Art for Animals

Happy New Year! And thanks to Steve for the invitation to blog about art in the public sphere across the west coast during 2011. I look forward to the extended conversation.


Artist Opportunity to exhibit outdoors in Wis

Juried Call for Outdoor Public Sculpture

The Stevens Point Sculpture Park is accepting submission of sculpture work for their first annual,three-year outdoor sculpture exhibition. A local jury will choose pieces for display from April 15, 2010 through April 15, 2013.

The Stevens Point Sculpture Park, located in Central Wisconsin, is a 20-acre, city-owned park with nearly a mile of forested trails that are used year-round by people of all ages for biking, skiing, running and walking. The Park offers a wide variety of trees and geographic features including a pond, wetland and forest. It is a zone 4 growing season (which includes cold winters and hot summers).

The Stevens Point Sculpture Park is committed to providing a welcoming and accessible outdoor venue for sculpture and arts exhibitions, activities, and educational programs by enhancing the cultural life of our community and surrounding region through a diverse program of education, collaboration and experimentation.
The Park is located close to elementary, middle and high schools, and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. The Park’s trails connect to the Stevens Point Green Circle Trail, a nationally recognized 31-mile recreational corridor that encircles the Stevens Point Urban Area (1993 National Park Service Award).

Artist submissions that are selected will receive $750 for a three-year exhibition loan of their piece. Sculpture submissions need to be free standing; foundations or bases are not provided. Delivery, installation, and return of work are the artist’s responsibility (please note in artist’s statement if any special installation needs are expected).

A wide variety of work will be considered, including: site specific work, ephemeral and/or permanent work, work in a variety of scales, art with a performance component, etc. Materials must be appropriate for the environmental location. For more information about the park or visitation requests, please contact Otis McLennon at otism@artsportagecounty.org

Artists may submit up to five pieces for consideration. Submissions must include the following information for each piece submitted:

Artist Name; Address; Phone; Email
Title of piece; Dimensions; Materials/Media
Images – JPEG (1000 pixels on the long side), slides will also be accepted
Artist’s Statement (including any specific installation requirements)

Mail to:
Attn: SPSP Juried Call
Arts Alliance Portage County
PO Box 565
Stevens Point, WI 54481

Or email: otism@artsportagecounty.org

In your submission, please let us know how you heard about this call, to help us better communicate.

All submissions must be received by November 13, 2009.
Electronic and standard mail submissions are accepted.

Calendar:
November 13, 2009 – Submissions due
January 15, 2010 – Notification of works selected (by phone or email with follow-up contract in mail)
January 30, 2010 – Contracts returned by artists
April 15 – May 15, 2010 – Sculpture installations
June 12, 2010 – Park Grand Opening


Success!

Camille Utterback and Alan H. Davidson installing touch sensitive handrail for interactive light work.

Camille Utterback and Alan H. Davidson installing touch sensitive handrail for interactive light work.

Over the past week, Camille Utterback has been installing her as-yet-untitled (suggestions?) interactive sculptural artwork for the lobby of the Showplace Theaters in The West End, St. Louis Park, MN. It’s all working!

Camille Utterback, untitled interactive artwork, The West End, St. Louis Park, MN

Camille Utterback, untitled interactive artwork, The West End, St. Louis Park, MN

There are 6 tubes with LED lights hanging over the staircase in the lobby of the theater. The LEDs react to people touching the handrails along the balcony. Each touch of a hand rail creates an upward “blip” in the corresponding LED light, which is the color of the rail at that moment. The length of the blip is determined by the duration of touching the rail. If all 6 rails are touched simultaneously, the lights rain down blips.

Camille Utterback, untitled interactive sculpture, The West End.

The balcony railing still needs to be stained, so the touch sensitive sections will not be permanently installed till next week, but it’s all working and ready of for the opening of The West End, which will begin in stages after September 15.

See Alan H. Davidson’s excellent documentation on flickr and previous posts on Public Address.


Dry run with funnoodles

Dry run installing Camille Utterbacks new project at West End. Photo: Alan H. Davidson.

Dry run installing Camille Utterback's new project at West End. Photo: Alan H. Davidson.

On Monday, Camille used some “funnoodles” to mock up final location of her interactive lighting installation in the theater at the new West End development.

Funnoodles to mock up hanging locations for interactive LED lights. Photo: Alan H. Davidson

Funnoodles to mock up hanging locations for interactive LED lights. Photo: Alan H. Davidson

More pictures here.

Today they install the real thing.


Installing at West End

Camille Utterback, West End project (studio). Studio before we sent out the lights. The lights are naked as all but one test acrylic tube had already been shipped.

Camille Utterback, West End project (studio). "Studio before we sent out the lights. The lights are 'naked' as all but one test acrylic tube had already been shipped."

Camille Utterback begins installation of her West End project today. I’m excited to go visit and see the installation. They plan to hang some styrofoam pool “funnoodles” as a mockup to lock in the column heights/locations.

Prior site visit photos.

Prior site visit photos.

Here’s a link to a set of photos from a site visit last week checking out the wood railing by Utterback’s collaborator, Brett, who did the engineering on the project.

A good shot of one of the Railing Sensor housings in place.

"A good shot of one of the Railing Sensor housings in place."

Our clear test cable guard (will be stainless steel).

"Our clear test cable guard (will be stainless steel)."


America’s Best Public Art

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

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.