America’s Best Public Art

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June 20, 2009—Forty of the best public art works in the United States, including projects from 32 cities in 15 states, were recognized at the 2009 Americans for the Arts annual convention held in Seattle from June 18–20. The works were chosen from more than 300 entries across the country. More here or download pdf
.

Nancy Ann Coyne, Speaking of Home. IDS-Macy’s skyway over Nicollet Mall, between 7th and 8th Streets in downtown Minneapolis, MN. Co-presented by Forecast Public Art, Family Housing Fund and the Institute for Advanced Study at the University of Minnesota. http://www.speakingofhome.org/

Public Art Network Year in Review 2009

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In June, Americans for the Arts presented their annual review, The Public Art Network Year in Review 2009 (from Arts Watch). Janet Echelman and Mildred Howard were the curators. 304 projects were reviewed from 2008 with 40 winning finalists. It is wonderful that two projects from the Twin Cities Metropolitan area were among the top 40 public art projects. The St. Cloud Library Project entitled “Natural Rhythm”,

by Chicago artist Lucy Slivinski and Minneapolis artist Nancy Ann Coyne’s“Speaking of Home”. Forecast Public Art.org was the public art project consultant for the Library project and consultant/co-funder of the “Speaking of Home” project. For the serious public art patron a CD of the projects can be acquired from the Americans for the Arts bookstore.

Buckminster Fuller and Olafur Eliasson Exhibition

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Recently I had the good fortune to see the Buckminster Fuller exhibit while visiting Chicago. He was one of the first interdisciplinary thinkers and an early advocate of alternative energy. This is an excellent exhibit for those who want to be inspired by a true visionary. He was an architect, engineer, environmental scientist, mathematician, philosopher and visual artist. One can explore his quest to discover what one person can do to serve the needs of his fellow human beings. Olafur Eliasson’s work is concurrently showing until September 13, 2009.The Buckminster Fuller exhibit is showing at the Contemporary Museum of Art in Chicago, extended until July 5, 2009.

Food for Thought: Continuing the Discussion on “Creating A Sustainable Public Art Practice”

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Panelists Christine Baeumler, Seitu Jones, Nicholas Legerous, and Ralph Nelson of Loom Studio shared their recent projects as well as views on the latest concerns and trends in sustainable public art practices (including the desire for a word to replace sustainable!). An inquisitive group of students from Vesper College and a hearty group of Twin Cities based public artists spurred the discussion along.

Forecast collaborated with NEMAA, Vesper College, and The Institute for Advanced Study at the University of Minnesota to host the evening to celebrate and promote the newest issue of Public Art Review which focuses on the same theme.

As is always the case with good dialog many more questions were raised than answers given. Forecast collected written questions from the audience and encourages you to continue the discussion online. Feel free to add your thoughts to the questions posed below! Or just read them as food for thought.

Does the future of sustainable art making lie in the manipulation of living organisms as a medium – moving away from the static?

How can (public) art inspire “mainstream” America to act?- Brad Baso

What change needs to occur within (public) art as a practice in order to be even more sustainable? What is holding the field back?  – Brad Baso

Where can one learn more about reusing water on one’s own property? Do you know of any city funded programs to encourage property owners to set up these types of projects? (related to a discussion on watershed art projects).

What are the negative & positive effects of the current economic downturn on sustainable public art & artists?  – Laurie Phillips

Sustainability demands scientific, technical knowledge of creative professionals. Will “Sustainability” in art eventually lead us to merge the studio with the laboratory (or field studies) in a seamless synthesis? Where might this lead?

Nick differentiated between his world before and after being involved in a community. Could everyone comment on their experience working as part of a greater community?  – Susannah

Please speak a bit more to how initiatives, community collaborations, and community history can become a part of sustainability.

How can public art be utilized better, especially concerning business as usual? Do you think art can help to change people value systems and help to work for social change?

How do beauty and emotion (of the work and process) help to build community and a better world?

When you envision a project that cuts across disciplines and public entities, is it best to approach them separately or together?

What skills, experiences, and insights do aritsts contribute to the sustainability community of scientists, government business, etc? Why should they be at the table? – Brad Baso

Does public art create change within or in spite of the system?  – Brad Baso

What is being sustained in sustainability? – Jon Spayde

“Sustainability” – overused indeed, so what buzz word should we start using instead?

