g aspect of it to get the p e o p l e w h o

S o m e h o w on a b r o a d e r level w e have to address the a c -

are w a i t i n g in line to start m o v i n g t o g e t h e r in s y n c h r o n y

cessibility of art.

in wavy lines. C o n c e p t u a l l y m o v i n g in s y n c h r o n y is s o m e t h i n g that o u r society really lacks. Deborah

Karasov: M y real

I w o u l d say across the b o a r d , n o t just for artists, that p o o r people, disenfranchised people, have

question

so m u c h to teach us, and artists s h o u l d n o t a d o p t t h e

relates to y o u r w o r k w i t h utilities. Have you discovered

attitude that, I ' m g o i n g to teach y o u . T h e r e ' s a g i v e - a n d -

strategies that m i g h t b e used to raise the issues of w o r k -

take w h e n you p u t yourself in the position to learn as

ing w i t h social institutions?

well as to teach. A n d t h e r e should b e a collaboration

Mary Lee Hardenbergh: Certainly, art is a great focus lens: O k a y everybody, let's l o o k here. B u t P u b l i c A r t R e v i e w . FALL. WINTER. 98

that allows the p e o p l e w h o m you're w o r k i n g w i t h to be the givers.

PERCENT FOR TEMPORARY

Kate Bonansinga

Art? Keep trying, but don't spend my tax $$ [sic] on it. Wonderful! It takes me back to my

childhood.

To the artist: Get a real job. It makes me think of the wind. Very serene. If this is art, I am the Pope!

J K BOVE

ARE

FEW

THE

ENTRIES

WRITTEN

COMMENT

BOOKS

c o m m i s s i o n e d , t e m p o r a r y , site-specific art installations at t h e -Z-

FOR

VARIOUS

Metropolitan

. A . C e n t e r f o r P u b l i c A r t , a t h i r t e e n - f o o t - w i d e by s e v e n - f o o t - d e e p space in t h e

l o b b y o f t h e P o r t l a n d B u i l d i n g , a p u b l i c o f f i c e b u i l d i n g in d o w n t o w n P o r t l a n d . " T h e c o m m e n t b o o k has b e c o m e as i m p o r t a n t a t o p i c o f c o n v e r s a t i o n as t h e art itself," says Peggy K e n d e l l e n , a p u b l i c art m a n a g e r at t h e R e g i o n a l A r t s a n d C u l t u r e C o u n c i l , w h o has a d m i n i s t e r e d t h e installation art e x h i b i t i o n series since it b e g a n in J a n u a r y 1 9 9 4 . T h e goal o f t h e p r o g r a m is t o " p r o m p t a r e e x a m i n a t i o n b y t h e g e n e r a l p u b l i c o f t h e i r e x p e c t a t i o n s a n d d e f i n i t i o n s o f art, e n c o u r a g e d i a l o g u e a b o u t t h e role o f art in p u b l i c spaces, a n d p r o v i d e artists w i t h an alternative e x h i b i t i o n space f o r t h e i r w o r k . " R a r e l y d o g o v e r n m e n t institutions s p o n s o r a sustained p r o g r a m o f t e m p o r a r y a r t w o r k s . T h e c o m m e n t b o o k t h a t a c c o m p a n i e s e a c h installation offers v i e w e r s t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o relay o p i n i o n s a b o u t t h e a r t w o r k a n o n y m o u s l y . T h e c o m m e n t b o o k s also o f f e r insights i n t o t h e g e n e r a l public's p e r c e p t i o n o f visual art. T h e P o r t l a n d B u i l d i n g h o u s e s city a n d c o u n t y offices, e a c h o f which

serves a g r e a t e r m e t r o p o l i t a n

area o f a p p r o x i m a t e l y

one

million

people.

C o n s e q u e n t l y , visitors t e n d t o b e p u b l i c e m p l o y e e s w h o w o r k i n t h e b u i l d i n g o r c i t i zens c o n d u c t i n g business in p u b l i c offices. T h o s e w h o take t h e t i m e t o w r i t e c o m m e n t s s e e m t o have d e v e l o p e d a sense o f a t t a c h m e n t t o this c o n t e m p o r a r y art space, w h i c h is a p p r o p r i a t e , since t h e installations are f u n d e d b y p u b l i c m o n e y s , n a m e l y p e r c e n t - f o r - a r t f u n d s , w h i c h allocate 1.33 p e r c e n t o f a g i v e n b u i l d i n g o r

renovation

budget to artwork. Most

viewers

are e n t h u s i a s t i c

about

the space, even

when

the

skeptical c o m m e n t s are i n t e r s p e r s e d w i t h positive ones. O n e city e m p l o y e e said in a r e c e n t t e l e p h o n e c o n v e r s a t i o n , "I a p p r e c i a t e t h e accessibility o f t h e art space. I like t h e p a u s e t h a t it offers i n t h e m i d d l e o f t h e day. I'll visit an e x h i b i t t h a t I like several

times." O n e o f h e r favorites was A Public Wishing Well, a p i e c e i n t h e 1 9 9 8 series. Artist Sarah Hall c o m p i l e d an a u d i o t a p e o f t h e " w i s h e s " w r i t t e n by e a c h w e e k ' s visitors. T h e w i s h e s w e r e t h e n played f r o m t h e b o t t o m o f an a r t i s t - m a d e well t h e f o l l o w i n g w e e k . Wishing Well played u p o n t h e idea o f t h e well as a g a t h e r i n g place a n d a site f o r t h e e x change of hopes and dreams. Hall's piece, like m a n y o f t h e m o r e successful installations, addressed t h e activities a n d i n t e n t o f t h e b u i l d i n g , a l t h o u g h barely t o u c h i n g o n specific issues of g o v e r n m e n t . W h e n artists carefully c o n s i d e r t h e i r a u d i e n c e a n d w h a t t h e i r state o f m i n d m i g h t b e as they travel to w o r k o r c o n d u c t t h e p a p e r w o r k tasks that have b e c o m e

P u b l i c A r t R e v i e w . FALL. WINTER. 98

i n h e r e n t to u r b a n existence, t h e results t e n d to be e x c e p tional. S c u l p t o r Malia J e n s e n , t h e first artist in t h e p r o g r a m , assembled objects that pertain t o life in an office e n v i r o n m e n t , i n c l u d i n g Break Stool, a large hourglass r e f e r e n c i n g t h e allocation a n d d o c u m e n t a t i o n

of w o r k

time. In early 1996, p r i n t m a k e r B r i a n S h a n n o n covered t h e f l o o r w i t h his carved w o o d b l o c k s a n d h u n g wallsized p r i n t s created f r o m t h o s e blocks. R o u g h black lines pulsed o n red a n d b l u e b a c k g r o u n d s , alluding to t h e m o v e m e n t o f p e o p l e u p a n d d o w n t h e stairs a n d t h r o u g h t h e lobby. D a v i d Joyce's 1998 piece, Escaping Man,

in-

c l u d e d m u l t i p l e images of t h e profile a n d back o f a n u d e male and c o i n c i d e d , coincidentally, w i t h h e a t e d discussion of t h e city's Policy on Sexual Harassment.This

pol-

icy r e p r i m a n d e d " w o r k areas d e c o r a t e d w i t h c e n t e r f o l d s o r o t h e r sexually explicit posters o r pictures." O n e e n t r y in t h e c o m m e n t b o o k f o r Joyce's installation read, " H e l p ! I ' m b e i n g m o o n e d in t h e P o r t l a n d B u i l d i n g ! " Other Lahti's Diorama

installations,

Cynthia

(1998), fall u n d e r a looser d e f i n i t i o n o f

addressing t h e activities of t h e b u i l d i n g . U s i n g a large p o s t e r o f n e a r b y M t . H o o d as a b a c k d r o p , Lahti c o v e r e d t h e t w o available walls w i t h c l i p p e d , c o l o r

magazine

p h o t o g r a p h s of wildlife. Diorama p r e s e n t e d a version o f n a t u r e as a child w o u l d c o n s t r u c t it a n d an escape f r o m t h e m u n d a n e o f f i c e e n v i r o n m e n t . In a 1998 u n t i t l e d [above] Sara Hall, A Public Wishing Well,

piece, Alyson P i s k o r o w s k i o f f e r e d a m o r e subtle escape:

Portland Building, Portland, Oreg., 1998.

soft, u n d u l a t i n g strips o f w h i t e p a p e r crisscrossed t h e

[below] David Joyce, Escaping Man, Portland Building, Portland, Oreg., 1998. All photos courtesy the Regional Arts and Culture Council, Portland, Oreg.

space in a m a t r i x of q u i e t u d e . A c o m m i t t e e consisting o f arts p r o f e s sionals, artists, a n d city a n d c o u n t y e m p l o y e e s selects six installations a year, each of w h i c h r e m a i n s o n v i e w f o r

four

w e e k s . Artists

must

reside

in W a s h i n g t o n

O r e g o n . T h e a p p l i c a t i o n g u i d e l i n e s explicitly s t a t e , " T h e installations c o u l d significantly alter t h e a p p e a r a n c e o f t h e space in such a w a y t h a t t h e space itself b e c o m e s p a r t o f t h e a r t w o r k . . .Proposals to use t h e space t o h a n g i n d i vidual a r t w o r k s will n o t b e c o n s i d e r e d . " Most

percent-for-art

funds

support

p e r m a n e n t w o r k s , b u t this space is particularly suitable f o r t e m p o r a r y w o r k , n o t o n l y b e c a u s e it is l o c a t e d in a heavily t r a f f i c k e d lobby, b u t also b e c a u s e t h e P o r t l a n d B u i l d i n g , d e s i g n e d by M i c h a e l Graves in 1979, is g e n e r ally c o n s i d e r e d t o b e t h e first p o s t m o d e r n p u b l i c b u i l d i n g in t h e U n i t e d States. M o u n t i n g a r t w o r k that will cease to exist o n c e it is d i s m a n t l e d s u p p o r t s t h e p o s t m o d e r n idea that styles are transitory. U n f o r t u n a t e l y t h e c o m m e n t s are o n l y as substantial as t h e installations themselves. In t e r m s o f issues, f e w o f t h e artists (or c o m m i t t e e

members)

have e x p l o i t e d t h e f r e e d o m that t e m p o r a r y art has all o w e d in o t h e r c o n t e x t s . T h e g o v e r n m e n t l o b b y seems t o have a n o r m a l i z i n g effect o n b o t h t e m p o r a r y

and

p e r m a n e n t art. Edward Campbell, communications dir e c t o r f o r t h e M u l t n o m a h C o u n t y Chair's O f f i c e , w h o has b e e n w o r k i n g in t h e b u i l d i n g f o r five years, r e c e n t l y s a i d , " I t was so e x c i t i n g t o see it get started. It t r a n s p o r t s y o u s o m e w h e r e else. It t r a n s f o r m s a c o m m o n , f u n c t i o n a l

[above] Malia Jensen, Break Stool,

w o r k space a n d offers an o p p o r t u n i t y f o r d e b a t e . H a v e

Portland Building, Portland. Oreg.,

y o u seen t h e c o m m e n t b o o k ? "

1994.

[below] Cynthia Lahti, Diorama, Kate Bonansinga is the director of the Hoffman Gallery, Oregon School of Arts and Crafts, Portland.

Portland Building, Portland, Oreg., 1998.

EXCERPT

ART, SPACE, AND THE CITY: PUBLIC ART AND URBAN FUTURES Malcolm Miles • • •

Editor's note: The following is an excerpt (without footnotes) from

dividual's personal responsibility for their progress through

Art, Space, and the City: Public Art and Urban Futures (New

treatment.'

York and London: Routledge, 1997; paper, $24.95/cloth

$74.95),

which brings the critical perspectives of urban sociology and geography to public art. Miles asks, should public art be decoration within revisioned urban design, or should it be a social process of criticism and engagement? This excerpt is from his chapter on art in health institutions.

This process, in which the control of death or recovery b e comes professional rather than intimate or familial, has produced the typically impersonal environment of the hospital; a parallel development has medicalised depression and other behaviour which challenges social norms. T h e case for art in health buildings today tends, consequently, to be based in a

T h e fear of illness, pain and death remains a pervasive e m o -

desire to 'humanise' these buildings by adding a cultural di-

tion in western society and the case for art in hospitals b e -

mension. But this imposes a double burden because the cul-

gins from the ways in which this fear is addressed; if modern

ture of institutions is expressed by more than the buildings

medicine is a defence against death, then art in hospitals is a

they occupy, and hence art is required to both add an aesthetic

defence against the institutional environment in which m e d -

dimension to functional architecture, and minister to the feel-

icine is delivered. As such, it may either be supportive of the

ings repressed by modern medical practice by being expressive

institutionalisation of illness by seeking to lend its environ-

and individualist. Art also relates to the world outside the hos-

ment a greater acceptability, or, it may challenge the culture

pital, through the depiction of local scene, local history, nursery rhymes or cartoon characters, or by being 'modern art'.

of m o d e r n medicine.

This is a strategy of distraction assuming quite a lot about art, Art that prepared the soul for death as a natural threshold to the next life was a presence in religious foundations for the sick from the Middle Ages, but art in hospitals begins to take a m o d e r n f o r m in Hogarth's murals, Christ at the Pool of

not least its general appeal, possibly replicating the taste of members of hospital art committees whilst leaving intact the institutional ethos and professional hierarchies which determine the character of the building thus humanised.

Bethesda, of 1735, and The Good Samaritan of 1737, in St. Bartholomew's Hospital, London; few patients see Hogarth's

Art in the Renaissance orphanage, or the Victorian infirmary,

pictures, on the stairs to the Great Hall and a r o o m n o w used

derived its value from a wider culture in which matters of the

as the Consultants' dining room, which were produced for a

spirit were addressed through art as well as literature, music

professional audience familiar with the narrative, the pool of

and prayer. In the second half of the twentieth century, art in

Bethesda being a place of healing. T h e figures gathered around

hospitals is a matter of architectural embellishment, some-

the pool are used to depict the symptoms of disease cate-

times, particularly in the 1970s, of attempts to impose a kind

gorised by the emerging secular science of medicine with its

of instant cheerfulness—for example by painting clowns, par-

ability to diagnose and treat illness according to the taxonomy

rots, characters from Disney and jungle scenes' using garish

of symptoms, and its new approach to death, which is no

colours in childrens' areas.

longer carried within each person, but an 'unnatural' force against which medicine offers protection. Since the eighteenth century, according to Ivan Illich, 'a gigantic defense program waging war on behalf of "humanity" against deathdealing agencies' has been established, in which technical prowess has replaced the sanctity of life, and intervened in the acceptance and realisation of mortality. Illich

continues:

' T h r o u g h the medicalisation of death, health care has become a monolithic world religion whose tenets are taught in c o m pulsory schools and whose ethical rules are applied to a b u reaucratic restructuring of the environment', and a recent research paper states:

T h e origins of recent hospital art (or arts) projects are partly in community-based art and partly in conventional public art, each suggesting a difficulty: the artist seeking to relate to hospital communities needs considerable social skills to contend with negative emotions felt by people in hospitals; and art which reflects the taste of experts, such as the hospital art curator or committee, will simply strengthen the hold of the institution over its users. T h e duality is still present, as art in acute hospitals reflects public art's concern with a physical site, and art in long-stay institutions tends to be a form of community arts; in the USA, the pattern is slightly different, with more emphasis on the performing arts whilst

' W h e n a person is admitted to a hospital, he or she must al-

participatory art projects have been developed particularly

most completely abandon those roles characteristic of n o n -

in cancer care.

hospital life and assume the status of someone w h o is "sick" or "injured"...circumstances [which] involve a loss of personal

Malcolm Miles teaches in the School of Art, Publishing, and Music at Oxford

control, along with a concomitant ambiguity regarding the in-

Brookes University, U.K.

P u b l i c A r t R e v i e w . FALL.WINTER.98

EXHIBITION

BURNING MAN R e v i e w e d by Mark Van Proyen • • •

Burning Man ablaze, 1995. Photo by A. Leo Nash

Black Rock Desert, Nevada August 31—September 6, 1998 It [Chartresj is not a single work of art, but like the Bible, a vast collection of works that we value as a single, incomparable whole. — Meyer Schapiro, " O n Perfection, Coherence and Unity in Form and C o n t e n t " If you waited until a week after Labor Day to visit the Nevada site where Black R o c k City temporarily

flourished,

you

would find only scant traces of the ten thousand people w h o thrived there the previous week. And even those traces would vanish after the winter rains arrive in a few months, leaving only the vast and quiet desert, a cybernetic photo album of a few hundred oddball Web sites, and a powerful desire to return the following year to an event called Burning Man. It is instructive to view Burning Man as a scaled-up, post-NEA version of the Happenings that artists such as Allan Kaprow staged during the early 1960s. O n e could go on to call the event a postmodern Gesamtkunstwerk

(total work of

art) or, even better, a cathedrale vivant (living cathedral) to suggest that it follows from the eighteenth-century practice of staging tableaux vivants where costumed players staged mythological scenes for the benefit of strolling aristocrats—only at Burning Man, the players stage their scenes for each other in an improvised collaboration (or is it collaborative improvisation?) which collectively forms the narrative of a speeded-up microcosm of the rise and fall of civilization. Several main components of Burning Man unite to f o r m the metatheatrical construct of this narrative: First, there is the figure of the Burning Man, which stands as a mute sentinel forty feet on top of a pyramid of hay bales at the center point of Black R o c k City. At the edge of the city is the vast and featureless plane of the Black R o c k Desert, a backdrop that is remarkable for its refusal of any conventional idea of a backdrop. This desert environment has the powerfully distancing effect of "making strange"—in the Russian Formalist's idiom—any object of behavior placed in its abject emptiness. And then there is the factor of pilgrimage, as the participants all must travel a good distance to arrive in a space that both resembles and satirizes the construction of an ancient ceremonial city. All of these factors serve to distance the rise and fall of Black R o c k City from the realm of the so-called normal. W h e n

coupled with the

complex

preparation that is required to attend the event, they also insure that all w h o arrive are invested in the event's ethic of collective participation. There might be a change of theme from one year to the next, but the motto of Burning Man is always " N o Spectators."

