I am surprised about the lack of public artists, administrators and academics that don't know the work of David Harding in 1968-78. For eight years, he served as the "Town Artist" for the Scottish new town of Glenrothes. Harding is still practicing as an artist and has published some of his memoirs on the Glenrothes work. The memoir is here: www.davidharding.net Harding was followed by … [Read more...]
“Teenager Art” Billboard in Bilboa Pisses-off Guggenheim
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...]
Halo versus Halo in #publicart
One tricks the sense of gravity. Another strives for heaven. Turpen + Crawford, Sydney............... Titia Ex, Amsterdam … [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...]
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...]
Design-Build Weekends: Vermont, Germany, UK and Arizona
Looking for a little hands-on, artistic rejuvenation. Try Studio in the Woods in the British countryside for only £165 in July. Or the 72-Hour Urban Action in Germany's Ruhr Valley in July. Other collaborative Design-Build workshop options include Yestermorrow in Vermont, USA and Arcosanti north of Phoenix, USA. Both year round. Yestermorrow is $350 for a weekend and $875 for week. … [Read more...]
Public Artists earn $37,000 annually in England
IXIA Public Art Online in Britain has just completed its third annual survey of public art. A few interesting facts. Number of Projects in England: 900 England averaged 20 public art projects per million people. Popular Art Forms: Social engaged practice and festivals with public art are growing fast with local agencies, and art in architecture remains strong. Large permanent and … [Read more...]
Studio Weave: Thank you for your Work and Words
I must have been a sleep to not notice Studio Weave and its directors Je Ahn and Maria Smith. Read this... The statement could be crap. But the work proves it is not. At Studio Weave, we are fascinated by the powerful role that stories play in creating a sense of place, both as a design tool and a way to engage with everyone surrounding a project including clients, consultants and users, both … [Read more...]
Improve “Memory Wound” for the Norwegian massacre
Norwegians select "Memory Wound" by artist Jonas Dahlberg. The 43-year-old artist has sliced a three-and-a-half-metre-wide slit into the Sørbråten peninsula, which faces the island of Utøya where Anders Behring Breivik killed 69 people in 2011. It marks a "symbolic wound" in the landscape. I like the memorial as a sculptural reminder. Simple metaphor of damage landscaped and damaged nation. … [Read more...]