Blog Posts for February 2013 Blog Salon

Thank you to the many people who have been blog contributors to, and readers of ArtsBlog over the years. ArtsBlog has long been a space where we uplifted stories from the field that demonstrated how the arts strengthen our communities socially, educationally, and economically; where trends and issues and controversies were called out; and advocacy tools were provided to help you make the case for more arts funding and favorable arts policies.

As part of Americans for the Arts’ recent Strategic Realignment Process, we were asked to evaluate our storytelling communications platforms and evolve the way we share content. As a result, we launched the Designing Our Destiny portal to explore new ways of telling stories and sharing information, one that is consistent with our longtime practice of, “No numbers without a story, and no stories without a number.”

As we put our energy into developing this platform and reevaluate our communications strategies, we have put ArtsBlog on hold. That is, you can read past blog posts, but we are not posting new ones. You can look to the Designing Our Destiny portal and our news items feed on the Americans for the Arts website for stories you would have seen in ArtsBlog in the past.

ArtsBlog will remain online through this year as we determine the best way to archive this valuable resource and the knowledge you’ve shared here.

As ever, we are grateful for your participation in ArtsBlog and thank you for your work in advancing the arts. It is important, and you are important for doing it.


Liesel Fenner

Not Dangling Earrings from the 'Venus de Milo' & Other Public Art Best Practices We’ve Learned

Posted by Liesel Fenner, Feb 11, 2013 0 comments


Liesel Fenner

Liesel Fenner Liesel Fenner

Americans for the Arts Public Art Network (PAN) was formed and evolved in the 1990s when a group of public art administrators sought to establish professional standards for this rapidly-expanding sector at the intersection of art and design.

While the design professions have long-established best practices through their professional associations like the American Institute of Architects (AIA) or American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), PAN has been moving steadily forward articulating guidelines for commissioning agencies and artists alike.

The drafting of these standards comes from volunteers—leaders in the field, in particular past and present PAN Council members leading committees, discussions, and drafting platform statements posted and updated on the PAN website (www.publicartnetwork.org).

For this week's Blog Salon we invited PAN members—both administrators and artists—who are leading programs or projects that you may not have heard about yet. They discuss everything from the ever-popular topic of conservation to things to consider when de-accessioning work to suspending the rules to allow for public art events.

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Jessica Cusick

Getting To Yes: How Redefining the Rules Allows for an Innovative Public Art Event

Posted by Jessica Cusick, Feb 11, 2013 0 comments


Jessica Cusick

Jessica Cusick Jessica Cusick

On Saturday, September 28, 2013, Glow, the first all-night arts event in the United States to emphasize the commissioning of new work, will transform the beach in Santa Monica into a world of interactive and engaging contemporary art installations.

Building on the success of Glow’s first two editions, it is expected, once again, to attract between 100,000 and 200,000 visitors to Santa Monica Beach during the course of one night, making it among the largest public art events in the U.S.

In order to produce the event, staff will ask City Council to adopt an ordinance that temporarily suspends local law in the Glow zone for the duration of the event, as was the case in 2008 and 2010. This was the unusual solution that we were able to craft, working closely with the City Attorney’s office.

Use of public space in Santa Monica is by necessity heavily regulated given the broad range of demands and the need to preserve access to one of the most iconic beaches in the country. When we first started discussing Glow we realized that in order to provide the artists the freedom they needed to reinvent our public spaces, and give the public the opportunity to experience them, the event that we were imagining would essentially break every rule in the book. These range from when the parks are open to the public to what can take place on the beach at various times of the year. In 2008, we even needed to take precautions not to impact the grunion run

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Ms. Carrie Brown

Coming Up For Air: A Pep Talk for the New Year

Posted by Ms. Carrie Brown, Feb 11, 2013 0 comments


Ms. Carrie Brown

Carrie Brown Carrie Brown

 

So it is the start of a new year; a time to refresh, refocus and re-energize. The City of Austin Art in Public Places Program recently held a staff retreat where we did just that. In the last two years we have grown from two to seven staff members and with our full team assembled can effectively tackle the work before us. But there is more to it than just having enough resources to “get it done.” As public art administrators (or as I like to say “jacks-of-all-trades, masters-of-all!”), we also need periodic inspiration and creative endurance. The challenge is finding the time. At our staff retreat, we began the day with Show-and-Tell of our favorite projects and artists and current creative endeavors—and how refreshing it was! Show-and-tell got me thinking about not only what inspires me, but why, and the importance of spending time figuring it out. Here are a few things I came up with: As a person of short stature (my cousin’s daughter once asked if I had “grown all the way” after learning that I was in fact, an adult), I have always been drawn to objects that challenge one’s sense of scale—like the proposal for deer-shaped power lines or a three-story bear. To me, these massive objects are breathtaking and at this large-scale diminish the relevancy of our individual size.

