VOL 03 ISSUE
10 
May 25, 2004
VOL 03 ISSUE
10 |
| TECTONIC PLATES: BROWN BOXES OFF TRAIL AT NEW SOUTH HIGH | ||||
 TECTONIC PLATES account
for the movements of the earth's crust which result in earthquakes. South Anchorage High
School is graced with an understated sculpture of that description commissioned with
public funds from Kim Brown. Brown's The Crowd Goes Wild on Northern Lights is
also a product of the Municipality's PerCent for Art ordinance (cf Issue #116). Both
pieces are fabricated of steel but Tectonic is ruthlessly minimalistic, eschewing
most form and all finish and hidden in a strip of woods beyond a rock strewn hillside
behind the north parking lot. A trail is planned that will pass near by and still this
sculpture is as reclusive as the artist herself. Since the cubic forms do not directly
touch each other, the relevance of tectonic motion is barely alluded to, and the rust
finish is vulnerable to the saps and detritus of the birch forest within which it stands. The
index image for this issue illustrates the natural state that Tectonic has
already fallen into. Another quadrant is marked by muddy footprints (not shown). |
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LOCKER INSTALLATIONS:PATRICK SPOTS The tip of a hardhat in the picture at left illustrates the keen interest that construction manager Dave Rein has in the successful integration of public art into the grand project which is represented by this vast, glorious schoolhouse. Rein enthusiastically reviewed the spots in the school prepared for works by UAA professor Don Mohr and Rhode Island's Jonathan Bonner. Areas in the library await a plethora of panels planned by Sonya Kelliher-Combs, and a beautifully constructed display cabinet on the half-round library desk that will hold a zigzag fold artist's book by Susan Share. Share's ceramic work is featured in bathrooms and hallway niches and is an eclectic mix of text and images that adds a bunny to the boy's bathroom. The work of Anchorage sculptor Jeff Patrick is largely completed and in place already, and sculptural teams are expected to complete their installs in mid-July. Patrick teamed with his new wife Christine Bristah to produce a cascade of words etched into natural steel plates in the main stairwell. Although the ordinance intends to provide funds to artists, Bristah collaborated in this case with minimal qualifying characteristics of the typical visual artist. As an example, one text etched into a top stair is a quote from the chorus of the John Prine anthem, Blow Up Your TV. Patrick is a highly regarded sculptor with his own studio building designed to his purposes and his characteristic tall narrow furniture like metal constructs often include enigmatic texts. Rein commented on Patrick's reluctance to explain his pieces, stating that the viewer was intended to provide their own answers to the clues provided. For him, "It's Art, man", was a summary phrase responsive to all questions of the 'What the..." nature. At various locations in the stream of lockers, one has been left out and a form placed on a concrete plug acting as a base and as part of the sculptures in several cases, as shown far and near left. The wood and glass cabinet door does not open; the box is embedded into the concrete and a close inspection makes the cabinet appear bottomless. The tables show a bit of reinforcement below the purposely eroded concrete. Already plastic bottles and other trash has found a way to be included by viewers supplying meaning. It is easy to imagine those students lucky enough to draw nearby lockers taking ownership of these quirky installations. Patrick and Bristah will receive $65,000, Brown $50,000, Kelliher-Combs $77,000, Mohr $72,000. Artists were selected during the design stage by a pair of outside artists who did not contribute works of their own to the project. |
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ART ROOMS: BEST AVAILABLE Dave Fandell will take over as art teacher in the new school, which has attracted most students who have the option and have seen the facilities. The photo at left shows the flat storage in the 2D artroom and the scale of the space. The 3D room has soldering and welding stations with fancy ventilation, custom areas for pottery wheels designed for easy cleanup, and a kiln room with two large kilns and one ginormous one 'fit for several freshman'. The facilities provided for these high school students will exceed the quality of many colleges and certainly what is available to professional artists in town. It is to be hoped that the sons and daughters of property tax payers will take advantage of their beneficence. A large display case in the hallway will be ready to display works to the general student population. | |||