How do you break into public art “creating sense of place” when pigeon-holed by commercial sense of place?

How do you get started in public art if your background is in commercial art but your heart is public?

Join the Gratitude Guerilla Action Walk on May 24th!

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Gratitude Guerilla Action is a walking “Thank-You”  being performed in various cities as a simple, non-dogmatic gesture of gratitude and a reminder of our collective good fortune. An elegant iridescent balloon with the words “thank-you” printed in white is carried by participating walkers as they experience the sublime peacefulness that results from giving gratitude to no one in particular.

Lead by artist Krista Kelly Walsh with start up support from Forecast Public Art, the Gratitude Guerillas have taken 762.2 steps, given away 900 balloons, and hosted 64 walks in four cities!

I was lucky enough to participate in one of these walks last summer. It was dusk and it had been raining all day with the clouds clearing just long enough to form a striking sunset to reflecting the slick sidewalks. I will admit public performance art is not always something I am comfortable with but after a few moments if felt more like meditative practice than an attention grabbing gesture. It was truly amazing how just the tiniest bit of consciousness of gratitude for the world around you grows into an overabundant rush of appreciation for all that we take for granted in our everyday lives.

If you are in the twin Cities metro area I encourage you to take the time to walk with Krista. This will be the first of two actions that are planned for 2009. In the spring , a “thank-you” Balloon Give-a-Way on Como Lake in St. Paul and A Sunset Walk on Raspberry Island

MAY 24TH 4-7PM COMO LAKE ST. PAUL, MN
(Rain date MAY 25TH 4-7PM)
see the web site for further information and weather updates:  http://www.gratitudeguerilla.webs.com/

Beautiful Light

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FOUR LETTER WORD MACHINE – 2009 Scottsdale

Forecast ran across this project while researching for its upcoming issue of Public Art Review on innovative technologies in public art.

A detailed description of the project can be found at D.A. Therrien’s web site beautifullight.org and here is a brief overview.

“FOUR LETTER WORD MACHINE displays either 4 letter words in standard Roman alphabet or up to 4 billion+ word combinations as a graphic digital display device. It is essentially an entropy machine – it is designed to break, a product of unnecessary complexity.

The display itself is designed as a 30 meter high x 150 meter wide array of linear quartz lamps, 3,500,000 watts total power. The first full installation will be on a cliff face in the Northern Arizona desert (a 10% scale model is currently under construction for use in smaller venues.)

The human body and mind are integral to the control system, essentially a 64 channel mechanical relay control that is both state of the art and archaic in design. A computer reads from a “book” and passes instructions to 4 bodies (performers) in rotating cages (actually large drum type
switches), who in turn pass information to 32 bodies via an eye tracking system.

Also on the Beautiful Light website Therrien talks about the piece.

Installations in the BEAUTIFUL LIGHT series are derived from ideas that I have been fascinated with since childhood, most specifically, the phenomema of light and electricity and the role of light in our belief systems, language, biology, natural world and cosmology – light as illumination, energy, information – and as a metaphor for good and evil. It is also one of our earliest technologies – fire to drive out the night.

The term “Beautiful Light” is double edged, describing both the observable physical nature of pure light and representations in various belief systems and cultures – Egyptian, Greek, Judaism, and later, Christianity. In Egyptian mythology, the god Taht (Apollo in Greek) was represented as a “beautiful light” and this light represented knowledge itself. In the Bible, angels are described as beings of light – messengers of light.

In addition to my interest in light and electricity, I have a fascination with language and the codes that represent it, both analog and digital. The 4 LETTER WORD MACHINE, the first installation in the BEAUTIFUL LIGHT series, explores the purity of white light, the mystery of language, the precision of digital codes and the magic of 4 letters – A, C, G, T – representing the DNA code, and consequently, all known life.”

via beautifullight.org

An Overview of Nouveau Graffiti

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Graffiti is not your grandma’s tag anymore! Urban artists and interventionists are finding more and more ways to alter our environment without all the messy side effects!