EXHIBITION

Feel the Heat, dancing and reverie,

[below] Pray, Burning Man, desert

Burning Man, 1997.

installation, 1998.

Photo by A. Leo Nash

Photo by MarkWarmus

Burning Man originated on a San Francisco beach in the summer of 1986, when Larry Harvey (now the director of the Burning Man project) constructed an eight-foot anthropom o r p h i c effigy and set it ablaze, drawing a spontaneous crowd. Annual repeats of the event brought larger crowds and taller Burning Men, requiring Harvey and his collaborators to seek out a more amenable locale, a place where obstreperous crowds and imaginative pyrotechnics would pose only a m i n imal risk. In the summer of 1991, that place turned out to be the Black R o c k Desert, some 120 miles north of R e n o , a four-hundred-square-mile, dry lake bed administered by the Bureau of Land Management. This year, Burning Man returns to the Black R o c k after being staged on nearby private land in 1997, and this h o m e c o m i n g makes a positive contribution to the symbolism of the event. That symbolism can be best described as a no-holds-barred celebration (and mourning) of the seemingly bygone cult of individual liberty that was America before the age of omnipresent administration. At Burning Man, the cult is alive in the f o r m of dozens of subcultural identity groups (ranging from queer deadheads to Sa24

tanic circus performers) that f o r m a loose-knit collection of T h e m e Camps, each of which rallies around its own minor deity and in turn joins the others in rallying around the event's major deity, the Burning Man. These camps are situated in a series of concentric circles, making the layout of the city comparable to the design of a Tibetan mandola if viewed from the air. But on the ground, a different experience comes to the fore: a rhizomorphic profusion of ersatz objects, eccentric gestures, and oddball characters, all frenetically announcing, encountering, and then destroying themselves in

P u b l i c A r t R e v i e w . FALL. WINTER. 98

EXHIBITION

Kill Your Television,

Burning Man, 1997, Photo by A. Leo Nash

a ritual that transforms the gathered profusion of improvised

a museum, a kind of violence would be done to the sculp-

identities into a collective self. Amidst the expected sex, n u -

tural works at Burning Man by arbitrarily placing them into a

dity, and drunkenness, the Burning Man is finally lit afire. It is

different context. These objects are inextricably linked to a

not hard to detect an echo of the Buddhist doctrine of nonat-

unique fantasy system, and they gain meaning and coherence

tachment in the event's self-destructive finale, itself resembling

in relation to that system.

a Hollywood restaging of the dance around the golden calf directed by Hieronymus Bosch.

What is perhaps most remarkable about B u r n i n g Man's fantasy system is its radically inclusive populism. A unique aes-

A large sector of Black R o c k City is cordoned off as a n o -

thetic vernacular persuasively engages late-twentieth-century

camping zone, and this area fills with monumental sculpture

anxieties about the continued viability of art as a means of or-

during the week before the event. T h e ambition and sophisti-

dering communal consciousness. Harnessing the technologi-

cation of these works, which in the end are burnt to cinders,

cal revolution it satirizes in order to spread the word. B u r n i n g

tends to be surprisingly high, and 1 dare say that many of them

Man demonstrates that the power of the Internet can also

would be quite at h o m e in officially sanctioned venues such as

make any place the center of a widespread virtual community

the Miinster Sculpture Project. Works of this caliber might in-

that has little need of any institutional administration. As one

clude Michael Christian's Boric Tower (1997), a grand arch

wag put it in 1996: " G o i n g to Burning Man is like j o i n i n g a

made of thousands of bleached cattle bones, or Steve Heck's

cult, only without the long-term commitment."

Piano Bum (1996), a circular tower made of stacks of several dozen pianos set ablaze against the dark desert night. But, as is

Mark Van Proyen is associate professor of Painting, Digital Imaging, and Art

almost always the case with the placement of tribal artifacts in

History at the San Francisco Art Institute.

P u b l i c A r t R e v i e w . FALL. WINTER. 98

PROJECT

A GREEN AND PLEASANT LAND? ECOLOGICAL ART IN THE U.K. R e v i e w e d by Malcolm Miles • • •

[below] Radio Utopia workshop, The Seen and the Unseen,

1998.

Photo by P Nugent

According to Joseph Beuys, "it is no longer regarded as ro-

collaborating with landscapers and planners. But recent eco-

mantic but exceedingly realistic to fight for every tree, for

logical art seeks not just to engage identified publics the way,

every plot of land, every stream as yet unpoisoned." 1 Beuys

say, The Power of Place in Los Angeles worked with community

proposed the planting of seven thousand oaks paired with vol-

members from various ethnic, racial, and labor groups, but to

canic basalt markers—biological time next to geological time.

operate at both local and global levels, to connect personal

T h e first oak was planted for the Kassel Documenta in 1982.

narratives with the epic picture. And, since ecological art is

Since then, the environmental crisis has become a specter

necessarily radical—it rejects the present economic system as

haunting affluent society. In response, ecological art seeks to

unsustainable—it constructs new cultural, social, and eco-

heal a poisoned earth and usher in a more sustainable future.

nomic agendas and seeks new sources of support.

Four current projects in the U.K. demonstrate ecological art at work: artist Helen Smith collaborates to cleanse polluted

NEW PARTNERSHIPS

water sources; artists Helen Mayer Harrison and N e w t o n

Sponsorship can restrict the radical possibilities of art and en-

Harrison create proposals for an ecological domain; Platform

vironmental campaigns, but some groups in the U.K. are find-

converts a boat into an eco-agitprop; and artist Shelley Sacks

ing ways to re-educate and challenge corporate funders. For

exposes the market economy as a driving force in environ-

instance, Oikos is a London-based artist consultancy which

mental destruction.

uses live art to work with corporate clients on environmental attitudes. And the Black Environment Network argues that

These projects redefine the field of public art in three ways: they are issue specific rather than site specific; they link culture with biodiversity and economic development; and they

transnational corporations have stolen the world's wealth. They want it back—through investment in cultural resources for marginalized communities.

draw in new forms of support. O f course, new genre public art has already abandoned the restrictions of site in favor of

In 1997, Platform, a group of London-based artists working

engagement in specific issues, and precedents exist for artists

for a democratic and ecological society, hosted a dialogue be-

P u b l i c A r t R e v i e w . FALL.WINTEIi.98

PROJECT

The Seen and the

Unseen,

wetland under construction, 1998. Photo courtesy the author

tween arts and environmental organizations on sponsorship.

ing bacteria that remove mineral pollution from the water.

Although most participants were from the arts and groups

Islands within the lagoon control the water's flow and encour-

such as Friends of the Earth, Shell Oil was also represented.

age the growth of reeds, which are another f o r m of natural

Since a boycott of their gas stations during a Greenpeace cam-

purification. Smith's role is to make the wetland accessibleâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;

paign, they have taken environmental issues seriously. For sev-

physically, through designing walkways and paths, and cultur-

eral years their Better Britain Campaign has aimed to produce

ally, through broadcasts on local R a d i o Utopia and by training

a positive public image through natural history guides and

young people to present research on water pollution through

wildlife posters, but some of their recent initiatives are more

a series of listening posts within the wetland. T h e y o u n g p e o -

daring. T h o u g h these initiatives remain public relations, they

ple will present information on water quality along with

do serve to redirect some of the industry's gains to environ-

sound pictures of c o m m u n i t y life. T h e Q u a k i n g

mentally beneficial ends. Through a Partnership Innovation

Environmental Trust, in partnership with the Agriculture

Houses

Fund, Shell supports The Seen and the Unseen, a project to re-

School at Newcastle University, have devised a planting

claim polluted water sources in the northeast of England,

scheme. Imaginative management of these plantings will in-

which was once a heavily mined area but is now teeming with

clude the development of ornithological habitats and land-

mining museums and minewater pollution.

scape features.

THE SEEN AND THE UNSEEN

The Seen and the Unseen w o n a Certificate of Best Practice

The Seen and the Unseen is the result of a community campaign

from the British Urban Regeneration Association, which rep-

in the village of Quaking Houses against the contamination of

resents both public- and private-sector interests, and is the

local streams by mining residues. Collaborating with scientists

U.K. winner of the 1998 H e n r y Ford European Conservation

from Newcastle University, as well as Derwentside District

Award. Its support has come from Gulbenkian, the R u r a l

Council, a local radio station, and community groups, artist

Development Commission, and corporate sponsors including

Helen Smith is helping to construct a wetland. This wetland

N o r t h u m b r i a n Water, one of the recently privatized networks

forms a shallow lagoon with embankments of ash from coal-

of companies

fired power stations. It has been filled with limestone chip-

N o r t h u m b r i a n Water's involvement is their first venture into

pings and compost that promote the growth of sulfate-reduc-

the arts, and they are establishing links with

supplying

drinking

water

the

U.K.

community

P u b l i c A r t R e v i e w . FALL. WINTER. 98

PROJECT

Helen Mayer Harrison and N e w t o n H a r r i s o n , Casting A Green Net: Can It Be

We Are Seeing A Dragon?, Liverpool, 1998. Photo courtesy the artists

using poisonous chemical fertilizers that drain into water sources and may have caused mad cow disease. O n another map, the Harrisons show a green network for biodiversity. Here, through redirection of agricultural subsidies, hedgerows and meadows as well as a green forest long grown in the Pennine valleys are retained. Harvested on a cycle of 150 years, the forest will be profitable. T h e Harrison's research shows that, if spread over its nine hundred square miles of fields, the organic waste produced by the nine million inhabitants of the domain would provide 80 percent of the need for soil enrichment. Next to the maps are dialogues that took place during the making of the work. O n e dialogue quotes a retired planner: "Most of the thinking, like the roads and railways, went north-south and came from London." T h e maps are emblematic: the shape of the domain resembles groups whose purchasing power is negligible but whose claim

a green dragon. Philosopher Arran Gare writes, "to know

for a land that is not poisoned has universal appeal. In the case

what to do about the environmental crisis requires the cre-

of The Seen and the Unseen, corporate support has been more

ation of stories which individuals can take up and participate

available than money from the state arts budget. W h e n initi-

in." 2 These stories confront the environmentally destructive

ated by the Artists Agency in Sunderland, The Seen and the

ways that people define their lives.The Harrisons explain how

Unseen has twice been refused a grant by the Arts Council of

the dragon's story has changed: At first it represented the earth

England, though the secrecy of the British system does not

and was ritually pierced each spring to allow the release of fer-

oblige them to give reasons. T h e project fits into a context

tility; then, just as the rest of nature has been subdued, Saint

created by artists such as Mel Chin and Viet Ngo. Chin was

George pierces and kills the dragon.To reclaim the dragon as a

granted ten thousand dollars by the NEA for his Revival Field,

metaphor for life again requires a new consciousness.

but the grant was held back by Director John Frohnmayer on the grounds that the project was science. After a meeting with Frohnmayer, Chin got the money, but such cases highlight the

VESSEL Some projects are unfundable through conventional sources. An example is Vessel, an initiative under development by the

limited perspectives of conventional arts flinders.

London ecological-art group, Platform, to convert a boat on CASTING A GREEN NET

the Thames into a "think-tank for the future" to link the lives

Looking to a wider geographical area and to the interface of cultural, economic, and ecological development, Helen Mayer Harrison and N e w t o n Harrison created the project Casting a Green Net: Can It Be We Are Seeing A Dragon? for the land between the Mersey and H u m b e r Estuaries from Liverpool to Hull. Refusing the conventions of regional planning, they call this area an "ecological domain." Casting a Green Net was funded by the national lottery as part of Artranspennine98,

exhibition curated by the Tate Gallery in Liverpool and the 28

H e n r y Moore Foundation. Working

with

students

Manchester

Metropolitan

University, the Harrisons produced a series of large-scale maps, on view from May to September 1998, at Liverpool's Bluecoat Gallery, displaying the domain's possible futures. O n e map demonstrates h o w a market economy pushes housing and industrial development into green areas. In what N e w t o n Harrison terms "an accounting culture which breeds distrust," land has to pay its way. Speculative development makes more money than farming, so farmers have had to increase yields by

P u b l i c A r t R e v i e w . FALL. WINTER. 98

PROJECT

[ b e l o w ] Shelley Sacks, Exchange Values, Nottingham, 1997. Photo by t h e artist

of Londoners to the ecology of the river. It is to be a "platform

ers. Sacks distributed free bananas outside the Body Shop in

for visions," an agitprop boat that challenges "alchemically

Nottingham, asking people to return the skins and conversing

rather than politically, creating ideas and action to surprise, en-

with them about consumers' responsibilities to k n o w the c o n -

tertain and inspire...a dreamboat for the Millennium." 3 T h e

ditions under which food is produced. Tracing growers from

Institute for Social Inventions, a private foundation that gives

the numbers on banana crates, Sacks and her daughter, with

money for entries to its Global Ideas Bank, has expressed inter-

support from the Foundation for the Arts and Sport, traveled

est in the project. Vessel will probably happen, and it will then

to the Windward Islands to meet them. In the gallery, Sacks

sit defiantly on the water opposite Prime Minister Blair's

displayed sheets of sewn, dried banana skins. T h r o u g h head-

hugely expensive (and lottery-funded) dome in Greenwich.

phones attached to metal boxes beneath each sheet, the grow-

T h e resources Vessel needs are quite small, and there is a grow-

ers' stories can be heard.

ing tendency in the U.K. for artists to work successfully outside conventional funding systems.

By making audible the lives of the growers, Sacks, w h o was once a student of Beuys, links consumers and producers and

EXCHANGE VALUES

asks us to consider the factors that determine the worth of a

If the wetlands project heals a damaged earth and Casting the

banana or a person's livelihood. She writes that entering imag-

Green Net articulates stories for an alternative future and an

inatively into the world "is part of an artistic process" that

agitprop boat on the Thames adds the dimension of activism,

"suggests that our ability to make changes in our society de-

there is a further need in ecological art: to interrogate the free

pends on the ability to 'picture' what is going on." She adds

market economy that pillages the earth by claiming unre-

that, "we are all artists, forming pictures, re-envisioning and

stricted economic expansion. This need is addressed by artist

reshaping our society."'*

Shelley Sacks in Exchange Values, shown in May of this year at the Brixton Art Gallery, London. Exchange Values confronts public issues and has involved the participation of many individuals; its presentation in a gallery space does not detract from its publicness, but suggests that a divide between public art and gallery art is unhelpful.

In what William Blake called England's green and pleasant land, all four of these projects propose an alternative ecological future to the one prescribed by big business and government. As well as challenging the free market, they examine the perceptions of citizens for w h o m the world is reduced to its representations

in cartography

and e c o n o m i c

forecasts.

T h e project concerns the invisible lives of banana growers in

Interestingly, they have not compromised in order to gain cor-

the Windward Islands of the West Indies w h o are threatened

porate funding, although the least confrontational and most

by U.S.-based multinationals. While the Windward Islands

community-linked schemeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the wetlands project 77le Seen

growers' cooperatives use few chemicals, the multinationals

and the Unseenâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;has met the most difficulty in finding f u n d -

use lots and impose poor conditions and low wages on work-

ing. Will such projects, in the long term, re-educate the individuals, corporations, and governments w h o promote a market that depends on a myth of endless exploitation? T h e earth's resources are finite, many nonrenewable except over almost unimaginable timescales. At some point the account will be settled. If this is not to be in the f o r m of environmental catastrophe, then a new f o r m of being alive and conscious in the world must emerge. Perhaps this is what Beuys meant w h e n he said that everyone is an artist. Malcolm Miles t e a c h e s in t h e School of Art. Publishing, and Music at O x f o r d

Brookes University, U.K. and is a u t h o r of Art, Space, and the City.

Notes: 1. Joseph Beuys. Manifesto for a Free

3. Project proposal by Platform,

International School for Creativity and

1998.

Interdisciplinary Research, n.d. Cited in press release for The Seen and the

4. Shelley Sacks. "A Banana Is

Unseen, 1998.

N o t an Easy Thing." In Exchange

2.Arran Gare. Postmodernism and the

N o t t i n g h a m : B o n i n g t o n Gallery,

Environmental Crisis. Routledge,

1996.

Values exhibition catalogue.

1995: 140.

P u b l i c A r t R e v i e w . FALL. WINTER. 98

CONFERENCE

PUBLIC STRATEGIES AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHY INSTITUTE'S NATIONAL GRADUATE SEMINAR [below] Mike Mandel and Larry

R e v i e w e d by C y n t h i a Abramson • • •

Sultan, Hearth, wood tile mosiac, N e w York, 1994. Photo courtesy the artists

New York University, June I -10. 1998

two and a half decades. D u r i n g her introductory remarks,

With very special thanks to Gail Nathan for her contribution to this article.

critic Eleanor Heartney charted this transformation. She noted that public art in the early decades of the twentieth century tended mostly toward "beauty-driven, aesthetically

O f all the frontiers explored by new genre public artists—the

finished

Internet, the human body, multimedia technology, urban and

emergence of the monumental artworks and earthworks

rural communities of every ilk—perhaps the most significant

of the 1960s and 1970s. T h e political interventions of the

of all is the university classroom. T h e University of Southern

1980s followed. Finally, in the 1990s, a " n e w genre" of public

California (use), N e w York University

art has moved issues of cultural diversity and political and so-

(NYU),

the San

Francisco Art Institute, and, most recently, the Minneapolis

products. "This trend did not give way until the

cial equity to the forefront of aesthetic inquiry.