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NESJAR FOUNTAIN: LINTON PROJECT WET Kay Linton's spirit of community pride lives on with the restoration of the fountain at the Loussac Library in Anchorage this summer. A number of folks contributed unstintingly to making it happen, and it is very gratifying to see this water feature working again for the first time. Modifications include measures taken to prevent freezing and flooding problems which kept Nesjar's Ice Fountain short of his original vision for so many years. The library is ending its practice of making loans from its print collection, which hasn't been added to since the early 1980's. The prints will probably be sold off, bringing a sad close to a once bright opportunity for artists and would-be collectors in the state. Loussac Library at one time made loans of a series of busts of famous men of letters. That is also a bust, unfortunately. | |||
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ON PARADE: SILLY SALMON SEASON According to a persuasive report on the economic impact of the arts by the First Richmond Bank, "Community public art has allowed artists, residents, and businesses to engage in projects that celebrate the local talent and bring tourists to the city. Chicago featured cows in 1999; Norfolk, Virginia, followed with waving mermaids; Columbia, South Carolina displayed steel palmetto trees; and Richmond, Virginia displayed Rockfish. When the totals were tallied, Chicago's 320 cows had raised $3.5 million at charity auctions; 100 of Norfolk's 120 waving mermaids sold for $225,000; Columbia's steel palmetto trees netted $190,000; and Richmond grossed $310,000 for the establishment of an endowment for the 1708 Gallery and 70 other non profits on the sales of the Rockfish. This type of event creates a tourist attraction and allows a city to publicize its artistic power in developmentally and financially beneficial ways." Anchorage is publicizing its artistic power with the Wild Salmon on Parade second annual distribution of decorated taxidermist molds on a walking tour downtown. Gary Brooks, business manager of IBEW Local 1547, and Melinda Taylor, promotional director and former assembly member, came up with the idea to embellish the Silver Salmon Derby already in existence and centered on the Ship Creek fishery. Taylor cites the Olympia WA Soul Salmon phenomenon as an inspirational model. The group photo at top left shows a number of the 30 examples created by as many artists and artist teams, each receiving a $500 honorarium. The red fish on the two by four stand, as an example, is titled Wise Eddy, (the fish reading the book, “How I Got Away”) and was worked on by the 'Artisans of the ARC', a collaboraton by: Andre Hogg, Debra Burt, Wendy Poss, Dru McAlpin, Clark Hinchey, Raymond Severence, Wendy Barr, Grace Ancheta, Wilma Moonin, with assistance from: Valerie Mothershead, Tanya Raymondo, Cecil Long, Mark Falsey and technical advice and assistance: Michael Poss, Dru Malone. The one with the saddle (Carousel King) is by Tamas and Cathy Deak and the overdressed Belle of the Yukon River is by Holly Goozen. | |||
 -OPPORTUNITIES- 6/1/04 deadline SEWARD MIDDLE SCHOOL STATE OF ALASKA seeks concept proposals . Budget $90,000. RFP and Site Plans online. contact Sandy Gillespie 907-269-6605 6/1/04 deadline extended ARTS FOR THE PARKS national competition. Jurors Jennifer King, Christine Mollring, and B Byron Price. $50 fee, size restrictions. $65,000 in awards. Prospectus on line 6/5/04 deadline ALASKA WATERCOLOR SOCIETY Juried exhibition. See prospectus. 6/30/04 deadline HARBORVIEW MEDICAL CENTER ART PROGRAM is building a slide registry of portable original artworks, unframed. Size and price restrictions. contact Peggy Weiss 6/30/04 OPEN STUDIOS COMPETITION NEW AMERICAN PAINTING PACIFIC COAST cfa for nationwide jurored publication. Region includes AK, CA, HI, OR, WA. $25 entry fee, three pages and a bio with contact information in preeminent catalog if your work is selected. Contact 617-778-5265 8/15/04 deadline WELLS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL in Maine seeks metal or stone