Reverse Graffiti

“Reverse graffiti also known as clean tagging, dust tagging or grime writing, is a method of creating graffiti on walls or other surfaces by removing dirt from a surface. It is usually done by removing dirt/dust with the fingertip(s) from windows or other dirty surfaces, as in the old joke of writing “wash me” with one’s finger on a dirty car.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_graffiti

image via www.environmentalgraffiti.com

image via www.environmentalgraffiti.com

image via www.environmentalgraffiti.com

image via www.environmentalgraffiti.com

image via www.environmentalgraffiti.com

image via www.environmentalgraffiti.com

The Reverse Graffiti Project and artist Paul “Moose” Curtis create a poignant scene in SF. Watch the process in this short clip by director Doug Pray.

Moss Graffiti

I am particularly fond of this new method of beautification. An extension of the seed bomb artists are taking to the street armed with a blended recipe of moss and buttermilk. What results is living breathing art!

image via treehugger.com

image via treehugger.com

Artist Ladybird. image via woostercollective.com

Artist Ladybird. image via woostercollective.com

image via barbhoffman.com

image via barbhoffman.com

L.A.S.E.R Tag & Projection Art

There is almost too much to cover here and it just about warrants a whole new post. To wet your whistle check out these sites and projects.

The work of Graffiti Research Labs is stretching street art to new heights and takes a serious approach to including innovative technologies into everyday life. One recent project is L.A.S.E.R tagging.

Here is a great video of the process and a variety of tags.

Check out the Muonics blog for L.A.S.E.R tag code – its open source!

Another one of my very favorite group of innovators is MAW (Minneapolis Art on Wheels). Call me hometown proud. Watch them on Make television.

And last but not least for those of you looking for an excuse to go to Florida this summer Alys Beach should be your destination of choice. The second annual Digital Graffiti Festival will be held on June 6th 2009.

image via digitalgraffiti.info

image via digitalgraffiti.info

Forecast annouces 2009 grantees!

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Forecast Public Artworks, the 30-year-old independent public art agency, proudly announces its
19th round of grants to Minnesota artists for exploration of public art. Forecasts artist grants, funded by Jerome Foundation, annually support emerging and early career visual artists pursuing the public realm as a venue for creative expression. Funding was awarded to the following:

Category 1: Research & Development (2 @ $2,000)

Jane Powers
Jane Powers and Rita Davern will conduct research for their project Remember, a public art project to remember and honor Dakota people. Remember will provide a forum for reflection and dialog as we share our collective history.  The artists will identify Dakota artists to collaborate on the project, research the history of the Dakota people in MN, and locate sites throughout Minneapolis and St. Paul for thought provoking and interactive visual and sound site markers.

Chris Pennington
Chris would like to create a billboard that is primarily an art object, an architectural marrying of a billboard, an office, and a 3D gallery…on a stick.  Partnering with local architects he will explore all the various possibilities and applications of this idea and then create CAD drawings and a working model.

Category 2: Public Project (2 @ $7,000)

Anna Metcalfe
Anna Metcalfe and Grace Davitt will host weekly meals in the northside of Minneapolis using hand made plates and local produce. Expanding on weekly cookouts held at Redeemer Lutheran Church, Anna and Grace will infuse this tradition with locally grown, healthy foods and one of a kind, hand-made ceramic tableware.  The weekly cookouts will give participants a chance to form connections with one another, the artwork and local produce.

Therese Kunz
Therese will work with Susan Ugstad to create A Lasting Piece: A Collective Collage, a large installation utilizing collage, voice, and light to showcase a visual narrative that speaks to the collective heart of their rural community. This project will be installed in an historic train depot in Remer, MN. The whole installation, built to travel, will be offered to other communities for exhibition including the creation of their own community collage to be installed at a site of their choosing.

Billboard Project ($3,000 design fee + installation costs)

Kao Lee Thao
Kao Lee will create a painted billboard design that speaks to the injustices of the remaining Hmong soldiers called Freedom Fighters from the “Secret War.”  Her airy gouache paintings are a contemporary reference to Hmong story cloths.  Her design will be installed in mid summer on a billboard at University Avenue and Cleaveland Street in St. Paul.

Stay tuned for updates as these projects progress!

Is it art or advertising? (Part I)

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This is an easy game called “Is it art or advertising?”. Simply review the images and decide if you believe the projects shown to be art or advertising (or both).

Sometimes there may be only art, sometimes there may be only advertising, and sometimes one of each.

