Salt Lake City initiated an exciting and innovative public art competition that will fill an empty parking lot in the heart of downtown. The project is considered a bargain for the city since it will use $36,000 that was already earmarked for landscaping the empty lot. An additional $10,000 in earmarked city arts funding will be supplemented for the design.
The winner of this competition, Daniel Lyman, will fill the parking lot with this arresting design: a temporary field of composite rods that will sway in the wind like tall grass or aspens. His design is inspired by watching wind blowing through a wheat field. A student at the University of Utah College of Architecture, Lyman won the competition through the American Institute of Architects Utah’s Young Architects Forum. Lyman said: “Part of my thinking was that if people are going to shows and to restaurants [downtown], it would be more fun for them to have an interactive experience with that space,” says Lyman, who will also act as the construction contractor on the project.”
Lyman will insert 1,200 flexible 10-foot nylon composite rods into concrete bases in the lot next to Capitol Theatre. The installation will be completed in May 2011, and the competition judges say that it will meld architecture with public art.
Director of Salt Lake Art Center and a judge in the competition, Adam Price said that Lyman’s design is “striking. It offered the possibility of a different kind of public art in Salt Lake City. Rather than being an object, it is an experience. There’s really nothing like this in Salt Lake City right now in terms of an interactive art.”
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/entertainment/51036669-81/art-lake-salt-competition.html.csp
I saw this article on Arts Watch and thought the idea was really cool. This seems very similar to your art in storefronts proposal which is similar to the CTA Pop-up Art Program in the Loop in Chicago. I wish more cities would engage in initiatives like this.
ReplyDeleteHave you seen anything in Cincinnati that is a surprising arts experience?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxe5EDYOsvU&feature=player_embedded#at=21
Yes, I was at TED and saw this flash mob. While this arts experience is definitely unexpected, it lacks permanence. It's exactly what it's named: a flash. It happens once and it quickly fades from the consciousness of the individuals who viewed the performance. Flash mobs are neat the first couple times they happen, but they quickly become tired. The sentiment transitions from “Oh, cool! A group of people are randomly dancing! This must be a flash mob.” To “Oh, look. Another flash mob.” They’re something that if done, must be done in moderation.
ReplyDeleteWhile it can be argued there is a concentration of impact on the individuals who actively participated in the creation and performance of the flash mob. How is it helping the arts community as a whole? Initiatives such as the CTA Pop-up Art Program put visual art in empty store fronts within the Loop. With the opportunity to see the art again and again, the impact is greater. The benefits of using visual art are numerous. It usually doesn’t create a huge disturbance the flow of traffic. It doesn’t interrupt an individual’s or a group’s day. It gives individuals the opportunity to engage at their pace. Why do you think museum attendance is one of the very few arts genres to be steadily increasing? It’s because the power is placed in the hands of the patron. I get to choose when I see an exhibit. I get to choose when I leave. I can see as much or as little as I want. I don’t have to get dressed up. I don’t have to talk to anyone. I don’t have to plan ahead. The experience is uniquely mine.
http://redlineprojectmobile.org/2011/01/19/monroe/