1

SEPTEMBER 2012 News Briefs Brief items from the past month related to public art in Florida

from the Florida Association of Public Art Professionals (FAPAP)

BROWARD

CONGRATULATIONS TO TIN LY OF BROWARD COUNTY, FL!

1) Tin Ly, project manager and conservator for Broward County's public art collection

won Public Art Archive’s summer drawing, entered by every person who completed

the PAA survey. The prize pack included three books and a FREE Collection Showcase

page in the Archive-valued at $750!

2) Cruising School, the latest Broward County Public Art & Design installation, located at Port Everglades

Cruise Terminal 18 opened last month. The Larry Kirkland art creates the impression of a school of

shimmering fish suspended among crystal bubbles and golden waves.

Kirkland created the suspended interior artwork for the two-story atrium lobby complimenting the

building and enhancing the cruise experience for embarking passengers. The artwork is comprised of

more than 1000 painted aluminum fish suspended from an oval bracket. Rotating on ambient air

currents, the fish activate the space with changing reflections while casting shadows on the

surroundings. http://www.broward.org/Arts/PublicArt/PadTour/Inventory/Pages/Kirkland_Cruising.aspx

(l-r) – Alice Zendel Simon; Rose Marie Cossick; Bonnie Barnett; BCC Chair Deborah Kerr; Broward County Commissioner Sue Gunzburger; Larry Kirkland; Estelle Loewenstein, Diane Weinbrum and Broward Cultural Division Director Jody Horne Leshinsky

2

JACKSONVILLE HIGHWAY GALLERY a Public Art Project

An ongoing collaboration between Florida Mining Gallery, a division of Harbinger, and Clear Channel Outdoor

of Jacksonville, will feature the work of regional (Jacksonville and Northeast Florida) professional fine artists

monthly. Quarterly, nationally recognized fine artists will be invited to participate in this digital billboard as art

gallery public art project. The artwork changes the billboards into impromptu art galleries showing off

Northeast Florida’s art scene to hundreds of thousands of visitors and residents alike.

In addition, each year there will be a Call to Artists resulting in an exhibit at Florida Mining Gallery coinciding

with 10 to 12 works shown on the digital Clear Channel Outdoor billboards, the Highway Gallery premiered in

August 2012 with the following artists on the billboards and in the Gallery:

Aaron Garvey, Carole Danek, Chip Southworth, Daryl Bunn, Jason Fort, Jason John, JAX Laridae, Jim Benedict,

Mark George, Jeff Whipple, Jesse Brantman, and Troy Eittreim

Image above: a collage of the images selected to be shown on the billboards, each image was shown individually

During September, 2012 Lily Kuonen is the featured Highway Gallery artist: "The works for the Highway Gallery

will be all text based," states Kuonen, "with text derivative of the actions I explore in my studio process and

which relate to the site specificity of the billboard." Five images by the artist will be selected for usage where

they will rotate along with advertising.

Image above selected for the Highway Gallery, September 2012

Lily Kuonen, COVERED, graphite on paper, 30 x 44 inches

www.FloridaMiningGallery.com

3

KISSIMMEE

John Hayes has been contracted to select, curate and oversee installation of a 16-piece sculpture exhibit.

ORLANDO

1) See Art Orlando is a new organization that has raised private money to place 9 large-scale,

contemporaryl sculptures around downtown Orlando. An international call-to-artists has been issued

for artists’ work that will “enhance the aesthetic experience and cultural image of Downtown Orlando.”

www.seeartorlando.com

2)

“Cyclorama”, located outside the Performing Arts Center between the UCF Theater and Music buildings

is the work commissioned of Joe O’Connell and Blessing Hancock from Creative Machines

http://www.creativemachines.com/Contact/Public_Art.pdf, two very talented professional public

Artists, to commission a piece of Artwork for the Performing Arts Center.

The Artists describe “Cyclorama” as a series of four sculptures that from a distance suggest a

“contemporary stage set”. The public should know that it was intentional that the sculptures be placed

amongst the live oak trees between the Theater and Music buildings. The Artists hoped that the

sculptures would invite students to enjoy the relationship between the trees and the shapes and forms

of the sculptures. According to the Artists, the sculptures tell archetypal stories in abstract form. “As

people see both the small-scale detail of our sculptures and the large-scale relationships between them,

they may reflect on the origins of storytelling, theater, music and scenery.”

“Cyclorama” is lit by some of the World’s brightest LEDs which cast sharp colored shadows among the

sculptures and people interacting with them.

