VOL 03 ISSUE
19 
October 8, 2004
VOL 03 ISSUE
19 |
| WHITE CLIFF:STACKING ATCO TRAILERS BEHIND THE BIRCHES | ||||
 WHITE CLIFF is a
trial brand name being hung on the cube based design concept
presented by architects David Chipperfield and John Kumin , exhibition designer Ralph
Appelbaum, landscape architect Charles Anderson and museum director Pat Wolf at the eighth
public workshop in late September at the Anchorage Museum of History and Art. A
lively crowd of museum supporters gathered in the dimly lit auditorium (scheduled to be
unchanged during the expansion) to review the culmination of 14 months of retainers fees
equal to a total of nearly $3,000,000 which brought to a formal close the 'conceptual
design' phase of the project. The final presentation shown above seemed oddly
identical to the initial presentation. Only the computer graphics have improved. |
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INTERVENTION:CHEECHAKO MISTAKES Chipperfield spoke of the extraordinary opportunity and fascinating project involved in designing a museum, certainly a pinnacle in architectural achievement. He cited the important downtown location and the special role of the museum in Alaska. "Most museums are more diverse and less focused," he said. The Museum is displaying two models and a graphic presentation which includes one of Chipperfield's initial conceptual sketches, shown at left. How close he came to getting it right! The Chugach Range is confused with the Alaska Range and Ship Creek seems almost navigable but the sketch does catch one vital quality of downtown: the main streets and buildings are on an east-west axis. At no time during the previous sessions has anything but the north-south orientation of the expansion been proposed. Startlingly, Chipperfield showed a possible 'future' expansion which included a second floor over the existing northeast 'back of house' section of the museum and a building on the north side of the lot stretching out toward the rest of downtown."Clearly something for the future," Chipperfield claimed. Perhaps he meant not the immediate future, but some more distant future we haven't paid him to design for yet. | |||
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BIRCHES:URBAN FOREST PLAZA The current orientation of the building covers the alley with a long narrow building running north and south, which will reflect the least southern sun and provide the least relief from the north wind. It is bizarre to hear of the claim of 'Green Building' design when these two simple concepts are both ignored. Add the square footage of the proposed radiant heated concrete allée running diagonally across the lot and promenade running the length of the building and multiply the number of btu's required to keep that area free of eight feet of snow like we had last winter. ARTIST MATH = that dwarves the cost of the 300 trees individually irrigated in store bought soil that is the landscape architects' sole idea which also has not changed substantively in 14 months. Nothing has been said about funding for purchasing or maintaining a collection of outdoor sculpture. In the picture of the nice wood model at left, the forest is represented by q-tips and by computer but real birch trees average 18 meters tall, which is 60 feet or three stories. The allée, intended to draw people to the entrance, bizarrely does not lead to the entrance. A gridded copse of trees serves to conceal the entry, already undistinguished between two large areas of retail display windows. | |||
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IMAGINARIUM:GALLERY
CONVERSION Ralph Appelbaum had new representations of suspending some
form of iconic art in the atrium and using the mansard ceiling as a projection
surface. The two story 'lantern' with it's wasted cubic area was not mentioned but would
seem to be more suitable than the atrium, attractive because of its uncluttered nature.
Appelbaum spoke of shared elements from design vocabulary branding the interior spaces of
the expansion and the existing building with proprietory modular cases. Most existing
galleries would be turned over to the Imaginarium, as imagined at left. "The idea
is to let kids discover their imaginations," he said. ALLÉE ET PROMENADE:ALLEY ENTRANCE The corrugated plastic 'cardboard' that is used in the model, shown at left, is intended to stand for exterior sheathing variously described as "glass, reflective, white"and no doubt also proprietary. Glass is a poor insulator and an early victim of errant hockey pucks on the proposed public skating rink. A warming hut is described loosely as being a feature. Alarmingly, Chipperfield backs the birch forest (which is questioned by many who are familiar with local conditions) with the argument that after he placed the building where it is there was too much vacant land and it needed an 'intervention'. Why would the architect abrogate the opportunity to intercede with his building? Why doesn't the landscape designer include the needs of the automotive public with some driveways rather than bus indents? Why are there no covered walkways? Who ever heard of a rectangular skating rink? What do public inebriates do with benches and in the underbrush? Concept closed, according to Wolf. She paid for this advice, and she's going ahead with it. |
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ACC:GOIN 2 THE CANDIDATES
DEBATE Sandy Harper of the Anchorage Cultural Council, Ira Perman of
the Alaska Humanities Forum and Ed Bourgeois of the Anchorage Opera for the fourth time
invited candidates for public office to a forum at the Discovery Theatre in the PAC. 20
candidates praised the value of art to the fewer than 100 arts enthusiasts attending.
