I guess that everyone is like Coke - suing anyone that uses the work or image without permission. Inside an art gallery, the Guggenheim Museum did not protest "back of a teenager's notebook" drawing the turns the Bilboa Guggenheim into a battleship. But on the streets of Spain, the 2,000 square foot digital mural by Paul McCarthy and Mike Bouchet was not permitted. Their collaboration at … [Read more...]
Billboards of the Sky
A few images of billboards by artists to remind the viewer of the sky. … [Read more...]
Halo versus Halo in #publicart
One tricks the sense of gravity. Another strives for heaven. Turpen + Crawford, Sydney............... Titia Ex, Amsterdam … [Read more...]
Recalling a Tom Finkelpearl Moment on the Way to Director of NYC Cultural Affairs
In honor of Tom Finkelpearl's appointment as the director of Cultural Affairs for the City of New York, let's recall one of Tom's great battle's in his efforts to the support that artists that worked for the community. After years working with communities in the Bronx, John Ahearn was selected to create three sculptures for the NYC Public Art Program under Tom's leadership. Due to opposition by … [Read more...]
Finding a New Public Art Commission
For a $100,000 public art project that I am managing in Tamarac, Florida, I asked the artists to tell me how they heard about the commission. As the submittal was through callforentry.org (CaFE), the vast majority found the project through CaFE, but PublicArtist.org is gaining ground. I also asked the minimum public art project budget required to interest an artist. The large majority was … [Read more...]
RAINBOWS: Less Joy. Burning in Warsaw
Julita Wojcik's rainbow of plastic flowers in Warsaw has been burnt five times by Polish nationalist in the mistaken idea that the sculpture supports gay rights. The sculpture is now a main visual element of the battle for the heart of Poland as a conservative, nationalist bastion or a city of tolerance, especially for LGBT Poles. Yet the artist Julita Wojcik continues to say: "The Rainbow … [Read more...]
More Joy – RAINBOWS: Best loved, least used #publicart
An actual rainbow generates a smile in me every time. They are just suddenly THERE. The feeling is like seeing a fish jump or the landing of a bird on your window sill. A quick momentary gift. My attention heightens and nothing else matters around me. EXCEPT to share the pleasure with anyone else in space. LOOK - I yell or whisper. We jump a little. Yet when the actual event, becomes a … [Read more...]
Sydney Brewery Installations
Two installations from Australia. … [Read more...]
Cruz-Diez to Paint “Dazzle” Pattern for Liverpool Ship
One of my favorite artists, Carlos Cruz-Diez, will make a visual monument for Liverpool by painting a "dazzle" pattern on a World War I ship. Amazing history of dazzle designs for 2,000 WWI British ships to fool German submarines. Here is the press release. Liverpool Biennial, the UK Biennial of contemporary art, and Tate Liverpool will jointly commission Carlos Cruz-Diez to work with the … [Read more...]
Architects as Sculptors: J-Mayer-H versus Ensamble Studio
Last week, I planned to argue for Ensamble Studio as the better method to be a sculptor as as an architect. Ensamble feels the weight and balance of materials. J-Mayer-H draws shapes in space. And J-Mayer-H shapes are crude, arbitrary lines. Ensamble strives for a tactile, spatial emotion. With J-Mayer-H, the space is merely the leftover area inside the form. One is intimate. The other … [Read more...]
BE THERE! Open Engagement Conference at Queens Museum
Join me on May 16-18 and hundreds others at the most important gathering in years. Open Engagement Conference at the Queens Museum in NYC. Personally, I will be looking for emerging methods to survive economically and artistically as an artist dedicated to strengthening communities of people. You will not find me at discussions about exhibiting/curating Socially Engaged Work or projects created … [Read more...]
Dallas Park Pavilions: CooperJoseph outshines Snohetta
In 2003, the City of Dallas passed a bond to renovate its parks. The bond included generous budgets for new picnic pavilions as architectural features. After a series of pavilions from regional firms, Dallas hired CooperJoseph and Snohetta. If this was a football game, the final score would be CooperJoseph, 45 and Snohetta, 10. A few years ago, I heard Ai WeiWei describe his frustration with … [Read more...]