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Aliza Schiff

Public Art Assessment & Conservation

Posted by Aliza Schiff, Feb 12, 2013 3 comments


Aliza Schiff

Aliza Schiff Aliza Schiff

Every two years Arlington Public Art contracts a conservator to review our collection of more than 60 permanent artworks and for the first time this year our portable works—60 framed artworks hung in county buildings. This year’s review was recently completed and I am now reviewing the condition reports and making decisions with the rest of the Public Art staff on specific conservation and maintenance actions to take.

Some of the findings in the reports are straightforward and the recommendations are simple to implement. For example, mend the fence around a play sculpture in a park; or clean the dust and dead bugs out of a stained glass skylight at a community center. We have good relationships with other county departments especially Parks & Recreation and our Public Art Master Plan (see page 82) makes clear that sponsoring county departments are responsible for maintaining artworks in their facilities or sites.

Artworks that were commissioned by private property owners as a community benefit through the county’s site plan process are also reviewed by our contract conservator. Our Public Art Master Plan states that the site owner is responsible for maintaining the work of art as a community benefit in perpetuity. When these artworks need attention, I contact the property owners to have the work done. This often includes recommending products or specialists and I consult with the artist, if possible, and the maintenance plan submitted at the project’s completion. 

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Mr. Clark Wiegman

Copyrights & Copywrongs: A Quick Overview of Basic Issues

Posted by Mr. Clark Wiegman, Feb 12, 2013 0 comments


Mr. Clark Wiegman

Clark Wiegman Clark Wiegman

 

Although the Public Art Network (PAN) has provided public art guidelines regarding copyrights there are some notable challenges & exceptions to the rules that are worth examining. While there are many chapter & verse details within this discussion that deserve attention, my approach here is a little wider focus & idiosyncratic. There is definitely a lot of nuance to the issues and I pose many ideas as open-ended questions to invite discussion in the comments below. Contract negotiations. Typical copyright language within public art contracts usually goes something like ‘upon approval of installation of the Artwork, the Client takes ownership while the Artist retains copyrights…’ What happens until that point during design and fabrication is an area that deserves greater scrutiny and clarification, as there is always the distinct possibility of a project terminating for any number of reasons. Considering this, should some sort of protective worst case scenario language be considered a best practice? Registering a copyright. Don’t assume if you put © on your drawing/painting/sculpture/photo that you have sufficiently protected your artwork. No United States court has recognized an unregistered copyright as deserving financial remuneration for infringement. Spend the $35 and register your project if you want basic legal standing. Besides cost, are there any potential downsides to copyright registration? Copyrighted items. Sculptures, drawings, photos, and other products of the artist’s individual original efforts can be copyrighted or trademarked. Ideas or concepts cannot be copyrighted. The item must be a tangible realization of the artist’s concept. Next time you toss out an idea during an interview or design team process and the idea shows up later, unaccredited or unremunerated (as potentially unethical as that may be) know you do not have a legal leg to stand on to pursue damages. On the other hand, if a conceptual artwork is somehow codified (such as words or phrases i.e. a Jenny Holzer truism) does that afford it protection?

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Mr. James M. LeFlore

Let Them Eat Cake (or Not)

Posted by Mr. James M. LeFlore, Feb 12, 2013 0 comments


Mr. James M. LeFlore

James LeFlore James LeFlore

In the Public Art Network (PAN), we all share and discuss our favorite recipes for success, i.e. “best practices.” And to make a comparison to the art of baking a delectable cake (imagine your favorite style here), there should be no surprise when you go off the recipe or use a stale batch of ingredients that your cake will come out of the oven tasting like the mess you put in it.

Agree with me or not, but I am starting to think that the majority of the general public sees the value of public art in a comparable manner to that of a slice of cake. Some are truly in love, seeing public art like a treat to be consumed in celebration of all the shared experiences of our lives. Others just have no sweet tooth for public art, they may be under a strict diet, or worse they blame cake and/or art for the destruction of our children’s future-children.

Maybe public art isn’t particularly suited as an entrée or even a side dish, but is good being a dessert—the last and memorable item on the menu.

I have observed a trend emerging in best practices. Public art has shown how we as cake makers can produce more and better recipes; how we can enlist more cooks and serve more customers; but before we eat more, let’s ensure we are all healthy and hit the gym.

So, first we need to define our trouble spots that require the most work. Here are a few of my proposed exercises (best practices) for the field, just to get us going: 

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