Perman and Bourgeois, shown at left, moderated and kept a light tone and a strict
timetable, but it was nearly three hours before the wrung out candidates were let
go. Incumbent Tom Anderson spoke of the upcoming opportunity to design or judge the
designs for the Alaska version of the US Quarter. Ben Gruenberg spoke of sponsoring a bill
supporting artist's moral rights in Alaska, which involves resale of artworks. Candidate
Linda Zaugg spoke of 'finding the money' for PerCent for Art projects. ArtSceneAK suggests
looking for the 1% as a subset of the 100%. Does this even happen in New York City? It sure is fun and thanks to all who participated. Between 1 and 1-1/2% of the labor force in Alaska works in the arts and a high concentration of fine artists are found in Alaska with its comparatively small general arts labor force. The 2000 census counted nearly 3700 individuals occupied in the arts, including fewer than 800 fine artists and art directors, a thousand designers, and 300 architects. |
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HILAND HIGH % 4 ART:HARDHAT TOUR Architects recycle good designs and the new Eagle River High School is the spitting image of Dimond. A group of heavy hitters in the public art scene gathered off Porcupine Drive to go through the giant walls in the public atrium and the library of the new building . Still in stud form and without the expected dropped ceiling, the rough spaces fired the imaginations of those contemplating the $300,000 in commissions available. An outdoor sculpture for the entrance area shown at left is also an area where concept proposals are invited. A tour of Dimond showing the same essential spaces is planned for Tuesday October 12. at 4pm. | |||
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TOP OF THE CLASS:DOBSON
& DAULT Shala Dobson and Jim Dault are collaborating on a State %
for Art sculpture called Top of the Class for the Sitka Public Safety Training Academy and
ArtSceneAK was lucky to catch a glimpse of it (shown at left) in Anchorage prior to
installation in Sitka. Dobson describes it as a 'larger than life bronze Alaska State
Trooper hat set atop three carved granite books on a concrete base." Law books,
no doubt. Graduates of the Academy will soon have the chance to photograph themselves next
to this public spirited piece, throwing their hats in the air. Dobson also mentioned her concern about the arts program at Gruening Middle School in Eagle River, which is currently unstaffed. "The art room is being used for storage,"she said. Dobson and Dault will participate in a public tour of Municipal % for Art sites at Sand Lake Fire Station Saturday October 9. (cf Issue #302) |
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ART CAR:ORCA MASCOT AT KELLER'S The cute little bug at left is the 1967 Volkswagen Beetle art car Tim Wickerstrom created for the Orca book store in Seward years ago. Spenard entrepreneurs and photodevelopers Joanne and Dick Keller bought the custom killer whale and have since commissioned a fresh one on a new style Volkswagen Bug and a miniature RC style for parades. The Kellers are active in the community and are one of several firms in town (including PhotoWright and Castleton's) that gets involved in providing slides of paintings and sculptures for gatekeepers to peruse. Keller confided that artists are literally the last class of people using slides and slide projectors, with business use of slides for presentation superceded by Powerpoint and video projection. A $15,000 machine for providing slides is languishing for lack of a $1000 in repairs and fewer than a 100 customers in five years. Slide projectors are specialty items and the market even for transparencies for print projects has been obsoleted by digital technology. Ironically, artists have been early adapters of digital photography while gatekeepers are the last to accept the use of electronic files. Again ironically, surprisingly few artists own projectors or projection screens and thus have not even viewed their own slides. Some tell nightmarish stories of decision makers holding their slides up to the light to look at them, but those folks will tell you that slides help them structure and organize the choices of who will benefit from artist opportunities. | |||
- ARTIST OPPORTUNITIES- 10/15/04 deadline 19th ANNUAL NO BIG HEADS AT UAA Jurored Self-Portrait show slide entries due, open nationwide. Size limit 12"cube. Juror is University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee professor Leslie Vansen. Contact 907-786-1219 for Prospectus. 10/15/04 AMHA EARTH FIRE AND FIBRE EXHIBITION solicits artist submissions. Juror David Revere McFadden, chief curator at the Museum of Arts and Design $4000 awards, $20 entry fee. Prospectus. 10/29/04 ASCA FAIRBANKS YOUTH FACILITY requests proposals for pieces that 'inspire idealism ... and consider the safety' of detainees. Contact ASCA or DOT. 11/1/04 ALASKA STATE COUNCIL ON THE ARTS ARTISTS IN THE SCHOOLS PROGRAM is accepting applications from artists with something to teach. $1000/week. Contact 907-269-6682 or use online form. 11/16/04 MOA EAGLE RIVER HIGH SCHOOL open to proposals. $300,000 budget for three areas Details contact Jocelyn Young 907-343-6473 11/19/04 deadline ANCHORAGE MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND ART CHILDRENS GALLERY exhibit organizers seek submissions on the subject of DOGS from artists nationwide. No fees, yearlong exhibit, contact Julie Decker, P.O. Box 101403 Anchorage, AK 99510 for prospectus.