College of Art and Design (MCAD) and California State University (csu) at Monterey Bay are just a few of the institutions of higher learning that offer graduate and undergraduate

T h e evolution of public art, both as an academic discipline and as a creative process, can be detected most clearly in the changes in the meanings

courses and even degree programs in public art.

of some fundamental

terms.

Specifically, the meanings of "traditional," "interactive," " p u b The

National

lic," "private," and "community" have shifted with the evolving

Graduate Seminar, Public Strategies: Public Art and Public

American

Photography

Institute's

(API)

roles of the artist and the public. For example, "traditional"

Space, was one such academic excursion, a whirlwind sympo-

public art, rather than describing early twentieth-century p u b -

sium that took place June 1 through 10, 1998, at NYU'S Cantor

lic artworks, was invoked during the seminar to characterize

Film Center. Presented by NYU'S Tisch School of the Arts and

the once groundbreaking but now mainstream

API and funded by Agfa, Bayer Corporation and NYU, the API

by such seasoned veterans (and seminar presenters) as Christo

seminar's mission is to fill a gap in graduate education each

and Jeanne-Claude, Mierle Ukeles, and Krzysztof Wodiczko.

year, by providing twenty nationally selected graduate students

T h e term "traditional" imparts an air of nostalgic simplicity,

artworks

of photography with the opportunity to spend a week with

deservedly or not, to the approach to subject and site adopted

some of the nation's top artists, critics, and historians. T h e stu-

by these artists and motivated by their singular vision.

dents select the topics for this critical exchange themselves. T h e 1998 symposium was the first in the series' eight-year

Traditional public artists often see themselves as architectural

history to focus on public art, although it still included many

problem solvers, historians, archivists of collective memory, vi-

photographers such as Mike Mandel and Larry Sultan. Also

sionaries, healing agents, and heroes. Increasingly, however,

for the first time this year, members of the public were invited

these traditional roles have been supplanted by the characteri-

to participate in the three dozen lectures, panel discussions,

zation of artist as subversive cultural worker, social critic, and

and presentations. O n e can't help wondering whether the stu-

flaneur (one w h o is there to see and be seen). Artists w h o as-

dents, many of w h o m claimed no prior exposure to public art,

cribe to these new roles tend to be less concerned with solv-

recognized that the discussions were taking place at a histori-

ing problems or improving public environments and more

cal m o m e n t for public art.

concerned with altering the status quo, perhaps in order to reveal, in critic Patricia Phillips' words, "new geographies of art,

From the outset of the seminar it became clear how dramati-

audience, production and involvement." 1

cally the nature of public art has changed during the past T h e difference between traditional and new genre artists is also demonstrated by the changing nature of the term "interactive" in public art. Interactive artwork, a canon of both traditional and new genre public artists, traditionally meant that the work is designed to respond to or be driven by human action. T h e artist relinquishes control over how viewers experience or manipulate an interactive work.Today, however, artists are less likely to relinquish this control; instead, if the artist intends simply to push the viewer toward some political gesture, the work is called "interactive." T h e drawback, according to Julie Ault of Group Material, is that "the longest lasting effects of this [new type of interactive] art rest, almost exclusively, within the confines of the arts community itself."

CONFERENCE

Group Material, Americana, Whitney Biennial,Whitney

Bob Haozous,

Museum, New York, 1985.

Earth Wagon,

Photo courtesy Julie Ault

Photo courtesy the artist

1994.

T h e change in what is signified by "public" and "private" is

agendas. According to Suzanne Lacy, cofounder with Judith

due, in part, to the growing difficulty in distinguishing one

Baca and Amalia Mesa-Bains of Monterey Bay's program, "the

from the other. O n e cause of this difficulty is the alarming in-

concept comes first and the m e d i u m second," which e n c o u r -

crease in the privatization of public spaces such as plazas and

ages art that communicates a message and is not merely a vi-

parks by private developers and nonprofit caretaking entities.

sually pleasurable end in itself. T h e coursework provides stu-

Another cause is the number of high-visibility public art exhi-

dents

bitions occurring on private property, such as the recent

social engagement with and political responsiveness to audi-

R o d i n exhibition at N e w York's Rockefeller Center. A third

ence-communities.

cause, according to panelists Anna Novakov, Tony Labat, Julia Scher, Laura Kurgan, and Dennis Adams in

discussing

"Surveillance, Voyeurism and Scopophilia," is "privacy issues on the Internet, electronic surveillance, and a widespread culture of Peeping Toms."They have concluded that the only safe recourse is a full-scale tactical retreat from the public realm, perhaps into the safety of critical theory.

with

philosophical

and

theoretical

basis

for

This year's seminar, from what I gathered through a sampling of

panel

discussions,

was

less

about

the

connection

between public art and photography than about finding a p o sitionâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a language and a critical frameworkâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;in which public art may f u n c t i o n . T h e students, and for that matter the seminar presenters and audience, were left to grapple with the challenges that the redefinition of public art terminology, ap-

In addition to the redefinition of "traditional," "interactive,"

proach, format, and process represents. Perhaps this explo-

"public," and "private," the meaning of the term " c o m m u n i t y "

ration is best undertaken within the sheltered institutional

has changed as well. " C o m m u n i t y as C o n t e x t " panelists Bob

context of a university, gallery, or museum, after all, where au-

Haozous, Mierle Ukeles, and Julie Ault contend that the term

dience acceptance and an appropriate level of critical support

has become both more abstract and less telling. While these

are ensured. As one such vehicle for bringing students face-to-

panelists all agreed that the artist retains a responsibility to

face with cutting-edge thinkers and artmakers, the API's

community in helping it validate its identity or come to terms

National Graduate Seminar is a worthwhile program and

with an issue (six generations back and five forward, according

could be replicated by art educators across the country.

to Bob Haozous), the community's own role has become less

Furthermore, one hopes that public-art-focused university

proactive and ultimately less satisfying. C o m m u n i t y today is

programs will continue to advocate outreach to the broader

simply the platform from which the artist delivers his or

public, both to ensure a vital real-world context for critical

her message.

discourse and, perhaps even m o r e importantly, to allow for public involvement in sharpening the cutting edge.

Finally, the American system of arts education is undergoing dramatic change. T h e multidisciplinary, project-oriented ap-

Cynthia Abramson is a New York-based public art and urban planner.

proach developed by, for example, MCAD and the Monterey Bay School at CSU with, to a certain extent, its parallel in the

Notes:

API's National Graduate Seminar itself, highlights the devia-

1. Patricia C. Phillips."Public Art:

tion from an exclusive focus on formal aesthetics.This alterna-

The Point in Between," Sculpture 11,

tive approach embraces and is driven by social and political

no. 3 (May-June 1992): 37.

P u b l i c A r t R e v i e w . FALL.WINTER. 98

EXHIBITION

EXPANDING ENVIRONMENTS: TRANSFORMING METAPHORS OF IDENTITY R e v i e w e d by Lenore M e t r i c k • • •

[below] Suvan Geer, The Milk Table, installation, 1995. Photo by Bob Elbert

March 8-June 10, 1998

meaning. Through this exhibition and the three accompany-

Brunnier Art Museum, Ames, Iowa

ing forums we will explore and perhaps redefine the word

Discourse never exists for its own sake, for its own glory,

shape ideas of self and culture and guide actions. And she

but that in all of its uses it seeks to bring into language

wonders if art, artists, and designers "will have a voice in shap-

an experience, a way of living in and of Being in the

ing this dialogue."

'environment.'" She asks if ways of defining environment

world which proceeds it and which demands to be said. — Paul Ricoeur, From Text to Action: Essays in Hermeneutics II I. AN ENCYCLOPEDIC EXHIBITION From March 8 through June 10, 1998, under the umbrella of

T h e nine artists or designers featured in the exhibition and accompanying forums were Suvan Geer, Betsy Damon, Stephen Luoni, Wellington Reiter, Tom Oslund, Richard

Hansen,

George Gessert, Mags Harries, and Beliz Brother, w h o contributed work but was unable to attend any forum.

Expanding Environments: Transforming Metaphors of Identity, the

Expanding Environments was not an art exhibition in the tradi-

Brunnier Art Museum exhibited a diverse range of nine artists

tional sense. Calling for works grounded on and united by the

working in venues as varied as city water management, flower

purposely vague term "environment" predicated an initial

pollination, and the creation of parks in China. At the heart of

randomness. This randomness was expected by the curator,

this event was curator Ingrid Lilligren, a professor in Iowa

w h o desired to gather an encyclopedic array of meanings of

State University's Department of Art and Design, whose m o -

environment, with "differing frames of reference." These dif-

tivation to create this exhibition began with a curiosity about

fering frames of reference were achieved in the resulting exhi-

how environment is variously defined and hopes of locating

bition, which included proposals of possible installations, the-

concepts of environment more precisely. In her curator's state-

oretical works, gallery pieces, and documentation of public

ment, she writes: " W i t h overuse, the word has lost nearly all

artworks installed elsewhere. Each aspect of the exhibition

P u b l i c A r t R e v i e w . FALL. WINTER. 98

EXHIBITION

Stephen Luoni, Municipal Tom Oslund, Hazards 9,

Redevelopment

installation, 1998.

model, 1993-95.

Plan, Eustis, Fla.,

Photo by Bob Elbert

Photo courtesy the artist

generated an accompanying smorgasbord of issues with ambi-

fact of proximityâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;sharing the same exhibition spaceâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;creates

guities of meaning endemic to any such enterprise.

the assumption that these c o m m o n denominators must exist, even w h e n they do not. In Expanding Environments, the artists

II. DIFFERENT ENTERPRISES

were clearly engaged in different enterprises, but the ensuing

This sprawl of ideas can be seen in reference to the artists' re-

discussions never paused to consider the significance of these

lationships to the public arena. N o t surprisingly, w h e n the

departures from c o m m o n ground. In the accompanying f o -

artists spoke of art creation and community, they described

rums, the conversation careened from one extreme to the

very different kinds of relationships, which generally fell into

other: for example, from defining artists' roles in terms of par-

three categories. Some works recreated as well as relied on

tisan activism to alleging that artists function merely as aes-

community. For example, Betsy Damon's project for compre-

thetes. W i t h o u t grounding, a conversation can only spin

hending living water coincided with a city's need to clean a

around and around, differing views can only collide.

river and resulted in Living Water Garden: Chengdu,

Szechwan,

China, a five-acre park in China. D a m o n revealed her orienta-

Issues associated with public art also repeatedly arose. This led

tion to community w h e n she spoke of the experience of los-

some participants, however, to erroneously assume that public

ing her ego as she forged numerous relationships throughout

art was the context for all the artworks, unmindful that one

the city. She concluded: "I had to remind myself it is their

group clearly spoke from within the public domain while

park, not my park." A more mediated relationship was de-

others situated themselves outside.

picted by Mags Harries. She described extensive discussions with her projected audience before embarking on each art project. Yet later during her remarks, she said: "I give them back something they didn't know they wanted." O t h e r artists seemed not to include the public domain in the least in their definition of environment. Suvan Geer's The Milk Table,

III. CONTEXT FOR NEW PERCEPTIONS Recognizing the confusion, Stephen Luoni presciently called for a change of conversation during the first forum: "We need to get together early enough for a structural conversation, not a show and tell. A language is then exchanged. We tend to use the same language to talk about different conditions."

Wellington Reiter's imaginary cityscape, and George Gessert's Natural Selection involved no one besides the artists. And of his

In Expanding Environments, each of the public artworks gathers

plans for metaphoric landscape in Hazards 9, Tom Oslund

together disparate components into a cohesive entity. Some

bluntly asserted: " I ' m not interested in where or how I'm

works, such as Damon's water project, create relationships

being followed."

where none previously existed. Others, such as Harries' Glove Cycle, transfer perceptions that lie on the periphery of c o n -

Generally in exhibitions, works are brought together because

sciousness to the center. In either instance, the art becomes a

they share a context, an interest, or a premise. Often, the mere

pivot point around which the surroundings b e c o m e crystal-

P u b l i c A r t R e v i e w . FALL.WINTtR.98

EXHIBITION

Betsy Damon, Waterpark, Chengdu,

China, i n s t a l l a t i o n i 9 9 8 .

Photo by Bob Elbert

lized or transformed, seen in new relationships. Each work re-

events. D a m o n recounted such an occurrence in her creation

shapes the world of its creation. In this sense, public art is a

of the park in Chengdu. She remarked on the multitude of re-

discourse, bringing previously unrelated components into re-

lationships that were predicated only on trust, because such

sponse with one another, and so rendering the environment

relationships "fly in the face of capitalism, which tells you not

articulate.

to trust." T h e effect of public art on the viewer was described

In Luoni's aesthetic solution to problems of Eustis, Florida's waterfront, he takes the concept of art integrated into its environment to its limit.Yet, although at times public art projects

similarly when Luoni asserted: " O n e of the most important things of aesthetic discourse is it can inspire a belief in a n o n market social value."

such as his seem to merge seamlessly with the landscape as if

T h e transformation, then, is not so much a physical alteration

to render themselves invisible, still each one creates a rupture

as an alteration of economic, social, and cultural perceptions.

in a general background. Public art protrudes from its envi-

In a flash of lucidity, we are aware of choices and alternatives,

ronment, catches us, and disorients us, only to reorient us. It

perhaps allowing us to make decisions and take responsibility

provokes us to question the landscape and to notice our own

for them. W h e n the environment changes, the self corre-

assumptions. This self-awareness is the basis on which we can

spondingly transforms. In so doing, we comprehend anew not

f o r m moral actions.

just the environment but ourselves.

Because the art changes our environment it has the capacity to alter our relationship to what we previously perceived as

Lenore Metrick is an independent art critic, currently writing for the Des

unchanging reality. For the artist as well as the viewer, it pres-

/Moines Register and working on a joint Ph.D. in art history and social thought

ents possibilities and alternatives to the everyday course of

at the University of Chicago.

P u b l i c A r t R e v i e w . FALL. WINTER. 98

EXHIBITION

FACE TO FACE: ART AND THE PUBLIC R e v i e w e d by Cynthia Abramson • • •

Martha Schwartz, Drumlins, Minneapolis Federal C o u r t h o u s e , Minneapolis, Minn., 1997. Photo by Tim Harvey

Marlborough Chelsea Gallery, New York

proposed mission: " t o expand the language of narrative, figu-

May 9-June 27, 1998

rative, and Modernist sculpture to include a complex range of concepts and purposes [in which] the artist and the public are

Face to Face: Art and the Public marked the inauguration of a series of dialogue-engendering public art exhibitions and forums planned by N e w York's Marlborough Chelsea Gallery. Each exhibition will highlight a specific aspect of public art,

face to face in new and inventive ways, one looking to the other for subjects and objects that will continue to define the historical m o m e n t of a community's cultural character as the merged faces of artistic effort and public purpose."

and all are dedicated to cultivating what Gallery Director Dale

Still, the exhibition does manage to showcase more than a

Lanzone refers to as "the public will to create tangible cul-

decade of commissioned public artworks by some of the

ture." Is something wrong with this picture? What of a private

gallery's and the profession's top ranking artists: Beverly

gallery acting as a venue for the viewing and reviewing

Pepper, Elyn Z i m m e r m a n , Martin Puryear, Keith Sonnier,

of changes in public art practice, such as the effects of the pri-

Melvin Charney, James Carpenter, Tom Otterness, Maya

vatization of public space on venues, clients, and audiences, or

Lin, landscape architect Martha Schwartz, and architect James

the expression of public purpose in public art after modernist

Wines. Unfortunately, little evidence of the public presence

times? It would appear that public art's post -Tilted Arc retreat

"in new and inventive ways" existed in most of the projects,

into private space was A fait accompli, if not for the exhibition's

which were presented through photographs, plans, maquettes,

P u b l i c A r t R e v i e w . FALL. WINTER. 98

EXHIBITION

[left] Elyn Zimmerman, Terrain, O ' H a r e International Center, Chicago, III.,ÂŠI987. Photo courtesy the artist [below] Tom Otterness, Rockman, Minneapolis Federal Courthouse, Minneapolis, Minn., 1997. Photo courtesy the artist [right] Martin Puryear, Bearing Witness, Washington, D.C., 1994-1998. Photo courtesy the artist All photos provided by the Marlborough Gallery, Inc.

and presentation boards. In fact, the public seemed to exist solely in the f o r m of small plastic figures, which peopled the models of several works. Elyn Zimmerman's Terrain (1987), a combination of landscaping, boulders, and sculpture for an office park development near Chicago's O ' H a r e airport, appears to radiate a stark elegance, more like a Zen rock garden than a shady refuge in which to enjoy one's lunch. And in James Carpenter's extensively rendered Luminous

Suspended

Room

(1997), a two-story, blue plexiglass observation room suspended within the void left in a prominent area of a new commercial building along Berlin's Kurfurstendamm, the extent of the public's role seems to be that of passively observing the changing effects of light on the environment during the course of a day. T h e practice promulgated by architectural magazines of p h o tographing newly completed, award-vying buildings in the rosy light of dawn or the swirling colors of sunset and depicting them as purely sculptural forms instead of environments for living and working is not appropriate for documenting artist-designed public spaces and artworks touted for how well they foster human interaction and engagement. Yet all of 36

Martha Schwartz's projects included in Face to Face are presented this way. T h e grassy knolls and aluminum benches in front of the Minneapolis Federal Courthouse (1997) that comprise Drumlins; the plazas Schwartz has covered with luminous, umbrella-like canopies in front of Marcel Breuer's HUD building in d o w n t o w n Washington, D.C. (1998); the plazas that line the entrance to the Broward County, Florida Hockey Arena (1998): all sit empty. T h e large format color photographs documenting them reveal environments that are simply abstracted spaces filled with an assortment of interesting objectsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;not gathering places.