This game is inspired by the growing merger of aesthetics and commerce. As I realize that I am a targeted demographic for commercials using re-edited Roxy Music songs and Target ads that remind me of last years gallery shows, I begin to feel slightly uncomfortable. Is this is a mutually beneficial relationship for all involved? Is it bad to be inundated with higher level design and conceptual imagery on our billboards and buses even if its for corporate gain? What impact can public art projects have in taking over public spaces if their audiences can’t tell the difference between art and advertising? I can’t help but feel co-opted but maybe its just aesthetic evolution?

“Answers” will be listed in the comment section of this post next week.

Can an economic downturn be an artistic opportunity?

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After completing reporting on two years of state support for our small non profit arts org I am reminded of what I already knew. What a driving force the arts are to our econonmy – especially public art! With the joined totals of artists fees, materials, and fabrication the business of beautification really contributes its share into the local and national coffers.

Arlene Goldfarb eloquently expands on this idea in this article. Great weekend reading!!!

I’ve got a good start on my list dream projects, guest artists, and ideas! Now if I could only find the funding…

Your new year’s resolution to do more public art!

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I have been really impressed lately with the willingness of artists to share their ideas and utilize the internet to spread mini interventions in cities across the world. In the past few weeks I have shared a few of these ideas with teachers, nieces and nephews, and of course my DIY peers. With everyone chipping in to do their part there could be an unexpected public alteration around every corner! My dream for 2009!

The Bubble Project is one of my favorite ways to interact with the corporate monologue. This project makes great use of web 2.0 by providing a down loadable bubble template and allowing participants to upload their own creations! A variation on this theme is to use store bought sticker bubbles used for photos and alter the magazines in your dentist office, etc.

The Pixalator is another great advertising altering street art invention.

By constructing a simple filter, digital advertising becomes a beautiful abstraction! It would take a little work to do this in public but I am collecting toilet paper rolls as we speak to do the at home version thanks to our friends at Craftster.org

For more inspiration on DIY art projects check out the The Guerilla Art Kit by Keri Smith. It includes great projects like moss graffiti!

Hope this is enough to get you inspired to get going on all your art resolutions! Feel free to comment with your own project images or tell us about your plans to contribute to the greater good by subtly altering some public spaces!

Happy New Year!

Antoni Muntadas

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One of my favorite moments of the day is perusing the Art Daily emails that come my way. Every once in a while, hidden between the announcements of who’s doing what job where and what is currently selling at Christie’s (and at what price!) you can spot an interesting public art project or artists. Today it was Antoni Muntadas

I was not familiar with his work but I quickly realized I should be. A quick google search brought up The File Room project.

The File Room is a seemingly never ending space addressing free speech and censorship internationally and throughout history. The physical installation has popped up here and there but it is the incredibly interesting online archive that sucked me in!

The piece is an archive of projects that have been censored. You can search by location, date, medium, and reason for censorship.

I was initially struck by the dance category and was surprised by the forms of dance that caused political upheaval including Capoeira and The Fandango. Both unique forms of public expression. The degree to which the movement stirs up emotions and energy explains their inclusion on the list.

The controversy surrounding rave accessories is an ironic circumstance. A pacifier as a symbol for a drug culture seems strangely appropriate.

Of course I had to check out the Public Art section. A comprehensive listing of murals, posters, and art projects staking claim in public spaces voicing ideas and opinions. Who knew the kind of trouble one could get into
posting images of Iraqi Citzens. And the ever popular naked being pops up a few times, from Greek Statue that offended homeschoolers to the partially exposed breast depicted in a painting ( I wonder if it was the breast or the fact that she was breastfeeding in public that caused the stir?!? ). Does anyone else find it strange that this type of issue is right on par with the “door knob in the men’s room”?

I even happened upon a mural by an artist once involved in a local art fair I coordinated. I guess it makes sense since she had some work even then that had to stay in the car for “special viewings”. I especially like the reason this piece was censored – not sure how that all went down.

The file room is a great example of a project that will never go away because the issue it addresses will never go away. One of the exciting conundrums of our society and our ever growing global community is facing struggle between freedom of expression and other’s freedom to not be offended.

Even the internet itself is in question!

Public Art at the Polls

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Suffargium. Still from the video by Jill Sebastian

Suffargium. Still from the video by Jill Sebastian

Where did the presidential election and performance art cross paths? No, not LA or New York…try MILWAUKEE!!

For the first time in US history, voters were treated to performance art at polling places. Voters at 11 sites in Milwaukee experienced dance, video, recorded sound, sculpture, and more, all with the purpose of celebrating and encouraging discussion about citizenship. A non-profit, nonpartisan group called My Vote Performs (MVP) produced the project.