artwork, $16,000 budget. contact Donna McNeil
NEXT: JUNE BUGS FEEDBACK Aggravated again?! Get a NO Prize for proving us wrong. Let us know you love us or hate us and tell us about your upcoming event or opportunity and get a No, Thank YOU. Help correct attribution errors you suspect. SHORTCUTS: When we use your 100 word reviews of any show you've seen recently, sweet and sour, you'll earn a free limo ride some First Friday. Form makes it easy. cf also ART IN ALASKA |
NASCAR JACK:CAR,
BOAT, OR FISH?Artist Donald R Ricker created NASCAR JACK seen
at bottom left. Ricker said he wished he could make a half a dozen of them with motors and
radios to swim in the 4th of July parade. A preview party at the Conoco Phillips atrium
downtown is scheduled for Sunday afternoon June 6 from 1 to 4. The sculptures will be
displayed on stands all summer and travel to the fair before being auctioned in the fall
to benefit Foster Grandparents, Campfire Girls, the Anchorage Cultural Council, and the
Anchorage Museum of History and Art. AMHA EXPANSION:MUSEUM OF SCIENCE, HISTORY, ART & FORESTRY Wash aphid piss off bronze and Core-Ten sculptures in the BACK ISSUE Index.
Welcome back and a No, Thank YOU to a charter subscriber in Kenai, who wrote: "No need to give me a No, Thank You! by name, but Celia Anderson's piece you reference: 'Celia Anderson's statuesque female nude in Out of Alaska's Waters (not shown) was the most dramatic of the few figurative subjects' Turns out not to be a nude. The model is statuesque and it is a dramatic painting, however. Her own interpretation of Venus' rebirth in Alaska." Correction made, ArtSceneAK has to confess to an overactive imagination. Special thanks to Margret Hugi-Lewis, who sent: "Dear Donald, how are you? I was so busy lately that I haven't been out at all.Was in Ketchikan in Sand Point giving Workshops and just finished the set for the new Play at Cyranos.I want you to go and see the Play, there." Filmmakers are invited to participate in the Eagle River BearPaw Film Festival but be ready by June 1st or plan to be a spectator this first time. This event is intended to be an annual affair. forwarded by Lisa Mills: Arts Committee Meeting Friday, June 4, 2004 10:00am - Noon at the Child Care Connection, Inc. (Conference Room) Success By 6 Building, 3350 Commercial Drive, Mountain View |
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text & photos © 2004 Donald R Ricker; artist's works pictured ©2004 to artists credited.
The Museum Expansion design
contractors including John Kumin, David Chipperfield, Appelbaum, and Anderson gave a
presentation on advances made since their last visit. Only Chipperfield showed any
progress in his thinking, lowering the previous cube like 'penthouse' into the fourth
floor proper and removing any volumetric features from the plan. He remains stubbornly
committed to a reflective white surface for the building. At the last meeting with
interested museum supporters, Pat Wolf looked cursorily at the plan above proposed as a
site-specific installation on the existing vacant lot. The designer, Donald R Ricker,
wanted to give visitors and locals alike a giant comparison of the relative sizes of
Alaska and mainland USA. Wolf suggested he propose it to Appelbaum (he didn't), who
is now suggesting a map on the atrium floor. How do these things move forward? Recent
schemes remove all art functions from the current museum building and surround the atrium
with the Imaginarium. Art collections and temporary exhibits are to be placed in the upper
two stories of the proposed addition, with Alaska Gallery functions in the bottom two
floors. The current Alaska Gallery exhibition has remained unchanged for more than two
decades. The thinking is that artists can be pushed upstairs because their draw is so
strong that the interesting diagonally organized gallery spaces will attract visitors up
through the building. As long as they don't conclude that nothing ever changes after
hoofing it through the bottom two stores up a proposed ramp stretching the length of the
building. In a question and answer period, several in the audience at the May 25 meeting
spoke of their objections to the proposed birch grove landscaping. More than a quarter
million dollars is proposed to be spent on transplanting birch trees into a grid on the
still mostly vacant lot. 