P u b l i c A r t R e v i e w . FALL. WINTER. 98

EXHIBITION

Even Beverly Pepper's graceful amphitheater for the Villa

ceptionally crafted objects and schemes produced during the

Celle in Pistoia, Italy (1989), gliding gently into the sloping

evolving phases of project conceptualization, and to create an

earth, appears vacant and silent, although it appears more wel-

opportunity for the public to learn more about the public

coming in its execution than Amphisculpture

artmaking process. Yet the true significance of Marlborough's

(1974), which

she carved out of some uncontextualized office parkland in

efforts is the altered relationship between the public artwork

suburban N e w Jersey.

and the private art gallery. Marlborough now provides public art consulting services, through its newly f o r m e d Interna-

A m o n g the most lyrical and self-effacing of the works on display, as well as the most purely sculptural in f o r m and p u r poseful in execution, were Martin Puryear's forty-foot-tall, h a m m e r - f o r m e d , bronze-plated sculpture, Bearing

Witness

(1994-1998), for the new R o n a l d Reagan Office Building in d o w n t o w n Washington, D.C., and his rounded

bench

forms and skyway canopy for the N e w School's Vera List Courtyard

Manhattan

Tom Otterness' Rockman

(1990-1998).

with

installation (1997), also for the

Federal Courthouse in Minneapolis, there are no overt attempts by the artist to control public experience or to dictate how people move through or where they linger in the space. Yet, the pieces, especially Puryear's, have a contemplative air about them that graciously invites the public into the spaces they occupy. T h e purpose of Marlborough's ongoing efforts, according to

tional Public Art Ltd., which marks a significant new development not unlike the mergers and consolidations occurring in the corporate, financial, and industrial sectors. For the first time, an art gallery has the means to provide the artist, the artwork, and the project management and liaison services to clients. This n e w arrangement has the potential to obviate the need for private public art consultants, so prominent in the public process of commissioning artworks. It may also

threaten publicly funded percent-for-art programs by offering stiff competition for top artists and by forging new relationships between artists and gallery clients. It is unclear whether this model will accommodate public participation and input, or whether it will provide opportunities for the next generation of public artists. And, ultimately, it is unclear what it will contribute to the mutable, ongoing dialogue that isâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;after allâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a very real public purpose of public art.

Mr. Lanzone, is to provide a f o r u m for artists to discuss p u b lic art issues and to swap war stories, to exhibit the many ex-

Cynthia Abramson is a New York-based public art and urban planner.

P u b l i c A r t R e v i e w . FALL. WINTER. 98

BOOK

CAPITAL DILEMMA: GERMANY'S SEARCH FOR A NEW ARCHITECTURE OF DEMOCRACY R e v i e w e d by Eric D. Weitz â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘

Michael Z.Wise New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1998 190 pages, 65 photographs, $25

R e m o d e l e d by the Nazis, reduced to rubble in wartime, sundered through its very center by the Cold War, Berlin is the teeming physical artifact of twentieth-century history. To walk the city today one feels a vibrant cultural center, a magnet that draws people not just from other parts of Europe, but from all

time since 1945, sent its armed forces abroad, needs an architectural statement much grander than Bonn offered.They want an official architecture that is not, in Nazi fashion, megalomaniacally monumental, but one that does offer a bold, self-confident affirmation of Germany's successful democracy and economy. "We should finally dare to be great again in our state architecture," wrote Mathias Schreiber, the cultural editor of Der Spiegel.

over the globe, a city alive with creativity and wrenching polit-

Many others, however, continue to fear any hint of a power-

ical conflicts. T h e dense cluster of construction cranes right in

seeking Germany. For the left, the excesses and crimes of the

the city s heart, from Tiergarten to Potsdamer Platz, makes

past mandate permanent restraint in official architecture. Any

Berlin look almost like an oceanic port, whose huge cranes,

hint of power pretensions, any Greek columns, R o m a n arenas,

loading and unloading vessels, stand similarly packed. And one

or Imperial balustrades, have to be scrupulously avoided. Wise

knows immediately, just by looking at the vast scale of the ef-

quotes the Social Democratic deputy Peter Conradi: " N o one

fort, that this is not a Berlin arising haphazardly. This Berlin is

ever feared Bonn. We don't want anyone to fear Berlin."

the work of late-twentieth-century planning with its armies of architects, engineers, politicians, and bureaucrats, its legions of

Bonn architecture was too restrained, East Berlin architecture

commentators and critics. T h e array of government offices,

too tainted by its service to the second German dictatorship.

business showcases, cultural centers, and historical monuments

Something new was needed for the representation of the uni-

now under construction are anything but neutral arrays of

fied Germany with its capital no longer in a sleepy R h i n e

brick, steel, and glass, or the renderings of the free-wheeling

town but in its rightful place, in Berlin, the historical center of

creativity of architects. In this country most sensitive to histor-

Germany. T h e Bonn government opened a series of competi-

ical meanings, every building is a profound statement, every

tions, and the contestants included some of the most renowned

plan an object of contestation.

architects and firms from around the world. Wise describes well the intense competition, the arguments, the intrigues that

In Capital Dilemma: Germany's Search for a New Architecture of

accompanied the various decisions. If there is a hero in his

Democracy, Michael Z. Wise explores these conflicts with intel-

book, it is Axel Schultes, the designer of the master plan for the

ligence and grace. T h e collapse of the Berlin Wall and the sub-

complex of government buildings around the Spreebogen, the

sequent unification of Germany, coupled with the decision to

bend in the Spree river near the old Reichstag building and

move the capital from Bonn to Berlin, have created an u n -

the Wall. Schultes had a difficult charge. Hitler's architect,

precedented situation. Vast stretches of land, right in Berlin's

Albert Speer, had also centered his plans for the rebuilt capital

center and where the Wall once ran, have become available for

of the Thousand Year Reich on the Spreebogen. Clearly,

development, a real estate extravaganza that no capital city has

Shultes had to avoid any association with Speer's plans. Shifting

ever before experienced.Yet this is an opportunity fraught with

the axis from north-south to east-west, Schultes designed a

difficulties and conflicts, as Wise well describes. T h e burden-

long corridor of government buildings interrupted by a public

some legacy of the Nazi past haunts every effort to give the

forum. T h e dramatic stretch of his design linked the old eastern

city and the nation an affirmative architecture. T h e Nazis'

and western parts of the city and bridged the Spree at a n u m -

predilection for monumental construction seems to have for-

ber of points. Sadly, budgetary constraints have since curtailed

ever chastened Germans against even the appearance of self-

some of the most exciting features of Schultes' conception.

aggrandizement. T h e Bundestag building in Bonn was the perfect expression of this sentiment: horizontal, modest to the

Schultes' master plan left open the design of individual build-

point of being cramped, glass-faced to symbolize the openness

ings, and every one of them became the subject of controversy.

of a new democracy.

Schultes himself proposed for the chancellery a modernist structure that many deemed too abstract; his rivals proposed a

But many centrist and conservative politicians and commenta-

building with a R o m a n - t y p e amphitheater, which many others

tors want finally to lay to rest the highly restrained, modest ar-

found too redolent of Nazi pretensions. T h e rival architects,

chitecture that characterized Bonn. Wise depicts their views

former East Germans, responded that all sorts of democracies

fairly and effectively, drawing on the extensive published

had chosen neoclassicism for official buildings, and columns

record as well as his own interviews with a number of the

could not be castigated simply as Nazi architecture. After much

principal actors. For these people, a unified Germany, the core

deliberation and to great surprise, Chancellor Kohl opted for

of the European Union and a nation that has now, for the first

Shultes' modernist design, though the architect substantially

P u b l i c A r t R e v i e w . FALL. WINTER. 98

moderated his original plan. To judge from Wise's description

positions fairly, his own voice always softly modulated, though

and the accompanying photographs, Schultes' building is strik-

his dislike of monumentalism comes through with crystalline

ingly open and spacious, a bold expression of new departures

clarity. O n e might note, in contrast to some of the author's

for a unified Germany, rather than its imprisonment in the

statements, that aspects of the Bauhaus style survived and even

demon traditions of the past.The lightness of the chancellery is

flourished

cast even more vividly when contrasted with the mausoleum-

toward modernity. And in some ways the book suffers from the

like structure designed for the presidential office by Martin

author's self-imposed concentration on official architecture.

Gruber and Helmut Kleine-Kraneburg.

O t h e r dramatic, private or semiprivate complexes, like the

under the Nazis, a reflection of their ambivalence

Sony and Daimler-Benz centers, and the Mosse cultural cenWise deftly describes numerous other official projects, but the

ter, all around Potsdamer Platz, have also given rise to intense

most contentious remains the planned Holocaust memorial in

conflict that adds to the sense of excitement, sometimes of

the center of Berlin. T h e campaign for its construction was

dread as well, in contemporary Berlin. Ultimately, Wise offers a

launched even before the fall of the Wall, then took on added

fair and insightful study of a most unique and contentious ef-

currency afterward. Given five acres with which to work, most

fort, the rebuilding of a capital city in the heart of Europe.

architects submitted monumental designs that aroused little support and huge outcries.The vast scale of the designs seemed

Eric D.Weitz is professor of history at Saint Olaf's College, Northfield, Minn.,

likely to produce a sense of anomie and malaise that many, in-

a n d a u t h o r of Creating German

Communism,

1890-1990.

cluding Ignatz Bubis, the head of Germany's Jewish c o m m u nity, found singularly inappropriate as a memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. T h e design initially approved entailed a concrete tombstone that covered almost the entire area and

PUBLIC ART NETWORK SURVEY by J e n n i f e r M c G r e g o r • • •

had walls twenty-three feet thick. Public opposition forced a new round of competition. T h e four final proposals had, ac-

This spring Public Art Review subscribers were among the

cording to Wise, "a simplicity and aesthetic rigor lacking in

1,400 people w h o received the Public Art Network Survey.

most [original] submissions." T h e w i n n i n g entry, by the

Developed and conducted by McGregor Consulting, the sur-

Americans Richard Serra and Peter Eisenman, consisting of

vey was a significant part of a feasibility study to gauge the in-

four thousand concrete slabs arranged like cemetery t o m b -

terest in a national public art service organization.

stones, still bore a monumental quality. As of this writing, the vociferous public discussion continues. Last spring, a group of

T h e response to the survey was overwhelming and positive.

prominent intellectuals issued a last-minute appeal to prevent

Over 460 people returned the comprehensive questionnaire,

the construction of the monument, and Serra himself with-

and of that number close to 90 percent indicated a willingness

drew from the discussions in some bitterness. Yet the Serra-

to join a national organization. Survey respondents included

Eisenman design does seem remarkably ill-suited for a city and

comments like "I hope something finally gets off the ground."

nation appropriately cautious about monumentalism. Those fa-

T h e respondents were broad based geographically and profes-

miliar with Berlin might want to direct Serra and Eisenman to

sionally—40 percent were artists or design professionals, 38 per-

a number of far more restrained memorials. In the neighbor-

cent were public art administrators, and 22 percent were educa-

hood around the Oranienburg synagogue, one of the Jewish

tors, curators, conservators, and others with an interest in public

quarters of old Berlin, a small park sits between two typical

art. Respondents were direct about feeling frustrated and iso-

Berlin-sized buildings. Clearly, another building had once

lated working in a field where information is not always easy to

stood where the park now lies. Painted on the walls of the ad-

find.The results of our research and survey analysis indicated the

jacent buildings are the names of the former residents with

dual need for expanded access to a wide range of technical in-

their years of birth and death. T h e obviously Jewish names and

formation and increased opportunities for discourse, critical dis-

the cluster of deaths in 1943 and 1944 is far more expressive,

cussion, and writing.The Public Art N e t w o r k Survey results and

far more moving, than the huge slabs of concrete and bunker-

the Public Art Service Study R e p o r t are available on the

like walls that prominent artists and architects have proposed as

Americans for the Arts Web site: www.artsusa.org-check.

a Holocaust memorial.

Contact Jessica Cusick at the Cultural Arts Commission of Houston and Harris Counties (phone: 713-527-9330; e-mail:

Capital Dilemma captures well the excitement and the frac-

jessica@cachh.org) with questions about the actions being

tiousness of public building in Berlin. Wise's descriptions of the

taken and the progress of the organization. Contact Jennifer

various architectural plans are clear and are helped immeasur-

McGregor (phone: 212-807-0445; e-mail: mcgregor@fcc.net)

ably by the accompanying photographs. H e relates the various

with questions about the survey or the study report.

P u b l i c A r t R e v i e w . FALL. WINTER. 98

RECENT

CORRECTIONS PAR a p o l o g i z e s f o r f a i l i n g t o m e n t i o n t h e n a m e s o f t h e artists i n v o l v e d in t h e c r e a t i o n of" t h e Pasadena R o b i n s o n M e m o r i a l (PAR 18: Sons and

Daughters).

T h e description should have n o t e d that the bronze heads of both M a c k and Jackie R o b i n s o n w e r e sculpted by R a l p h H e l m i c k and Stuart Schechter.

and d o m e s o n the mosaics

San F r a n c i s c o artist A n d e r s

Brazilian sculptor C l a u d i a Stern

e v o k e this a b s e n c e . A n a r r o w

B a r t h ' s t e r r a - c o t t a relief s c u l p -

received f o u r awards leading to

vertical stripe separates each

ture, PHOENIX, o n the n e w brick

m a j o r p u b l i c c o m m i s s i o n s in

image from the next. T h e c o n -

wall in f r o n t o f t h e r e m o d e l e d

1 9 9 7 : M E M O R I A L TO THE P O L I C E M A N ,

t i n u o u s s e q u e n c e o f stripe,

Fire S t a t i o n 3 4 , at G e a r y S t r e e t

TIME A N D SPACE a n d M O N U M E N T TO

i m a g e , s t r i p e o n t h e b a n d i n g is

a n d 41st A v e n u e , r e p r e s e n t s

Z U M B I in P o r t o A l e g r e , Brazil, a n d

like a s t r i p o f f i l m o r t h e lines o f

t h e l e g e n d a r y f i r e b i r d t h a t is

M E M O R I A L I R I N E U B O R N H A U S E N in

f a c e s f r a m e d in t h e w i n d o w s o f

c o n s u m e d by flames a n d r e b o r n

Itajai, Brazil. All f o u r w o r k s are

a passing train.

f r o m its o w n ashes. T h e m y t h i -

m o n u m e n t a l sundials that cap-

[ b e l o w Photo courtesy t h e artist]

cal s y m b o l o f r e g e n e r a t i o n a p -

ture the c o n c e p t s o f light, e n -

p e a r s o n t h e seal o f t h e C i t y

ergy, a n d t i m e . Monument

o f San F r a n c i s c o a n d o n t h e

Zumbi,

insignia w o r n by city firefight-

c l i n e d steel a n d c o n c r e t e s t r u c -

ers. B a r t h e m p h a s i z e s t h e t h e m e

t u r e , reflects t h e sun's m o v e m e n t

in a b a c k g r o u n d o f b r i c k s

o n a s e m i c i r c u l a r c o n c r e t e wall

S e a t t l e artist B u s t e r S i m p s o n

In addition, J o h n O u t t e r b r i d g e

has c o m p l e t e d his latest w o r k

worked with the Art Center

t h e r e s i n c e 1 9 8 9 . PARAPET RELAY,

College of Design to create a companion "community docum e n t , " t h e CD-ROM

Beyond

d e d i c a t e d in J a n u a r y at t h e University ofWashington's n e w c a m p u s in T a c o m a , a p p e a r s o n

Glory, w h i c h i n c l u d e s i n t e r -

the facade of a red-brick, 19th-

v i e w s , oral h i s t o r i e s , b i o g r a p h i -

c e n t u r y w a r e h o u s e t h a t is n o w

cal i n f o r m a t i o n o n t h e

PROJECTS

o n e of the campus' main

a partially b u r i e d , i n -

that alternately read " A S H E S "

i l l u m i n a t i n g l e t t e r by l e t t e r t h e

and " L l F E . " T h e piece, c o m m i s -

w o r d "liberty." Stern explains

sioned by the San Francisco

that the w o r k expresses " t h e

A r t C o m m i s s i o n w a s installed

t r a n s c e n d e n t a l ideals o f f r e e d o m

in F e b r u a r y .

c l a i m e d by t h e b l a c k l e a d e r

Robinsons, and a section tracing

academic buildings. Sponsored

the evolution of the bronze

by t h e W a s h i n g t o n State A r t s

C o l o r a d o ' s A r t at t h e S t a t i o n s

sculptures.