NEXT: SCARE TACTICS 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 ArtSceneAK congratulates Governors' Arts Awards winners including: Arts Advocacy Award Janel Thompson, Fairbanks, former director of the Fairbanks Arts Association Arts Business Leadership Award General Communication, Inc. Arts Education Award Roger Schmidt, Director, Sitka Summer Fine Arts Camp, Sitka Arts Organization Award Anchorage Museum of History and Art, Anchorage Individual Artist Award Rie Munoz, painter, Juneau Alaska Native Artist Teri Rofkar, Sitka Lifetime Award for the Arts Kesler Woodward, artist and art historian, Fairbanks Bruce Farnsworth writes: "THE "TIME CHANGES PROJECT" HAS ARRANGED A VISIT TO ANCHORAGE NOVEMBER 20th BY ALAN LIGHTMAN, AUTHOR OF "EINSTEIN'S DREAMS". IF YOU ARE OR KNOW A PHYSICS/SCIENCE OR CREATIVE WRITING/LIT TEACHER AT THE SECONDARY OR UNIVERSITY LEVEL WHO SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THIS PLEASE SHARE THIS INFO WITH THEM AND ASK THEM TO GET IN TOUCH WITH ME. IF AN ORGANIZATION YOU KNOW OR BELONG TO WOULD LIKE TO SPONSOR OR DONATE TO THIS EFFORT LET ME KNOW." An All Capital Idea! |
ICE WALL:TACHA vs WATER
SPOUT Since nothing was firm about AMHA Exhibit design consultant Ralph
Appelbaum's forthright statement "The fountain has to go" when it was
last reported in ArtSceneAK, he repeated it verbatim in the presentation of the final
concept design. The glass block and water Ice Wall built by Athena Tacha as an
integral part of the spirit of the museum in 1985 is considered underfoot even though it
occupies otherwise unuseable space beneath the flight of stairs. VARA schmara has
been declared a consensus item and Appelbaum advocates an active feature fountain of a
whale blowing. Cute enough and Disneyesque like much of his vision, his notion is
illustrated by this animated gif made by BETTER LETTERS for Copper Whale Inn
of a wire mesh frame with blinking lights. Stack your Atco trailers in the freezer from the BACK ISSUE Index.
Thank you and Welcome to a new subscriber on Fireweed Lane. Thomas Birch shares some federal news: "President Bush had asked Congress to increase the arts endowment's budget in 2005 by $18 million to include support for American Masterpieces. The National Assembly of State Arts Agencies and Americans for the Arts continue to work at securing additional funding in the Senate Interior bill. The postponement of any action gives advocates additional time to impress upon their senators the importance of supporting the president's proposal to increase the NEA's budget, and at least to support the $10 million in new money approved by the House. On the Department of Education's arts education program funding, the Senate Appropriations Committee has voted a 15.5 percent increase from $35.071 million in 2004 to $40.5 million in 2005. Most of the new funding goes to support competitive grants for model programs to strengthen and integrate arts and cultural partnerships into the core curriculum with an allocation of $14.1 million, with at least $3.5 million tagged for new awards in fiscal year 2005." Dianne Hendrix sent us a SHORTCUT: "When will the Anchorage Museum get out of the dark ages? It takes an artist years to build a collection of their work and create a web site, plus lots of money and work mantaining it. A web site not only the fastest way to submit your art, it is the most professional portfolio. Do all those outside artists they court so hard contribute to funds needed to add an expansion to the museum? Maybe when they start giving artists that live and work in Alaska more opportunities to show at the museum, we who are taxpaying artists will support their efforts to expand. At the very least gate keepers of fine art should provide us help and not road blocks." ArtSceneAK was also surprised that the prospectus for the upcoming DOGS show in the Children's Gallery stated that suggesting gatekeepers visit your website was grounds for disqualification for artists. NoThank You for shortcut from a fellow publisher in Anchorage who wrote: "Hi Don, I am doing a review on my walk with my dogs today, Speedy and Teller... We went to what we call Ari's creek off the Abbott Loop road access at the base ball fields. I will forward some (digital) picutres. I also have a picture of the WOMBATS, women mt biking enthusiasts crossing Ari's creek. Cheers, and thanks for the great site. Your friend, the glacier." --- ArtSceneAK likes to hear it! Mark Daughettee sent word about his new personal website. It's a beauty. Kerby McGhee sends word from TaiPai: "Sunday
we hiked four miles up the mountain in the jungle, bamboo forests and vines and stuff,
very pleasing, i now understand where the chinese watercolor style comes from with the
mists and mountains. sunday night the tribe gathered together to sing their ancient
traditional songs, we were told that they no longer understand the meaning of the songs
but sing what has been passed down through the generations. It was somewhat moving
watching the young and old hold hands and move in a circle and sing. Afterwards this
man shay revealed the dark tribal secret, they had lied to us. The songs were
about.....head hunting, thats right, he showed us old photos of the tribe, like 20 people
standing in a line and everyone holding their very own, freshly harvested head and looking
very pleased with themselves. No wonder they were all so happy to see us with our
giant white noggins. Even though it made the room much warmer, we slept with the
door locked last night. " --- Kerby |
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text & photos © 2004 Donald R Ricker; unless otherwise credited; artist's works pictured ©2004 to artists credited.
ArtSceneAK is published by Donald R Ricker and sponsored by