4

PALM BEACH COUNTY

1) Artist Barbara Grygutis completed “The Green Wall” for the Palm Beach County Centennial Plaza.The

plaza’s design pays homage to this area’s native coastal hammock environment. Only native plants are

planted. Before designing the plaza, Barbara visited native habitats in MacArthur State Park, researched

local native ecosystems and reviewed archival photographs in the Historical Society of Palm Beach

County. There she encountered the concept of the “green wall” referring to the difficult-to-penetrate

vegetation that covered this land. The plaza’s landscape and hardscape develop “The Green Wall”

concept into a sculptural environment which draws on imagery, form and color from the region’s native

plants. The Sabal Palm inspired the shade canopy and bell tower. The luminous green tile on the

pavilion wall is a metaphor for the beads of light that sift through the native landscape canopy. The

plaza’s trees, shrubs and perennials are native to this region.

Photos credits Robin Hill.

The plaza’s centennial bell tower and bronze bell honor Palm Beach County’s centennial celebration (1909-

2009). The Cultural Council of Palm Beach County raised private funds for this part of the project. Donor

recognition is incorporated into the design.

5

2.

Tom Drugan and Laura Haddad’s “Productive Light” is integrated into the foyer of the Palm Beach County Library

System’s Acreage Branch Library. Built around the concept of solar energy, the art is an educational tool about

the production and consumption of renewable energy. The forms and images of the art relate to the Acreage

region and its Branch Library, and include illuminated elements that are powered by sunlight.

The artwork at the Acreage Branch Library is a metaphor for both historic and modern ways the sun produces

energy. The orange tree sculpture references the historical function of sunlight in the Acreage’s successful

orange grove industry. Today, with modern technology, photovoltaic cells convert sunlight into the electricity to

illuminate the glass globes of the sculpture, thereby linking solar energy’s modern use to its historical role in

agriculture. “Productive Light” pays homage to the historic orange groves of the Acreage, which have largely

disappeared.

The artwork includes a photovoltaic system, a suspended orange tree light sculpture, an interactive sun panel,

educational booklet, and orange glass barcode windows. The lights within the orange tree sculpture are

powered using solar energy generated from photovoltaic solar panels on the roof. The interactive sun panel

illustrates the kilowatt hours (kWh) being produced by the solar panels and consumed by the orange tree

sculpture, giving the art an educational component that ties into the function of the Library. The colored

barcode windows transmit orange-tinted sunlight, and the barcode lines reference the ISBN (International

Standard Book Number) of the educational booklet about the artwork which is available to the public near the

panel, and in the Acreage Library’s reference book section.

6

TAMPA

1) On Friday, August 10th, the City of Tampa, Art Programs Division launched Agua Luces, an initiative Led by Mayor Buckhorn, Tampa Electric and Peoples Gas, and the Lights On Tampa Committee, to permanently light nine landmark bridges in downtown Tampa. To-date, five of the nine bridges, have been illuminated by lighting artist, Tracey Dear. The bridges are: Platt Street Bridge, Brorein Street Bridge, Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority overpass, Kennedy Boulevard Bridge, and the CSX Railroad Bridge. The lighting is a permanent addition to the downtown. For additional information the artist and the Lights On Tampa program, visit www.lightsontampa.org or www.tampagov.net/agualuces.

(Photo attached - Photo by Ben Dickmann)

http://www.baynews9.com/content/news/baynews9/video.html?clip=http://static.baynews9.com/newsvideo/bn9/web_video/web_bridge_lights_sky9_8_10_12.f4v&vtitle=From%20the%20air%3A%20Downtown%20Tampa%20bridges%20lit%20up

2) Artist Carl CowdenIII repainted the Tampa Postcard, located in the heart of downtown. Originally commissioned in 2003, the mural merges images from past with the present on this historic building.

(photo courtesy City of Tampa)

7

CALLS FOR ART

FORT MEYERS

Florida's Art in State Buildings Program new project at Florida Atlantic University with submission deadline of

September 14, 2012. With an art budget of $95,500, the project art selection committee is searching for a

variety of art media for exterior artwork from small to large-scale outdoor pieces. A link to the project

description can be found at http://www.fau.edu/facilities/asb/fau_asb/callartist.php

ORLANDO

Commissioning or purchasing contemporary sculptures up to 25’ tall and 20’ wide. Submit qualifications by October 31. www.seeartorlando.com

SAFETY HARBOR

Application information is available here.

PLEASE LET US KNOW Let us know about any public art related news from your area – new art work, loss of art work, press or

legislation affecting the arts, new personnel, etc. Send news of the month to Terry.Olson@ocfl.net by the 1st of

the following month.

www.FloridaPublicArt.org