Commission and the University

d e d i c a t e d a s c u l p t u r e b y local

of Washington Public Art

artist Jess E . D u B o i s in M a y at

Six s c u l p t u r e s w e r e installed at

C o m m i s s i o n , t h e w o r k consists

RTD's 3 0 t h / D o w n i n g l i g h t rail

L a u m e i e r S c u l p t u r e P a r k , St.

o f w o r d pairs p a i n t e d o n t o l o u -

s t a t i o n . T i t l e d THE LADY DOCTOR,

L o u i s , last w i n t e r . A r t i s t Luis

vered metal. Simpson hopes

t h e w o r k is a b r o n z e r e n d i t i o n

J i m e n e z ' s B O R D E R CROSSING d e p i c t s a male figure striding through

• • • RECENT PROJECTS

Z u m b i shining through time." [below Photo by Luis E.Achutti]

J a c k i e F e r r a r a has c o m p l e t e d

the words, " k n o w l e d g e " and

o f D r . J u s t i n a L. F o r d , w h o

1290 of the planned 1456

"storage," " g a t h e r " and "labor,"

b e g a n h e r m e d i c a l p r a c t i c e in

w a t e r w i t h a w o m a n o n his

square feet on the n o r t h and

"idea" and "wisdom," which

C o l o r a d o in 1 9 0 2 — a t i m e

s h o u l d e r s c r a d l i n g a c h i l d in h e r

s o u t h walls o f t h e s h u t t l e p l a t -

a r e a p p l i e d in s u c h a w a y t h a t

w h e n female physicians were

a r m s a n d relates t o t h e artist's

form

t h e o n e y o u see d e p e n d s o n

n o t granted hospital privileges.

personal history—his father and

at N e w York's G r a n d

C e n t r a l S t a t i o n f o r G R A N D CENTRAL:

the angle f r o m w h i c h you

D r . F o r d t r i u m p h e d by p r o v i d -

g r a n d m o t h e r illegally c r o s s e d

T O W E R S , ARCHES, PYRAMIDS. Set i n t o

v i e w it, p r o v o k e p e o p l e t o

ing a home-delivery practice to

t h e M e x i c a n b o r d e r i n t o El

t h e walls at f i v e l o c a t i o n s are

consider the subtle relationships

her patients, and d u r i n g h e r

Paso in 1 9 2 4 . J e n e H i g h s t e i n ' s

b a n d s o f m o s a i c tiles. S i n c e t h e

a n d d i f f e r e n c e s in m e a n i n g

l o n g career she delivered m o r e

OLD T E M P L E , a large c y l i n d r i c a l l y

accelerated pace and m i x of

between them.

t h a n 7 , 0 0 0 b a b i e s o f all e t h n i c

shaped sculpture made of west-

backgrounds.

e r n c e d a r , has a t o t e m i c c h a r a c -

p e o p l e m o v i n g in d i f f e r e n t d i r e c t i o n s in G r a n d C e n t r a l is like a m i c r o c o s m o f t h e c i t y w i t h o u t t h e skyline, images o f towers, arches, pylons, pyramids,

ter. SKYWAY a n d SKY RIDER by J o e l P e r l m a n are a b s t r a c t s c u l p t u r e s formed

from rectangular and

RECENT

PROJECTS

angular c o m p o n e n t s of C o r - T e n

included image- and text-based

j u r y a n d its i m p o r t a n c e t o t h e

C o m p l e t e d in S e p t e m b e r ,

steel w e l d e d t o g e t h e r . B r o w e r

e x p r e s s i o n s c r e a t e d by a d i v e r s e

judicial system. At the room's

J a c k i e F e r r a r a ' s DOROTHY COLLINS

H a t c h e r ' s STARMAN consists o f a

c o m m u n i t y of participants f r o m

entrance, a light-projected

B R O W N A M P H I T H E A T E R is s i t e d o n t h e

f a c e r e s t i n g o n a p o i n t e d base

all o v e r t h e w o r l d â&#x20AC;&#x201D; v i s u a l

i m a g e o f t h e State o f California

g r o u n d s of the Los Angeles

w i t h a d r a m a t i c c o m e t tail

artists, p o e t s , p e r f o r m e r s , a n d

seal spans t h e c o r r i d o r

s t r e a m i n g b e h i n d it. M a d e o f

t h e p u b l i c at large, i n c l u d i n g

I n s i d e , d e S o t o installed l a r g e

H a n c o c k P a r k , also t h e l o c a t i o n

l i m e s t o n e , b r o n z e , stainless steel,

refugees from the

w o o d - f r a m e d wall p a n e l s o f il-

of the Page M u s e u m and the

a l u m i n u m , a n d i r o n , this p i e c e

Yugoslavia, h i g h s c h o o l y o u t h s ,

l u m i n a t e d s a n d b l a s t e d glass t h a t

w a s o n e in a series H a t c h e r c r e -

i n d i v i d u a l s i n v o l v e d in v a r i o u s

depict the signing of the

a h a l f - e l l i p s e at t h e e d g e o f t h e

ated b e t w e e n 1985 and 1988 to

social s e r v i c e p r o g r a m s , m e m -

Constitution and fragments of

park's m a i n path enclosed by a

c o m m e m o r a t e Haley's C o m e t .

bers of the elderly c o m m u n i t y ,

the Declaration of

s l o p i n g grass b e r m . A t t h e f o o t

T o n y R o s e n t h a l ' s HOUSE OF THE

a n d psychiatric hospital resi-

I n d e p e n d e n c e a n d t h e Bill o f

of the b e r m a c o n t i n u o u s red

MINOTAUR is a series o f m u l t i c o l -

dents. By depositing a gesture,

Rights. For the f o u r t h

granite b e n c h articulates t h e

o r e d steel p a n e l s a r r a n g e d t o

v i e w e r s w i t h d r e w an o r i g i n a l

Family C o u r t Lobby, A n n

c u r v e . I n a n o t h e r area o f t h e

form

g e s t u r e in r e t u r n . Gesture as

P r e s t o n c r e a t e d s o o t h i n g , tactile

p a r k , w h i c h is u n d e r g o i n g r e n o -

i t o r s can w a l k . T h e title r e f e r s t o

Value, has also b e e n sited in

surroundings for the children

v a t i o n , F e r r a r a is c o l l a b o r a t i n g

the ancient Greek myth of King

Bern, Switzerland, and

a n d parents there to resolve

with landscape architect Laurie

M i n o s of Crete and the intricate

Toronto, Canada.

family matters. A terrazzo

a m a z e t h r o u g h w h i c h vis-

former

l a b y r i n t h o u t s i d e his p a l a c e w h e r e t h e M i n o t a u r resided, [ b e l o w Brower Hatchen Starman. Photo by Ray Marklin]

T h e f r o n t d o o r s t o San F r a n cisco's n e w CIVIC CENTER COURTHOUSE f e a t u r e f u l l - l e n g t h s c u l p t e d h a n d l e s o f stainless steel

floor.

floor

C o u n t y M u s e u m o f A r t at

La B r e a T a r Pits. T h e t h e a t e r is

O l i n o n a 5 1 5 - f o o t - l o n g seat

medallion surrounds a fountain-

wall a n d h a l f - m o o n t e r r a c e o f

like s c u l p t u r e t h a t is t o p p e d

the same red granite.

w i t h solid glass tiles a n d b r o n z e elements that children can t o u c h a n d investigate. Just o u t -

O n M e m o r i a l Day, 1998.1HE FIN PROJECT: FROM SWORDS INTO P L O W SHARES b y s c u l p t o r J o h n T . Y o u n g

From May 5-29, 1998,Jerelyn

a n d p a t t e r n e d s a n d b l a s t e d glass

H a n r a h a n ' s GESTURE AS VALUE was

p a n e l s b y artist A l b e r t P a l e y . T h e

o p e n t o t h e p u b l i c in t h e l o b b y

d o o r s are t h e first o f several

of T h e N e w York Information

p u b l i c a r t p i e c e s t h a t visitors see

Technology Center. For the

w h e n entering the six-story

project, w h i c h was presented by

b u i l d i n g at P o l k a n d M c A l l i s t e r

C r e a t i v e T i m e in c o o p e r a t i o n

Streets. Paley also d e s i g n e d t h e

with Lower Manhattan Cultural

f i v e pairs o f l o b b y s e c u r i t y

Council/Thundergulch and

gates, w h i c h display t h e p a t t e r n

T h e N e w York Information

and long leaf-shaped handles of

fins o f a l a r g e o r c a w h a l e p o d o r

Technology Center, Hanrahan

the front doors, and i n c o r p o -

a school of salmon. Built of

r e c o n s t r u c t e d a NCR A u t o m a t i c

r a t e d this d e s i g n i n t o stainless

h i g h - t e n s i l e steel, t h e y a r e

Teller M a c h i n e (ATM) t o dis-

steel s u p p o r t s f o r t h e e l e v a t o r

m a i n t e n a n c e free and virtually

pense original "gestures" instead

h a n d railings. San F r a n c i s c o

i n d e s t r u c t i b l e . T h e artist h o p e s

o f cash in a n a t t e m p t t o r e d e f i n e

artist L e w i s d e S o t o d e s i g n e d t h e

that similar sculptures will b e

t h e social v a l u e o f e x c h a n g e .

lower-level Jury Assembly

created around the c o u n t r y and

T h e g e s t u r e s , c r e a t e d o n slips o f

R o o m and furnishings to ac-

t h e w o r l d as s y m b o l s f o r p e a c e

p a p e r in d o l l a r - b i l l d i m e n s i o n s ,

k n o w l e d g e the dignity of the

o n a g l o b a l scale,

side t h e l o b b y , f o u r l u s t r o u s z i n c panels portray simple garden i m a g e r y in a r c h - s h a p e d b a s - r e l i e f . T h e t h r e e artists w e r e c o m missioned by t h e San Francisco A r t C o m m i s s i o n in a c c o r d w i t h t h e city's p u b l i c a r t o r d i n a n c e , [ b e l o w m i d d l e Lewis deSoto, Jury Assembly Room. Photo by artist]

w a s d e d i c a t e d at M a g n u s o n P a r k , site o f a f o r m e r U . S . N a v y base, S a n d P o i n t , Seattle. T h i s w o r k uses t h e a c t u a l d i v i n g p l a n e fins f r o m d e c o m m i s s i o n e d U.S. N a v y attack s u b m a r i n e s b u i l t in t h e 1 9 6 0 s . T h e fins a r e arranged to simulate t h e dorsal

[ b e l o w Photo courtesy t h e artist]

RECENT

PROJECTS

T h i s s u m m e r a r t w o r k was in-

Residents in Frederick, M d . ,

f a r m wall. T h e p i e c e w i n d s its

T h e n e w FOURTH AVENUE BRIDGE in

stalled at f i v e state b u i l d i n g sites

a n d v i s i t o r s f r o m across t h e e a s t -

w a y t h r o u g h t h e site's d i r t r o a d s ,

M i n n e a p o l i s w a s d e d i c a t e d in

a r o u n d M i n n e s o t a , m a d e possi-

e r n U.S. g a t h e r e d o n S e p t e m b e r

in a n d o u t o f a n u m b e r o f large

August. Part of a c o m m u n i t y

ble by t h e M i n n e s o t a Percent

12 t o c e l e b r a t e t h e c o m p l e t i o n

m a p l e a n d oak trees and into a

e f f o r t t o physically i m p r o v e t h e

f o r A r t in P u b l i c P l a c e s p r o -

o f FREDERICK'S C O M M U N I T Y BRIDGE

p o n d . The Wall That Went for a

area, t h e b r i d g e is a d o r n e d w i t h

g r a m . Glass artist N a r c i s s u s

M U R A L . T h e celebration was t h e

Walk is o n e o f o n l y a f e w s i t e -

thirty-eight inspirational q u o t a -

Quagliata of O a k l a n d , Calif.,

climax of a five-year participa-

s p e c i f i c w o r k s in t h e A r t

t i o n s i n s c r i b e d in t h e c o n c r e t e

c r e a t e d W I N D : N I G H T A N D DAY, a

t o r y public art p r o j e c t that

Center's collection, j o i n i n g

railings t h a t m a y b e v i e w e d by

t h r e e - d i m e n s i o n a l skylight for

t r a n s f o r m e d a c o n c r e t e traffic

pieces by R i c h a r d Serra, Isamu

p e o p l e crossing over the b r i d g e

the lobby of F o u n d e r s Hall o n

b r i d g e into t h e illusion of an

Noguchi, R o b e r t Grosvenor,

and fifty sculpted faces o f

t h e St. P a u l c a m p u s o f

old stone bridge. Painted "stone

and D a v i d von Schlegell.

c o m m u n i t y leaders o n the

M e t r o p o l i t a n State U n i v e r s i t y .

c a r v i n g s " are s c a t t e r e d t h r o u g h -

Ed C a r p e n t e r of Portland,

out the stones of the mural

O r e g . , m o u n t e d an a l u m i n u m

s h o w i n g "objects that represent

a n d l a m i n a t e d glass s c u l p t u r a l

t h e spirit of the c o m m u n i t y "

w o r k to the facade of a n e w

s u b m i t t e d by thousands of p e o -

b u i l d i n g at N o r m a n d a l e

p l e across F r e d e r i c k C o u n t y a n d

C o m m u n i t y C o l l e g e in

around the globe. T h e mural's

Bloomington. Minneapolis na-

artist, W i l l i a m M . C o c h r a n , has

tive A l d o M o r o n i installed a c e -

b e e n busy a d d i n g these objects

ramic mural interpreting a map

to the painting. T h e celebration

of Southeastern Minnesota's

featured a multimedia presenta-

t r a n s p o r t a t i o n d i s t r i c t at t h e

tion telling the story of the

Department of Transportation H e a d q u a r t e r s in R o c h e s t e r . Sculptor Zoran Mojsilov of

bridge. C h e c k out Frederick's C o m m u n i t y Bridge on the pro-

and Environment. T h e w o r k consists o f t w o large

floor

rosettes m a d e of granite, marble,

S c u l p t o r F o s t e r W i l l e y Jr. w a s contracted by the City of M i n n e a p o l i s t o m o l d t h e faces in clay, c r e a t e m o l d s , a n d finally cast t h e faces in c o n c r e t e .

s a n d s t o n e , a n d stainless steel. T h e artist states t h a t " t h e t w o

In late s p r i n g , t h e m o n u m e n t a l

designs pair symbols o f b i o t e c h -

d r a w i n g DREAM CATCHER LOVE SONG

nology with Arapaho iconogra-

b y F r a n k B i g B e a r w a s installed

p h y at t h e m a j o r p e d e s t r i a n i n -

in t h e l i b r a r y o f t h e M a y d a

tersections within the building,

C o r d e l i a S c h o o l in B r o o k l y n , N . Y . T h e project, commissioned

facility will flow." T h e w o r k w a s

School Construction Authority,

commissioned through

and D e p a r t m e n t of Cultural

C o l o r a d o ' s A r t in P u b l i c Places

Affairs f o r t h e C i t y o f N e w Y o r k

P r o g r a m , administered by the

through the Percent for Art

S t o r m K i n g A r t C e n t e r ' s latest

C o l o r a d o C o u n c i l o n t h e Arts,

P r o g r a m , r e p r e s e n t s t h r e e years

a c q u i s i t i o n is a 1997â&#x20AC;&#x201D;1998

[ b e l o w Photo courtesy Colorado

o f i n t e n s e w o r k b y t h e artist.

c o m m i s s i o n by British sculptor

Council on t h e Arts]

T h e three-by-thirty-foot draw-

[ b e l o w Video image of South African artist Collen Kapa. Photo courtesy t h e artist]

trees o p p o s i t e t h e n e w east e n -

in R o c h e s t e r .

D e p a r t m e n t of Public Health

passing u n d e r the bridge.

by t h e B o a r d o f E d u c a t i o n ,

line.net.

trance to the University C e n t e r

the L o w r y Lab of Denver's

may b e viewed by p eople

w h i c h all activities o f t h e n e w

j e c t ' s W e b site: w w w . b r i d g e . s k y -

m o n u m e n t a l carved kasota

steel w o r k l o c a t e d in a g r o v e o f

c e n t l y c o m p l e t e d BIOMATRICES f o r

f o r m i n g a visual m a t r i x u p o n

M i n n e a p o l i s created METEOR, a

l i m e s t o n e , g r a n i t e , a n d stainless

n o r t h bridge a b u t m e n t that D e n v e r artist S c o t t P a r s o n s r e -

A n d y G o l d s w o r t h y , THE W A L L THAT

i n g reads like a visual N a t i v e

W E N T FOR A W A L K . B u i l t o n a r e -

A m e r i c a n epic.

c e n t l y a c q u i r e d 1 0 0 acres, t h e p i e c e is a s e r p e n t i n e d r y wall m a d e of field stones f o u n d o n the Art C e n t e r property and incorporating dilapidated stone

RECENT

PROJECTS

San F r a n c i s c o artist A n n a

N e w York City's M e t r o p o l i t a n

road tubes c o m m o n l y used to

Rachel Whiteread's most

Valentina M u r c h recently c o m -

T r a n s p o r t a t i o n A u t h o r i t y (MTA)

c o u n t t r a f f i c a n d is installed

r e c e n t p u b l i c a r t i n s t a l l a t i o n is

p l e t e d CYCLES, a c o u r t y a r d i n s t a l -

installed t h e w o r k o f t h r e e local

a l o n g a o n e - m i l e s t r e t c h in t h e

WATER TOWER, a project o f the

l a t i o n for t h e Q u e e n s C i v i l

p h o t o g r a p h e r s in J u n e as p a r t o f

e a s t b o u n d lanes o f t h e residen-

P u b l i c A r t F u n d . H e r c l e a r resin

C o u r t c o m m i s s i o n e d by t h e

t h e MTA A r t s i n T r a n s i t L i g h t b o x

tial street. T h e r o a d t u b e s p r o -

cast o f a n a c t u a l N e w Y o r k c i t y

P e r c e n t for A r t P r o g r a m o f t h e

Project, w h i c h features c h a n g i n g

vide a u t o m o b i l e passengers w i t h

water tank draws attention to

N e w York City D e p a r t m e n t of

p h o t o g r a p h y e x h i b i t s in b a c k l i t

a subtle r h y t h m e x p e r i e n c e that

t h e u b i q u i t y o f this v e r n a c u l a r

C u l t u r a l Affairs a n d t h e N e w

display p a n e l s in h e a v i l y t r a f -

t h e artist h o p e s will h e l p daily

architectural f o r m while re-

York City D e p a r t m e n t of

f i c k e d , h i g h l y visible l o c a t i o n s

c o m m u t e r s take m o r e notice of

m a i n i n g e p h e m e r a l as it a p p e a r s

Design and Construction.

t h r o u g h o u t t h e MTA s y s t e m . A t

their surroundings. Any driver

and disappears d e p e n d i n g o n

M u r c h sought to create a w o r k

t h e B o w l i n g G r e e n subway sta-

may experience the work

the light a n d weather. T h e

t h a t catalyzes a s e n s e o f i n t r o -

t i o n is N.Y. MASJID: THE MOSQUES OF

September 27 through O c t o b e r

sculpture was installed o n a

spection and minimizes the

N E W YORK CITY, s e v e n i m a g e s b y E d

31, 1998.