For Suffragium (above), Jill Sebastian used documentation from the Milwaukee Public Library, the site of her project, and images of sculptures that are in and in front of the voting area at the library to create an animated video about Wisconsin’s voting history. The video was presented on two TV monitors inside the library for voters to watch while waiting in line, and there was also a woman in period costume outside the library singing suffragist songs.

As part of his project, Amalgam (a portion of which is illustrated below), at Craig Montessori School, Steve Wetzel distributed a form to 4th-grade students requesting that they sketch their ideal voting booth. The sketches were incorporated into a two-dimensional amalgam, made by Wetzel, that was on display in the school lobby.

Portion of Amalgam, by Steve Wetzel

Co-producers Pegi Taylor and John Loscuito needed to get approval at multiple stages of the project from the state and local elections divisions, as well as from all the site managers. The delicate balance was making sure the art was nonpartisan and would not interfere with people voting, yet offer artists opportunities to do their best work.

MVP was a success. Hundreds of people were exposed to performance art. Voting site officials were cooperative. No one complained that the art was partisan. A complete list of participating performers and projects, along with key media coverage, can be viewed at
http://www.myvoteperforms.com/

MVP’s key sponsor, the Wisconsin Arts Board, gave funding hoping the project could serve as a model for other cities. If you are interested in learning more, My Vote Performs will present a documentary video at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, 273 E. Erie Street in Milwaukee, Nov. 25 at 7:00 p.m. Or feel free to contact co-producer Pegi Taylor at pegitay@sbcglobal.net

ARThouse call for videos

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CALL FOR VIDEOS: ARThouse HOLIDAY DRIVE-BY EXHIBITION

ARThouse will be celebrating the holiday decorating season with a series of outdoor video shorts. The projection will be approximately 30 feet wide, the width of “ARThouse”. The Drive-By exhibit will be open to vehicle and pedestrian traffic 5:30-9:30 pm, Dec. 13 – Dec 31.

Holiday theme not required.
Send your video(s) and resume to:
ARThouse 117 1st Ave NE New London, MN 56273.
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: November 22, 2008.

Please format your video work to be quicktime compatible, iDVD friendly (AVI, DV, MOV and MP4 video formats.)Include SASE for your work to be returned.
Email submissions will not be accepted.

ARThouse is a residential, phantom exhibition venue specializing in contemporary art and ideas. Through its exhibitions and site specific projects, ARThouse works to nurture and support the creative endeavors of artists and deepen public understanding of contemporary art. For more information visit ARThouse.

Art vs Audience

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After teaching a class on art and social change, I have held the belief that artists need to consider the responsibility they have to their audience when creating work in public. Taking the cue of what not to do from missionaries and service learning programs that tend to have a “drop in and fix the problem” approach, I always encouraged my students to think long and hard about their artistic presence in a community. To ask themselves a series of questions related to the relevance of their work. Why here? Why now? Why me? Am I assuming to know more than my audience? In short, what gives me the right? These become important questions when you attempt to expose unsuspecting and sometimes uninformed audiences to your work.

For the most part I stand by these beliefs, although a new thought process is beginning to take place in all of this. What about experimental public art? Art that is often being figured out as the the artists goes along (much like me with this blog). Art that sometimes is created as a testing of an artistic hypothesis on the part of the artist.

I do believe that the artist has every right to conduct these types of experiments but I sense some tension when the public becomes the petri dish. One can choose to partake in a concert of experimental music or improvised dance (which if not done well can border on the tenuous line of self indulgence on the part of the musician or dancer). But innocent bystanders in the public realm may not always have that choice. What if they are not in the mood to be accosted by a public performance piece in the name of art? Or try to negotiate the space around the Tilted Arch ?

I fully embrace artistic experimentation and love love love unanticipated artistic encounters for the unsuspecting public. The wackier the better as far as I am concerned and with the advent of new technologies the possibilities are endless. I believe these two methods of working in public can co-exist but I wonder if we should (and if so how?) apply a sort of artistic social code to artists working in public in order to address the difference of art for audience and art for the artists.

Perhaps I should hedge my bet on the notion that all artists drawn to work in public posses some kind of innate desire to share beauty and thought provoking experiences with the world.

Thoughts?