Public Art Projects
“The Local” Commission for the Rose Kennedy Greenway, Boston, MA On view through April 2017 Materials: casted clear urethane plastic, painted steel, solar LED lighting When The Big Dig was underway in Boston, several midden (pile of refuse) chiefly containing shells were unearthed. The ancient trash heaps revealed much about those who roamed these sites before us. Often the shells grew larger towards the bottom of the piles, artifacts from before oysters were harvested as abundantly. Left alone, an oyster never stops growing. These dozen oysters of mythical proportions beg the question- what will we leave behind? Oysters are the water’s natural filters. Here, Midden rests below the air intake shaft for the I-93 tunnel below, pulsing colored light, as if breathing, as the wave of night passes over them. About THE LOCAL on The Greenway “THE LOCAL” was a request for artwork proposals from locally-based Massachusetts artists. The Greenway selected two artists to situate site-specific artworks for 6-12 months beginning in spring 2016 that will collectively, physically, and/or experientially unite the segmented parks and connect the communities along the park system. The Greenway is dedicated to collaborating with Boston, Greater Boston and the Commonwealth’s creative communities to present public art that enhances our city’s imaginative capacity, enlivens our neighborhoods, contributes to economic vitality, spark civic exchange, and enhances community connection. Read more here: http://www.rosekennedygreenway.org/visit/public-art/currently-greenway/midden/ Greenway Public Art Curator:Lucas Cowan Artist: Gianna Stewart Web: Gianna.Works
Gianna Stewart, The Local, Commission for the Rose Kennedy Greenway, Boston, MA. Photo credit: Christine Banna
Judith Hoffman, The American Dream, 2016, Welded Steel 14 x 6 x 4 ft (HxLxD)
Commissioned by TEMPOart Portland, Maine. June 2016 - June 2017 in Lincoln Park.
New Publications
A Companion to Public Art by Cher Krause Knight and Harriet F. Senie
West Sussex, UK and Malden, MA: Wiley Blackwell, 2016
ISBN: 9781118475324
A Companion to Public Art is the only scholarly volume to examine the main issues, theories, and practices of public art on a comprehensive scale. Edited by Cher Krause Knight and Harriet F. Senie, it brings together established and emergent scholars ranging from art and architectural historians, critics, public art curators and art administrators, as well as artists.
With 19 essays in four sections—tradition, site, audience, and critical frameworks—the Companion assesses public art as it is taught, thought about, and talked about within the field, and as it is conceived in the public and popular imagination. The essays discuss important topics in the field, including valorizing victims, public art in urban landscapes and on university campuses, the role of digital technologies, jury selection committees, time and memory, patronage, and the intersection of public art and mass media. In addition to perspectives from scholars and professionals in the field, it contains contributions by artists. These “artist’s philosophy” essays address larger questions about an artist’s body of work and the field of public art, by Julian Bonder, eteam (Hajoe Moderegger and Franziska Lamprecht), John Craig Freeman, Antony Gormley, Suzanne Lacy, Caleb Neelon, Tatzu Nishi, Greg Sholette, and Alan Sonfist.
Authoritative and indispensable, this guide is essential reading for anyone involved in the teaching, creating, commissioning, and contemplating of public art.