S o h o r o o f t o p a n d will b e o n

a n x i e t y felt b y c i t i z e n s called

Grazda that focus o n the ethnic,

u p o n t o sit as j u r o r s in t h e

social, a n d e c o n o m i c d i v e r s i t y

building. W o r k i n g within the

a m o n g N e w York's M u s l i m

building's interior o p e n c o u r t -

c o m m u n i t i e s . THEATER BOXES by

yard that can b e v i e w e d b u t n o t

A n d r e w M o o r e offers a h a u n t -

e n t e r e d , s h e c r e a t e d several d i f -

i n g c o n t r a s t t o all t h a t is n e w in

ferent elements: a toplike f o r m

t h e T i m e s Square district. Seven

o f m i r r o r - p o l i s h e d stainless

shots of the interiors o f t h e his-

steel, a f a n - b l a d e d w h e e l o f p o l -

toric Selwin, Empire, and T i m e s

ished a l u m i n u m and light b l u e g r e e n lacquer, a pair of b r o n z e patinaed emergency doors on w h i c h a series o f c o n c e n t r i c c i r cular grooves suggest rotary e r o s i o n , a series o f f o u r large, b l a c k

S q u a r e t h e a t e r s are o n v i e w at the 42nd Street/6th Avenue subway station. Neil W i n o k u r ' s N E W YORK F O O D , o n v i e w at L o n g Island R a i l R o a d ' s P e n n S t a t i o n , f e a t u r e s six h u m o r o u s p h o t o -

g r a n i t e vessels b r i m m i n g w i t h

graphs of the types of ethnic

water and rising out of the

cuisine associated w i t h N e w

pavement, and circular maze

Y o r k b y locals a n d visitors. T h e

f o r m s c a r v e d in t h e l i m e s t o n e

three exhibits will be o n v i e w

wall p a r a l l e l i n g t h e w a t e r v e s -

through November.

sels. T h e c o u r t y a r d serves as a solitary l a n d s c a p e t h a t h e l p s c e n t e r o n e ' s state o f m i n d , [ b e l o w Photo courtesy t h e artist]

v i e w f o r at least o n e year. N o r t h Carolina sculptor Patrick D o u g h e r t y created a n e w w o r k

T h e CEPA Gallery, B u f f a l o , N . Y . ,

o n the facade of H a b e r s h a m

has j u s t c o m p l e t e d a s e a s o n -

H a l l at t h e S a v a n n a h C o l l e g e o f

l o n g series o f e x h i b i t i o n s a n d

A r t a n d D e s i g n d u r i n g a s t i n t as

public art projects called UNCOM-

v i s i t i n g artist in M a r c h . S t u d e n t s

MON TRAITS R E / L O C A T I N G ASIA, w h i c h

and faculty helped gather maple

b r o u g h t t o g e t h e r artists o f A s i a n

saplings t h a t D o u g h e r t y a f f i x e d

h e r i t a g e l i v i n g in C a n a d a a n d i n

to the metal grid c o v e r i n g the

the U.S. w h o s e w o r k in p h o t o -

w i n d o w s o f t h e hall t h a t h o u s e s

related m e d i a convey different

s t u d e n t services a n d athletics.

aspects of their Asian c u l t u r e

T h e 1887 building served for

a n d artistic sensibilities. P u b l i c

m a n y y e a r s as t h e C h a t h a m

projects included a b a n n e r proj-

C o u n t y jail, a f a c t t h a t i n t r i g u e d

e c t b y B r e n d a J o y Le,

D o u g h e r t y and inspired h i m to

Family House

Ngukkei:

Home, w h i c h e x -

reflect o n b o t h c o n f i n e m e n t and

amines oral histories told t o h e r

f r e e d o m in t e r m s o f his o w n

by various m e m b e r s of her f a m -

w o r k . I n a d d i t i o n t o this o n - s i t e

ily; a m e t r o b u s display b y Sasha

i n s t a l l a t i o n , Primitive

Y u n g j u L e e called Eye-Con,

Ways, a n

exhibition of d o c u m e n t a r y

w h i c h t h e artist p e r f o r m e d d i g i tal eye s u r g e r y o n i c o n s o f w e s t -

S o u n d artist A l b e r t o G a i t a n , in

C i b a c h r o m e p h o t o g r a p h s at t h e

partnership with the Arlington,

college's B e r g e n Hall M.F.A.

ern beauty, s u p e r i m p o s i n g h e r

Va., C u l t u r a l A f f a i r s D i v i s i o n has

Gallery highlighted s o m e of

o w n eyes o n t h e i r f a c e s .

created a public roadway "sound

Dougherty's previous work,

installation" along Arlington's

[ b e l o w Photo courtesy Savannah

L o r c o m L a n e . LOCI is c o n s t r u c t e d

College of A r t and Design]

of carefully designed patterns of

RECENT

PROJECTS

Last s p r i n g t h e S o u t h e r n

Doorways and window-like

T w o v i d e o p r o d u c e r s f o r t h e St.

C r e a t e d b y S h a n n o n Flattery,

E x p o s u r e G a l l e r y in San

o p e n i n g s allow viewers to

L o u i s C o n v e n t i o n & Visitor's

Touchable Stories focuses each

F r a n c i s c o s p o n s o r e d URBAN RE-

e n t e r the sculpture, walk inside

C e n t e r have b e e n t h i n k i n g o f a

y e a r o n a d i f f e r e n t w o r k i n g class

N E W A L LABORATORY ( U R L ) , w h i c h e x -

e a c h p i e c e , p e e r u p at t h e sky

w a y t o establish m o r e civic

neighborhood of Greater

plored urbanization and rede-

through the cupola openings,

p r i d e i n t h e i r f e l l o w St.

B o s t o n . Artists w o r k w i t h local

v e l o p m e n t o f San F r a n c i s c o

and walk in-between them.

L o u i s a n s â&#x20AC;&#x201D; i n t h e guise o f public

residents over the course of a

t h r o u g h the w o r k of sixteen

E x p e r i e n c i n g In Nature's

a r t . F o r t h r e e years F r a n k

y e a r r e c o r d i n g oral h i s t o r i e s t h a t

Sway

artists. URL p r o j e c t s i n c l u d e d

conjures up memories of

P o p p e r and D o u g J o n e s have

are t h e n t r a n s f o r m e d i n t o i n s t a l -

Hidden

children's secret hideaways.

m a d e v i d e o s s h o w n in o t h e r

lations and p e r f o r m a n c e s . T h e

artists Z a n e V e l l a , J u l i o M o r a l e s ,

T h e w o r k also s p e a k s t o t h e

cities t o a t t r a c t v i s i t o r s t o St.

C e n t r a l S q u a r e i n s t a l l a t i o n is

and Natasha Ogunji, w h o

romantic n o t i o n of the wildness

Louis. T h e y were dismayed,

a r r a n g e d like a m a z e , w h e r e

teamed with teens f r o m Youth

of nature.

Noise, d e v e l o p e d b y

in A c t i o n . T h e p r o j e c t f e a t u r e d buildings a r o u n d the city i n stalled w i t h m o t i o n - a c t i v a t e d a u d i o b o x e s t h a t i n c l u d e d oral histories and m e m o r i e s told by residents of the n e i g h b o r h o o d s . M u l t i f r i s c o , a W e b site, a l l o w e d v i s i t o r s t o t h e site t o s u p e r i m pose different visions or " v e r sions" of San Francisco o n a digital map. [ b e l o w left Hidden Noise. Photo courtesy Southern Exposure]

D e d i c a t e d last A p r i l , HEALER'S SPRING b y artist A l i c e A d a m s is a c o n e - s h a p e d water sculpture in t h e c e n t e r o f t h e r o t u n d a in t h e B i o s c i e n c e s B u i l d i n g at t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f T e x a s at S a n A n t o n i o . T h e precast c o n c r e t e w a t e r c o n e , e l e v e n f e e t in d i a m eter w i t h stone cladding, p r o vides the presence and sound of water with m i n i m u m consumpt i o n . L i k e a s p r i n g in a n oasis, it swells i n t h e c e n t e r , o v e r f l o w s t o

Patrick D o u g h e r t y created

r u n d o w n t h e s l o p i n g sides, a n d

IN NATURE'S S W A Y , a u n i q u e , g i g a n -

t h e n recycles.

tic, s i t e - s p e c i f i c s c u l p t u r e , o v e r a

[ b e l o w m i d d l e Photo courtesy t h e

t h r e e - w e e k p e r i o d as a n artist in

artist]

r e s i d e n c e at t h e E v a n s t o n A r t Center from May 1-20. Made of willow and gray d o g w o o d

h o w e v e r , t o l e a r n h o w little resi-

e c h o e s o f t h e c o m m u n i t y res-

dents actually k n o w a b o u t their

onate d o w n every corridor, ad-

o w n heritage and wanted to

d r e s s i n g issues o f h o u s i n g a n d

find a way to s h o w their

films

locally. T h i s s p r i n g t h e y f o r m e d a n o n p r o f i t o r g a n i z a t i o n called C i t y I m a g e a n d p l a n s are u n d e r way to put u p a p e r m a n e n t , seventy-five-by-sixty-foot screen o n a d o w n t o w n b r i c k wall that would be a showcase not only for their o w n work but for v i d e o s , slide p r e s e n t a t i o n s , f i l m , a n d e v e n I n t e r n e t sites. P o p p e r a n d J o n e s also h o p e t o t u r n t h e w h o l e area a r o u n d t h e s c r e e n , d u b b e d t h e LIVING W A L L , i n t o a g i a n t p u b l i c s q u a r e as a w a y o f h e l p i n g t o revitalize t h e d o w n t o w n . T h e i r c h o s e n site has a l ready b e e n approved by the building's o w n e r .

saplings, t h e w o r k is c o m p r i s e d of an architectonic arrangement

urban renewal, language and i m m i g r a t i o n , s p i r i t u a l i t y a n d art. P o r t l a n d ' s first p e r c e n t - f o r - a r t p r o j e c t , TOUCH STONE: HISTORY TABLE by Bradley M c C a l l u m , was d e d i c a t e d in M a y in h o n o r o f t h e p e o p l e w h o lived, w o r k e d , a n d d i e d at G o r h a m ' s C o r n e r . A t t h e turn of the century, the corner was p r e d o m i n a n t l y a residential c o m m u n i t y f o r Irish i m m i g r a n t s w h o l a b o r e d as rail w o r k e r s , shopkeepers, maids, and longs h o r e m e n . T h e p i e c e itself is a large c i r c u l a r g r a n i t e table w i t h a fixed c e n t e r a n d t w o a d j o i n i n g r i n g s t h a t s p i n f r e e l y like a n i n t e r w o v e n lazy S u s a n , [ b e l o w right Photo courtesy t h e

CENTRAL SQUARE, a m u l t i m e d i a oral

o f f o u r large-scale c o n t a i n e r -

h i s t o r y p r o j e c t by t h e T o u c h a b l e

o r b o t t l e - s h a p e d f o r m s t h a t rest

S t o r i e s G r o u p , is o n v i e w at t h e

a n d tilt a g a i n s t e a c h o t h e r .

First B a p t i s t C h u r c h o f

T h e entire work extends

C a m b r i d g e in C a m b r i d g e ,

t w e n t y - f i v e f e e t in l e n g t h a n d is

Mass., w i t h a c c o m p a n y i n g p e r -

over eighteen feet high.

f o r m a n c e s in t h e e v e n i n g .

artist]

RECENT

PROJECTS

T w o years a g o , C h i c a g o a r t i s t

C o m m i s s i o n e d by the B o r o u g h

In A u g u s t , a n o t h e r m a j o r n e w

s e v e n t y - f o o t wall o f 4 0 0 c e -

C o u n c i l of King's Lynn and

w o r k , S H A D O W IN A N O T H E R L I G H T ,

ramic tablets each c o n t a i n i n g

Brett B l o o m initiated DISPENSING

W e s t N o r f o l k , U . K . , LE STRANGE'S

was d e d i c a t e d at t h e a w a r d - w i n -

the impression of a plant and

W I T H FORMALITIES ( D W F ) , a p r o j e c t

DREAM by artist K a r e n R a n n is

n i n g St. Peter's R i v e r s i d e

the story of a patient, friend, or

i n t e r e s t e d in d i s t r i b u t i n g s t r o n g

Sculpture Project, Sunderland,

f a m i l y m e m b e r w h o has d e a l t

ideas a n d i n f o r m a t i o n u n d e r t h e

stallations c e l e b r a t i n g t h e

U.K. Containing remnants from

w i t h illness. T h e tiles will b e -

auspices of a r t - m a k i n g . B l o o m

u n i q u e nature of a traditional

t h e f o r m e r s h i p y a r d , a steel t r e e

c o m e a p e r m a n e n t part of the

had noticed that free dispensers

tower reminiscent of the h u g e

building's architecture and speak

placed a r o u n d C h i c a g o for dis-

t e m p o r a r y installation of thirty

c r a n e s t h a t o n c e s t o o d in t h e

of the personal experience of

b u r s i n g a n y t h i n g f r o m real e s -

s c u l p t u r a l " s u n u m b r e l l a s " are

p l a c e , a n d a series o f p i c t u r e s set

t h o s e w h o are g o i n g t h r o u g h

t a t e flyers t o f i l m s c h e d u l e s

in c o n c r e t e m a d e b y b l i n d a n d

c a n c e r , AIDS, o r o t h e r l i f e -

m i g h t w e l l s e r v e as m i n i a t u r e

Strange, the sheep f a r m e r w h o

partially s i g h t e d p e o p l e , t h e

t h r e a t e n i n g illnesses.

a r t galleries. H e o r d e r e d several

b u i l t t h e r e s o r t o n p a r t o f his

piece was created by lead sculp-

s h e e p f a r m in 1 8 4 6 a n d w h o v i -

tor Colin W i l b o u r n , sculptor

sualized a "line of sun umbrellas

Karl Fisher, a r t i s t - b l a c k s m i t h

g r o w i n g o u t o f t h e sea in l o u d

Craig Knowles, and writer Chaz

t h e first o f t h r e e p u b l i c a r t i n -

B r i t i s h seaside t o w n . R a n n ' s

n a m e d f o r H e n r y S t y l e m a n le

lollipop colours."

Brenchley, along with planners, developers, a n d t h e local c o m -

U n v e i l e d in S e p t e m b e r , LIGHT RAIN, an a r t w o r k by T i m H e a d created f r o m 6000 colored road reflectors, was created to w o r k w i t h the industrially t h e m e d refurbishment of a f o r m e r hat fact o r y i n t o a n e w a r t e z i u m arts a n d m e d i a c e n t e r in L u t o n ,

munity, w h o have n o w f o r m e d St. Peter's S c u l p t u r e S u p p o r t G r o u p . T h e entire project, w h i c h w a s i n i t i a t e d in 1 9 9 1 b y Artists' Agency, was a key feature of Tyne and Wear D e v e l o p m e n t Corporation's regeneration s t r a t e g y f o r t h e area.

U . K . T h e cascade of acrylic

a n d has b e e n c u r a t i n g s h o w s D u r i n g t h e m o n t h o f M a r c h . IN W I S C O N S I N , a series o f b i l l b o a r d s b y L e w i s K o c h , w a s e r e c t e d at eight locations in Madison, W i s . , a n d t h e s u r r o u n d i n g area. S e e n o n each billboard was a single p h o t o g r a p h o f a tranquil Wisconsin landscape; o n the h o r i z o n line o f each image, p a i n t e d in l a r g e r e d l e t t e r s , w a s t h e n a m e o f a p l a c e in t u r m o i l f r o m e i g h t g e o g r a p h i c a l areas o f the world. By providing a contrast t o t h e relative p e a c e f u l n e s s

a n d d i s t r i b u t i n g a r t in t h e m e v e r since. A r t i s t P i p e r R o t h a n c o n tributed 700 heavy-duty cardb o a r d license plates die c u t and printed with the message " I M 4 A R T . " Artist M a r c Fischer d i s t r i b u t e d t h r e e b o o k l e t s full o f images culled f r o m such places as b i l l b o a r d s a n d s t o r e signs a r o u n d t h e city. I n t h e c e n t e r o f each b o o k l e t , questions in Spanish and English were i n tended to help focus recipients' attention o n h o w these images

prisms twenty meters high and

San F r a n c i s c o artist A n n

and calm of the immediate mid-

five m e t e r s w i d e is sited o n t h e

C h a m b e r l a i n is in t h e p r o c e s s o f

w e s t e r n e n v i r o n m e n t , t h e series

wall o f t h e i n t e r n a l c o u r t y a r d

c o m p l e t i n g a HEALING GARDEN for

e n c o u r a g e d v i e w e r s t o ask,

a n d will b e p r o j e c t e d w i t h p r e -

the University of California, San

W h a t is o u r r o l e as i n d i v i d u a l s

p r o g r a m m e d lighting effects o n

Francisco, M t . Z i o n C a n c e r

in t h e g l o b a l p i c t u r e ?

its s u r f a c e .

Center. A n o n g o i n g process of

[ b e l o w Photo by artist]

[ b e l o w Photo by Richard Davies]

collaboration with the c o m m u -

stated " A t t e n t i o n ! A t t e n t i o n !

n i t y o f p a t i e n t s a n d c a r e g i v e r s at

Law's c o m i n ' f o r y'all. T i m e

t h e h o s p i t a l , t h e g a r d e n is i n -

after time." Placed in close p r o x -

tended to provide a p e r m a n e n t

imity to t h e m e n ' s jail in t h e

shape o u r perceptions of o u r selves a n d o t h e r s . T h e artist g r o u p D . O . C . m a d e bars o f green musk-scented soap with keys e m b e d d e d in t h e m . A paper band around each bar

place for t h e stories of t h o s e

S o u t h L o o p area, t h e d i s p e n s e r

w h o c o m e to the building re-

w a s r e g u l a r l y d e p l e t e d o f its

peatedly for treatment. T h e can-

s o a p supply. J a c k i e Terrassa

c e r g a r d e n will b e flanked b y a

sewed together over 300

P u b l i c A r t R e v i e w . FALl.WINTtR.98

RECENT

PROJECTS/ARTIST

OPPORTUNITIES

K l e e n e x h o l d e r s t o suit a w i d e

laborated on the newest addi-

m e n d treatments and mainte-

T h e annual R o m e Prize

v a r i e t y o f tastes, w h i c h s h e d i s -

tion to the WORLD WALL "partici-

n a n c e a n d / o r an art h i s t o r i a n t o

C o m p e t i t i o n seeks a p p l i c a n t s in

tributed o n c e the w e a t h e r was

patory process" mural conceived

p r o v i d e s c h o l a r l y research t o aid

e i g h t e e n d i f f e r e n t disciplines, i n -

sufficiently miserable e n o u g h to

b y artist J u d i t h B a c a a n d t h e

in p u b l i c e d u c a t i o n . N o n p r o f i t

c l u d i n g a r c h i t e c t u r e , visual arts,

i n d u c e r u n n y noses. M o s t re-

Social a n d Public A r t R e s o u r c e

organizations or nonfederal gov-

urban design, urban planning,

c e n t l y DWF is w o r k i n g w i t h

C e n t e r (SPARC). B e g u n in 1 9 8 7 ,

e r n m e n t agencies m a y apply

and landscape architecture.

Stateway Gardens public hous-

t h e m u r a l o f p o r t a b l e p a n e l s is

(applicants m u s t o w n t h e s c u l p -

S p o n s o r e d by t h e A m e r i c a n

ing to distribute a newsletter

d e s i g n e d t o travel a r o u n d t h e

t u r e ) . Five $ 5 , 0 0 0 a w a r d s will b e

A c a d e m y in R o m e , t h e f e l l o w -

w r i t t e n by residents. A n d the

w o r l d s e r v i n g as i n s p i r a t i o n f o r

m a d e available in 1 9 9 8 f o r

ships i n c l u d e r e s i d e n c i e s r a n g i n g

artist c o l l e c t i v e V i d e o M a c h e t e ,

activist artists t o e n v i s i o n a b e t -

m a i n t e n a n c e training. Applica-

f r o m six m o n t h s t o t w o years

w h i c h w o r k s to e m p o w e r

t e r f u t u r e . A n e w m u r a l is c r e -

t i o n s are available f r o m s o s ! ,

and stipends f r o m $ 9 , 0 0 0 -

i n n e r city kids t o present their

a t e d b y r e p r e s e n t i n g artists in

3 2 9 9 K S t r e e t NW, S u i t e 6 0 2 ,

$17,800. For application guide-

o w n ideas o n their o w n

e a c h n e w c o u n t r y t o w h i c h it

Washington, D.C. 20007-4415;

lines a n d f u r t h e r i n f o r m a t i o n ,

t e r m s t h r o u g h art, video,

travels. N e x t p l a n n e d v e n u e is

phone: 800-422-4612 or 202-

please c o n t a c t t h e P r o g r a m s

a n d m e d i a a w a r e n e s s , has r e -

M e x i c o City.

6 2 5 - 1 4 9 5 . A p p l i c a t i o n s will b e

Department, American Academy

cently distributed a n e w magaz i n e , Mucho

Coco.The

project

h o p e s t o m a k e its d e b u t i n several o t h e r cities s o o n . A r t i s t J a y C r i t c h l e y ' s BIG T W I G

• • • ARTIST O P P O R T U N T I E S October/November

a c c e p t e d t h r o u g h N o v e m b e r 1,

in R o m e , 7 East 6 0 t h St., N e w

1998.

Y o r k , NY 1 0 0 2 2 - 1 0 0 1 ; p h o n e :

T h e B r o w a r d C u l t u r a l Affairs Public Art and Design Program seeks artists s p e c i a l i z i n g in i n t e -

w a s s h o w c a s e d at B o s t o n ' s

T h e San F r a n c i s c o A r t

grated infrastructure/streetscape

Revolving M u s e u m s inaugural

C o m m i s s i o n is s e e k i n g p r o p o s a l s

projects w i t h design t e a m / c o m -

e x h i b i t i o n , Comets

f o r Exploration:

m u n i t y process e x p e r i e n c e for

Clothing,

City Site e x h i b i -

212-751-7200; e-mail: w w w . aarome.org. Deadline for subm i s s i o n is N o v e m b e r 15, 1 9 9 8 .

December F O R J E C A S T Public Artworks'

in M a y . F o c u s i n g o n B o s t o n ' s

tions, t e m p o r a r y site-specific

its S u n r i s e B o u l e v a r d S t r e e t s c a p e

1 9 9 9 P u b l i c A r t Affairs p r o g r a m

"Big Dig," the Central

o u t d o o r installations in t h e

P r o j e c t . A p p r o x . $ 2 0 0 , 0 0 0 is

offers grants for e m e r g i n g

A r t e r y / T u n n e l Project,

4 , 5 0 0 s q u a r e f o o t l o t l o c a t e d at

available f o r d e s i g n a n d f a b r i c a -

M i n n e s o t a artists o f all d i s c i -

C r i t c h l e y d e t e r m i n e d that 12.5

165 Grove Street. Proposals must

tion. For information, contact

plines. P r o j e c t s are f u n d e d in

million c a r b o n - a b s o r b i n g trees

b e b a s e d p r i m a r i l y in t h e visual

t h e P r o g r a m at t h e B r o w a r d

t w o categories: Research &

would be required to mitigate

arts b u t m a y i n c l u d e i n t e r d i s c i -

C u l t u r a l Affairs D i v i s i o n , 100

D e v e l o p m e n t and Public

the m e g a h i g h w a y project's an-

p l i n a r y c o m p o n e n t s if t h e y are

S o u t h A n d r e w s Ave., 6 t h F l o o r ,

P r o j e c t s . P r o p o s a l s are d u e

nual 3 5 0 , 0 0 0 metric tons of fos-

r e l e v a n t t o t h e p r o j e c t ' s overall

F o r t L a u d e r d a l e , FL 3 3 3 0 1 - 1 8 2 9 ;

D e c e m b e r 1, 1 9 9 8 . T o r e c e i v e a

sil f u e l p o l l u t i o n g e n e r a t e d f r o m

c o n c e p t . A n y artist l i v i n g in t h e

phone: 954-357-7236; e-mail:

proposal f o r m and a schedule of

250,000 automobiles. Drawing

Bay Area may submit a proposal.

cgarrett@co. broward.fl.us; or

free i n f o r m a t i o n w o r k s h o p s

inspiration f r o m the highway's

S e l e c t e d artists will r e c e i v e a

visit w w w . b r o w a r d a r t s . n e t .

contact F O R E C A S T Public

t r e e l i k e f o o t p r i n t , t h e artist has

$1,000 h o n o r a r i u m and u p to

D e a d l i n e f o r s u b m i s s i o n is

A r t w o r k s , 2 3 2 4 U n i v e r s i t y Ave.

p r o p o s e d a plan f o r local a n d re-

$ 5 , 0 0 0 f o r m a t e r i a l s a n d installa-

N o v e m b e r 5, 1 9 9 8 .

W „ S u i t e 1 0 2 , St. P a u l , MN

g i o n a l o r g a n i z a t i o n s , l a n d trusts,

t i o n costs. F o r a p r o s p e c t u s

and conservancies to purchase

artists m u s t s e n d a SASE, p o s t -

t h e c a l c u l a t e d 2 5 0 , 0 0 0 acres o f

m a r k e d by O c t o b e r 31, 1998, to:

land n e e d e d to protect and re-

C I T Y SITE, San Francisco Art

p l a n t in o r d e r t o a b s o r b t h e c a r -

C o m m i s s i o n Gallery, 4 0 1 Van

b o n dioxide emissions. At a p -

N e s s A v e . , V e t e r a n s B u i l d i n g , San

p r o x i m a t e l y $ 1 0 , 0 0 0 p e r acre,

Francisco, C A 94102; p h o n e :

the project w o u l d cost a b o u t

415-554-6080; e-mail:

$25 million, or .002 percent of

sfacg@earthlink.net; www.post-

the p r o j e c t e d $ 1 2 billion B i g

fun.com/sfac/.

D i g p r i c e tag. T o f i n d o u t m o r e about Critchley's proposed " g i a n t e a r t h w o r k , " visit t h e W e b site: w w w . t i a c . n e t / u s e r s / r e root/bigtwig.html.

55114; phone: 651-641-1128; or T h e Municipal Art C o m m i s s i o n

e-mail:

forecast@mtn.org.

o f Kansas C i t y invites artists t o s u b m i t slides a n d q u a l i f i c a -

T h e Pima Air and Space

tions to b e considered by an

M u s e u m is s e e k i n g p r o p o s a l s

artist s e l e c t i o n p a n e l f o r p r o j e c t s

b e f o r e t h e e n d o f t h e y e a r for a

as p a r t o f t h e r e n o v a t i o n o f t h e

230-foot mural depicting the

Kansas C i t y a i r p o r t . T h e total

p r o g r e s s i o n o f flight t h r o u g h

a r t b u d g e t f o r this p r o j e c t is

space travel. P r o p o s a l s m u s t i n -

e s t i m a t e d at $ 7 2 0 , 0 0 0 . T o b e

clude a time frame and a budget.

considered submit a resume, a

For m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n , contact

Save O u t d o o r S c u l p t u r e ! (SOS!)

m a x i m u m o f t w e n t y slides o f r e -

Emily M o r r i s o n , Pima Air and

a n n o u n c e s SOSI2000 a w a r d s f o r

c e n t w o r k , a n d a SASE b y

Space M u s e u m , 6000 E.

preserving and promoting edu-

N o v e m b e r 6, 1 9 9 8 , t o t h e

Valencia, T u c s o n , AZ 8 5 7 0 6 o r

cation a b o u t o u t d o o r sculpture.

Municipal Art Commission,

call 5 2 0 - 5 7 4 - 0 4 6 2 .

F i f t y - o n e awards o f u p to $ 1 , 0 0 0

1 7 t h F l o o r , C i t y H a l l , 4 1 4 E.

Israeli artist A d i Y e k u t i e l i a n d

are available t o h i r e a p r o f e s -

1 2 t h St., Kansas City, MO 6 4 1 0 6 .

P a l e s t i n i a n artists S u l i m a n

sional c o n s e r v a t o r t o c o n d u c t

Call 8 1 6 - 2 7 4 - 1 5 1 5 for f u r t h e r

T h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l A r t Festival in

Mansur and A h m e d Buriat col-

o n - s i t e assessments a n d r e c o m -

information.

P r o v i d e n c e , R . I . , is s e e k i n g p r o -

P u b l i c A r t R e v i e w . FALL. WINTER. 98

January

ARTIST

OPPORTUNITIES

posals by J a n u a r y 15, 1 9 9 9 . f o r

s i t e - s p e c i f i c w o r k s o f p u b l i c art

u s e d t o select artists f o r p r o j e c t s ,

Jewish Arts Directory. For m o r e

t e m p o r a r y s c u l p t u r e installations

t h a t address social, c u l t u r a l , p o -

including those run by other

i n f o r m a t i o n , c o n t a c t G i n a at t h e

for Convergence XII. Work may

litical, h i s t o r i c a l , a r c h i t e c t u r a l ,

p u b l i c a r t p r o g r a m s in t h e r e -

Minneapolis Jewish Federation;

b e e x i s t i n g o r site specific.

a n d e c o l o g i c a l issues in a d d i t i o n

gion. For m o r e information,

phone: 612-417-2353.

A d d i t i o n a l i n f o r m a t i o n is avail-

t o a e s t h e t i c o n e s . T h i s BFA p r o -

contact the Percent for Art

able by c o n t a c t i n g t h e P r o v i -

g r a m trains s t u d e n t s t o w o r k

P r o g r a m , N e w York D e p a r t m e n t

d e n c e Parks D e p a r t m e n t , O f f i c e

collaboratively w i t h a w i d e

o f C u l t u r a l Affairs, 2 C o l u m b u s

o f C u l t u r a l Affairs, 4 0 0 W e s t -

range of c o m m u n i t y members,

C i r c l e , N e w Y o r k , NY 1 0 0 1 9 ;

m i n s t e r St., 4 t h F l o o r , P r o v i -

architects, engineers, landscape

phone: 212-841-4289.

d e n c e , Rl 0 2 9 0 3 ; p h o n e : 4 0 1 -

d e s i g n e r s , a n d o t h e r artists o n

6 2 1 - 1 9 9 2 ; o r o n t h e W e b at

real-life p u b l i c art p r o j e c t s .

www://caparts.org.

S t u d e n t s m a y a p p l y t o s t u d y in this n e w p u b l i c art p r o g r a m b y

February T h e n e x t d e a d l i n e t o a p p l y to, u p d a t e , o r a d d slides t o t h o s e alr e a d y o n file at t h e Slide R e g i s -

contacting N e w World School o f t h e Arts, 3 0 0 NE S e c o n d Ave., M i a m i , FL 3 3 1 3 2 ; p h o n e : 3 0 5 2 3 7 - 3 6 2 0 ; fax: 3 0 5 - 2 3 7 - 3 7 9 4 ; e mail: m a l e x e n b @ m d c c . e d u .

P e r c e n t f o r A r t in P u b l i c Places

Anoka Metro Regional

P r o g r a m is F e b r u a r y 1, 1 9 9 9 .

T r e a t m e n t C e n t e r in A n o k a ,

For further information contact t h e M i n n e s o t a State A r t s B o a r d at 6 5 1 - 2 1 5 - 1 6 1 8 , t o l l - f r e e at 8 0 0 - 8 M N - A R T S , o r by e - m a i l at m s a b @ s t a t e . m n . u s .

Open Deadlines

M i n n . , w h i c h serves clients w i t h m e n t a l h e a l t h issues in t h e T w i n C i t i e s area, seeks artists n a t i o n wide for the commissioning of a series o f w i n d o w s f o r a c i r c u l a t i o n c o r r i d o r t h a t c o n n e c t s all campus buildings. T h e w i n d o w s

S h a f e r a n d T a y l o r s Falls, M i n n . , is t h e o n l y w o r k / r e s i d e n c e , o u t d o o r s c u l p t u r e p a r k in t h e

T h e Public Art Program of

M i d w e s t . Fsp's p r i m a r y g o a l is t o

Fulton C o u n t y Arts C o u n c i l

s u p p o r t e m e r g i n g artists a n d t o

announces opportunities for

u p h o l d the w o r k of Minnesota

artists. W r i t e o r call t o r e c e i v e

s c u l p t o r s . As p a r t o f this g o a l , FSP

RFPs. F u l t o n C o u n t y A r t s

actively r e c r u i t s y o u n g artists t o

C o u n c i l , 141 P r y o r St. SW, S u i t e

p a r t i c i p a t e in its i n t e r n / m e n t o r

2 0 3 0 , A t l a n t a , GA 3 0 3 0 3 ; p h o n e :

program. For m o r e information

404-730-5780.

try m a i n t a i n e d by t h e M i n n e s o t a

F r a n c o n i a S c u l p t u r e P a r k (FSP), a s i x t e e n - a c r e site l o c a t e d b e t w e e n

o n FSPs i n t e r n s h i p o p p o r t u n i ties, p l e a s e call 6 5 1 - 4 6 5 - 3 7 0 1 .

T h e Skokie Northshore S c u l p t u r e P a r k is r e v i e w i n g

T h e Fine Arts W o r k C e n t e r of-

slides f r o m artists p r o d u c i n g

fers f e l l o w s h i p s f o r s e v e n

work appropriate for midwest-

m o n t h s , O c t o b e r to May, f o r

e r n climate. Send sheet w i t h

e m e r g i n g artists a n d w r i t e r s . F o r

size, m e d i u m , r e s u m e , SASE:

i n f o r m a t i o n s e n d SASE t o V i s u a l

Skokie N o r t h s h o r e Sculpture

A r t s P r o g r a m , 2 4 Pearl S t r e e t ,

P a r k , P . O . B o x 6 9 2 , S k o k i e , IL

P r o v i n c e t o w n , MA 0 2 6 5 7 ;

60076-0692.

phone: 508-487-9960.

T h e Minneapolis College of

o p e n o n t o a large c e n t r a l c o u r t -

Slides are s o u g h t f o r a s c u l p t u r e

T h e Mattress Factory offers

A r t s a n d D e s i g n (MCAD) a n -

yard, a n d g l a s s w o r k t h a t i n t e r a c t s

garden, including temporary and

artists o n e - t o s i x - w e e k r e s i d e n -

nounces the second Institute for

w i t h t h e v i e w is s o u g h t . T h e

permanent works. Contact the

cies a n d s t i p e n d s , m a t e r i a l s

Public Art and Design program

total b u d g e t f o r a r t w o r k is

B a r r i n g t o n Area Arts C o u n c i l ,

a n d l a b o r f o r installations.

J u n e 14-July 2 3 , 1 9 9 9 , t o h e l p

$50,000, including design, p r o -

2 0 7 P a r k Ave., B a r r i n g t o n , IL

C o n t a c t 5 0 0 S a m s p o n i a Way,

s t u d e n t s " d e v e l o p t h e tools,

duction of the windows, and in-

60010; phone: 847-382-5626.

P i t t s b u r g h , PA 1 5 2 1 2 f o r m o r e

k n o w l e d g e , a n d insights r e l a t e d

stallation. If y o u already have

t o a critical p r a c t i c e o f p u b l i c

m a t e r i a l s o n file in t h e Slide

N e w York City's D e p a r t m e n t o f

art." O r g a n - i z e d by a r t i s t - i n -

R e g i s t r y m a i n t a i n e d by t h e

Cultural Affairs maintains an

s t r u c t o r K i n j i A k a g a w a w i t h PAR

M i n n e s o t a P e r c e n t f o r A r t in

Artists' Slide R e g i s t r y w h i c h is

information.

e d i t o r D e b o r a h Karasov, t h e

P u b l i c Places p r o g r a m a n d

used by curators, consultants,

p r o g r a m features such notable

w o u l d like t o s h o w t h e m f o r this

a n d a r c h i t e c t s , as w e l l as t h e

guests as Siah A r m a j a n i , A n n

project, send a letter stating y o u r

city's MTA A r t s f o r T r a n s i t p r o -

Hamilton, and Mel Chin. Credit

interest to M i n n e s o t a Percent

g r a m . F r e e p u b l i c a t i o n s are also

D j e r a s s i R e s i d e n t Artists P r o g r a m offers o n e - m o n t h r e s i d e n c i e s in t h e S a n t a C r u z Mountains. Contact 2325 Bear G u l c h R o a d , W o o d s i d e , CA 94062-4405 for m o r e information.

is available t o g r a d u a t e a n d a d -

f o r A r t in P u b l i c Places

available u p o n r e q u e s t . F o r m o r e

vanced undergraduate students.

P r o g r a m , M i n n e s o t a State Arts

information, contact Percent for

For information, contact the

Board, Park Square C o u r t , 4 0 0

A r t , Artists' Slide R e g i s t r y , N e w

F o u n d r y offers t w o - y e a r i n t e r n -

Institute for Public Art and

Sibley S t r e e t , S u i t e 2 0 0 , St. P a u l ,

York City D e p a r t m e n t of

ships w i t h s t i p e n d s a n d

D e s i g n , MCAD, 2 5 0 1 S t e v e n s Ave.

MN 5 5 1 0 1 - 1 9 2 8 . O r y o u m a y

C u l t u r a l Affairs, 3 3 0 W . 4 2 n d St.,

week apprenticeships without.

S., M i n n e a - p o l i s , MN 5 5 4 0 4 ;

contact the Arts Board for an

1 4 t h floor. N e w Y o r k , NY 1 0 0 3 6

C o n t a c t Technical Institute of

phone: 612-874-3765; or e-mail:

a p p l i c a t i o n f o r m at 6 5 1 - 2 1 5 -

o r call 2 1 2 - 6 4 3 - 7 7 6 9 .

Sculpture, 60 Ward Avenue,

ipad@mn.mcad.edu.

1 6 1 8 , t o l l - f r e e at 8 0 0 - 8 M N -

A n e w BFA p r o g r a m in e n v i r o n m e n t a l p u b l i c a r t at N e w W o r l d

A R T S , o r b y e - m a i l at m s a b @ s t a t e . m n . us.

If y o u are a visual, p e r f o r m i n g , o r l i t e r a r y artist, o r a n arts a d -

J o h n s o n Atelier Fine Arts "

fifteen-

Mercerville, n j 08619. Millay C o u n t y f o r t h e A r t s o f -

ministrator, scholar, o r e d u c a t o r

fers o n e - m o n t h r e s i d e n c i e s .

l i v i n g in M i n n e s o t a w h o self-

W r i t e t o t h e m at P.O. B o x 3 ,

S c h o o l o f t h e A r t s in M i a m i ,

N e w York City's Percent for Art

Fla., o f f e r s visual artists t h e o p -

P r o g r a m seeks slides f o r its

i d e n t i f i e s as J e w i s h , c o n s i d e r

S t e e p l e t o p , A u s t e r l i t z , NY 1 2 0 1 7

p o r t u n i t y to learn h o w to create

Artists' Slide R e g i s t r y , w h i c h is

b e i n g listed in t h e M i n n e s o t a

for further information.

P u b l i c A r t R e v i e w . FALL.WINTtR.98

OPEN CALL FOR ARTISTS

1 I

The Carlson School of M a n a g e m e n t Art C o m m i s s i o n Project Dean's Office Suite

This is not a competition but a call for artists & collaborative teams of artists w h o w o u l d like to be considered to create a site specific public a r t w o r k for the Carlson School of M a n a g e m e n t ' s Dean's office suite. Previous experience in public art is necessary to be considered for this project.

HHKlQnl IP^fMiEHa lul ^miliiiHi^B

• • • H O W TO APPLY* • •

and the

City

If; if TMIPomaf m JESM 1 public art and urban futures

The d e a d l i n e for a p p l i c a t i o n is M o n d a y , N o v e m b e r 2 , 1 9 9 8 . Please note this is not a postmark deadline! Rather, all materials must be in our offices by 4:30 p.m. on November 2. To request application materials & for questions call Giilgiin Kayim, Public Art on Campus Coordinator, at (612) 625-9686 or write to: The C a r l s o n School of M a n a g e m e n t Art C o m m i s s i o n Project C / O W e i s m a n Art M u s e u m University of M i n n e s o t a 3 3 3 East River Rd Minneapolis, M N 55455

A rSpace t

Hjj| ,

Malcolm

Miles

CARLSON SCHOOL

"This book provides

UNIVERSITY OP MINNESOTA

The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator & employer.

position

a valuable critique of public art from a

outside it - a superb

combination

of theory,

specu-

lation, and a critique of public art policy." - A n t h o n y King, State University of New York, Binghamton

Exploring The Public Realm

Malcolm Miles applies a range of critical perspectives to

Volume II

examine the practice of art for urban public spaces, and explores how art and design can contribute to our urban

Video featuring public art projects by 11 Minnesota artists.

futures. Drawing upon a wealth of striking images and examples f r o m New York, London, Seattle and elsewhere, Art, Space and the City explores creative tensions in the public realm, and focuses on t w o roles for art: as decora-

$10 plus s h i p p i n g

tion within re-visioned urban design, and as a social

To o r d e r c o n t a c t :

process of criticism and engagement.

FORECAST Public A r t w o r k s

Public

2 3 2 4 U n i v e r s i t y Ave.W., Ste. 102

2 8 0 pp

70 illus.

$24.99/pb

St. P a u l , M N 5 5 1 1 4 Tel: 6 1 2 - 6 4 1 - 1 1 2 8

Fax:612-641-0028

E-mail: f o r e c a s t @ m t n . o r g

AT BOOKSTORES or call (800) 634 - 7064 FAX: (800) 248 - 4728

Dicomed

Camera

ROUTLEDGE 29 West 35th Street. N.Y., NY 10001 www.routledge-ny.com

Iris

(Gitfee)

Prints

• Digitize flat art up to 40" X 60"

• Museum Quality Prints

• Scans up to 7.5K

• Maximum Size 34" x 46"

• Exceptional resolution quality

• Produces prints on an as need basis • Limited Addition Runs

• Maximum Size 48" x 48"

• Exhibits deep saturated colors, fine detail, and smooth gradations on a heavy weight water color paper or canvas.

• Direct Digital Photographic Prints: C-Prints, B&W, Duratrans, Duraflex, llfochrome materials

Digital

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5000

• The sharpest large-format image

612*673*8900

/ 800*332*7753

California State University, Monterey Bay's I n s t i t u t e

/ 909

fOT

Visual & Public Art offers ^ B a c h e l o r of Art Degree in Visual & Public Art

Hennepin

Program

P u b l i c A r t R e v i e w . FALL. WINTER. 98

S. • Minneapolis,

Characteristics

State of the Arts Studios Digital Mural Lab Visiting Artist Residencies Distance Learning Community & Campus Projects Research Conferences Web Sites Program

The Visual & Public Art program, the first of its kind in the country, engages creative students in the process of self-learning & expression, ethical interaction with their audiences & understanding of the meaning of visual art in its context. The Visual & Public Art program at CSUMB prepares students to be arts practitioners & participants with a set of skills & values that will assist them in becoming active & responsible members of society.

Ave.

Concentrations

Murals/Painting Sculpture/Installation Photographic/Replicative Media Arts Technology/New Genres Performance/Time-Based

Complete

Custom Imaging

Mn 55403

Photo

Center

www.procolor.com

Director: Amalia Mesa-Bains Faculty: Judith F. Baca, Suzanne Lacy, Johanna Poethig, Stephanie Johnson .

r,0

ntempos

"tNlAw b 4y ^ o s aouaipw

For more information call 408/582-3005 or write to: VPA-CSUMB 100 Campus Center, S e a s i d e CA, 9 3 9 5 5 - 8 0 0 1

FORECAST P u b l i c

„.,

Artworks

PUBLIC ART PROCESS AND PRODUCT

O f

Public Art Services Consulting a n d facilitation Public a r t t o u r s / p r e s e n t a t i o n s

Public Art A f f a i r s State-wide artist grant program Deadline: December 1

Merit Wall {detail! 1998, Creative Energy Murals NANCY

H O L T , SOLAR

ROTARY,

1995

FEATURING:

Public Art Review U n i p e national j o n r n a l

DOUG H O L L I S , NANCY HOLT, T I M R O L L I N S AND K . O . S . , ELYN Z I M M E R M A N AND OTHER R E N O W N E D C O N T R I B U T O R S TO T H E

651-641-1128 2324 Univeisity Ave. W., #102 St. Paul, MN 55114 forecast@mtn.org

V H S VIDEO TAPE, 2 8

YV A/i

$12.99 + $4

Mmmwr

NEW

Essays from

FOR

FURTHER

THE

U S F

INFORMATION

CONTEMPORARY

( 8 1 3 ) 9 7 4 - 4 1 3 3 , OR

FROM

Art, Activism, a n d

NATIONALLY

FIELD. MINUTES HANDLING

CONTACT:

ART

M U S E U M

vahern@satie.arts.usf.edu

DUKE

Oppositionality

Afterimage

Grant H. Kester, editor These essays, spanning fifteen years of Afterimage's history, demonstrate the continuing relevance of an activist stance to contemporary art practice and criticism. "This collection is a real testimonial to the intelligence of the editing of Afterimage, a journal that has showcased thoughtful critics and commentators for y e a r * — P a t r i c i a * ^ Aufderheide, American University and contributing editor at In These Times 5 328 pages, 40 b&w photos, paper $18.95

W r i t t e n in S t o n e Public M o n u m e n t s in C h a n g i n g Societies Sanford Levinson Levinson considers the tangled responses of ever-changing societies to the monuments and

commemorations created by past regimes or outmoded cultural and political systems. "Sanford Levinson has written a wonderfully wise and informed essay on the issu^of h o w | | we commemorate the past when the past keeps on changing.";—Nathan Glazer, author ot We Are All Multiculturalists Now 104 pages, 19 b&w photos, paper $13.95 Public Planet Books

Duke University Press

Box 90660 • Durham, NC 27708-0660 • 919-688-5134 • wy

jyi

uke.edu/web/dupress/

Public Art Review . FALL. WINTER. 98

OPEN CALL FOR ARTISTS T h i s is

F O R

T W O

"PERCENT

U N I V E R S I T Y

FOR ART

IN PUBLIC

O F

M I N N E S O T A

PLA CES"

PROJ ECTS

n o t a c o m p e t i t i o n b u t a call f o r a r t i s t s & c o l l a b o r a t i v e t e a m s o f a r t i s t s w h o w o u l d like t o b e c o n s i d e r e d t o c r e a t e a site s p e c i f i c p i e c e of

public artwork for the above departments' n e w buildings.

P r e v i o u s e x p e r i e n c e in p u b l i c a r t is n e c e s s a r y t o b e c o n s i d e r e d f o r t h e s e

projects.

• • • H O W TO APPLY*•• T h e d e a d l i n e f o r c o m p l e t e d a p p l i c a t i o n s f o r b o t h p r o j e c t s is Science & Math Addition and Renovation at University of Minnesota, Morris C-ampus (Budget:$ 198,000)

A project Adminiiilprcd by the KrcdrricW R. Weitnum An Mu.cum, ni (K* Unlvc rally of Mlnncaoia

4 : 3 0 p . m . o n M o n d a y , N o v e m b e r 2, 1998. Please note: tbi) u< not a postmark

deadline. Rather all

mu.it be in our offices by 4:30p.m.

on November2,

material) 1998.

To request application materials and lor questions, contact GillgUn Kayim, Public Art on C a m p u s Coordinator by phone at (612) 625-9686, by fax to (612) 625-9630, or by mail to: Percent for Art in Public Place.* O p e n Call Weisman Art Museum, University of Minnesota 333 East River Road, Minneapolis, M N 55455

D e p t . of Mechanical Engineering Addition, Minneapolis Campus (Budget: $124,200)

-If

—

Frederick R. V ^ f c i n p n Art

Museum

UNIVKKSri^OI ; MlNNK|^B-, ThlUniv»r«iqi«Minn. ...u is...»««|iul

New B F A in Environmental Public Art NE-H W O R L D SCHOOL OF THE

Environmental New

World

Public Art Program School

telephone: 305

of t h e A r t s

3 0 0 N E 2nd Ave. M i a m i , FL 3 3 1 3 2

New

World

School

of the

Arts

is a joint

venture

of University

237-3620

w e b site: w w w . m d c c . e d u / n w s a / e-mail:

of Florida

and

Miami-Dade

malexnb@mdcc.edu.

Community

College.

San Jose/Santa Clara Valley VETERANS MEMORIAL Memorial Design Team

Stuart Basseches Pablo Casto Betty Y. Chen Peter R. Coombe Daniel Heuberger Commissioned by the Veterans Memorial Committee With support from the City of San Jose, the Redevelopment Agency of the City of San Jose, Santa Clara County, and the community of Silicon Valley

Dedicated November

11,1997

For information about upcoming projects by the San Jose Public Art Program Call 408-277-2789

P u b l i c A r t R e v i e w . F A L L . WINTER. 98

PUBLIC ART

FROM THE GROUND UP DELAY OF GAME-IX Go back 1 space

DELAY OF GAME-IX

^ V

Co back 1 space

\»Mefl

KAMI! I ' l . A N - O

°ne

Contracts For Public Art by William R. Gignilliat, III, Attorney, and Patricia A. Kerlin, Architect

NOW AVAILABLE from Words of Art™: The authoritative guide to working with public art from the ground up. Included are model contracts as well as discussion of a wide range of issues for public art projects from all perspectives: artist, administrative, architectural and legal.

GAME P L A N - Q

Gamepieces from The Gameplsttts Dialogue Project, Keith Christensen, Minneapolis, 1998. Laminated film murals and gameboards. Installed at the Minnesota Correctional Facility—Faribault, this game of strategy was designed in collaboration with inmates participating in the critical thinking course. Christensen asked them, "What helps you plan?" and "What stops your plans?"

—

ft G

February 1, 1999 is the next deadline for the

:^IMM>

T}\

MILL I

Minnesota Percent for Art in Public Places Slide Registry. t

your slides on file for future public art projects. For

GLJSLJI'JJIFIHEIII&LILHIIHI

information and applications contact: Minnesota State Arts Board, Park Square Court, 400 Sibley Street, Suite 200,

MINNESOTA STATE ARTS BOARD

Saint Paul, MN 55101, (651) 215-1600, (800) 8MN-ARTS, TTY (651) 215-6235, e-mail <msab@state.mn.us>.

- W A L - K - B R - O N

- W H E €

L-S

INTRODUCING THE M I N N E A P O L I S SCULPTURE G A R D E N ' S MOBILE ART LAB Ten years after i n t r o d u c i n g t h e Twin Cities t o the iconic Spoonbridge and Cherry, the Walker Art Center recently unveiled a whimsical new installation for t h e Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly by Atelier van Lieshout. An eye-catching hybrid o f architecture and sculpture, this w o r k consists o f a full-scale w o o d house, a year-round f i x t u r e in the Garden, and a detachable mobile unit t h a t w i l l travel into c o m m u n i t y neighborhoods beginning in spring 1999. The Mobile Art Lab w i l l be used as a site for hands-on activities, performances, classes, lectures, and c o m m u n i t y gatherings.

NEW AT THE WALKER S H O P S The Walker announces The Minneapolis

Sculpture Garden, its first book dedicated t o the Garden. Filled w i t h spectacular

full-color photographs and fascinating histories o f sculptures and artists, it's t h e best w a y t o w a y t o experience t h e country's largest urban sculpture park at home. Available at the Walker Art Center shops. $14.95 ($13.46 Walker members). Call (612) 375-7633 or fax (612) 375-7565 t o order.

Public Art R e v i e w . FALL. WINTER. 98

The Minneapolis

Institute

College of Art and Design

Art*

for

Public 10

June 14-July 23, 1999 A studio-based program in which participants develop the tools, knowledge and insights related to a critical practice o f Public Art.

TY-

Kittji Akagawa Deborah Karasov

VISITING

Siah Armajani Mel Chin Ann Hamilton Michael Mercil

ARTIST: