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[Chpac-staff] Letter to CHNews in Response to Cutson Op-Ed
- From: "Janet Kagan" <jkagan AT nc.rr.com>
- To: <chpac-staff AT lists.ibiblio.org>
- Subject: [Chpac-staff] Letter to CHNews in Response to Cutson Op-Ed
- Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2005 20:11:53 -0500
PUBLIC ART
EXTENDS CIVIC PRIDE AND RESPONSIBILITY
In response to Robin
Cutson's claim (Sunday 9 January 2005 Op-Ed) that public art is a
"non-essential" budget item, we would like to correct a misrepresentation of the
facts and suggest that public art, when integrated into our experience of public
spaces, catalyzes our sense of civic pride, contributes meaning to our Town, and
creates a coherent frame for social and communal discourse.
Funds allocated for percent
for art projects do not add additional costs to a project; these funds are
already integral to project budgets.
Procedurally, Percent for Art commissions are awarded to artists from
near and far. The Public Arts
Commission is committed to promoting and advancing professional opportunities
for all artists, regardless of address.
Mike Roig, David Wilson, and Sally Erickson are artists who have designed
percent for art projects and live locally; Larry Kirkland, Laura Haddad/Tom
Drugan, and Ray King live outside of North Carolina. When communities across America only
offer local projects to local artists, our own accomplished regional artists are
denied opportunities to compete for projects elsewhere. In the case of the selection of Ray King
to design the new floor for the Homestead Park Aquatics Center, the project
received 108 applications from local, regional, and national artists. Mr King was selected by a committee
representing both the Chapel Hill and Orange County Parks and Recreation
Departments, the Chapel Hill and Orange County Public Art Commissions, local
artists, the project architect, the Town Manager's office, the Town Council,
current users of the pool at the Community Center, and outside arts
professionals. The process of
deciding which capital improvement projects should include public art, and
subsequent artist selection, is open, transparent, and inherently public. We encourage everyone who is interested
to join us in these efforts.
Public art relies upon
interaction among artist, community, site, designers and architects, civic
leaders, commissioning agencies.
This process produces art that becomes a part of our public history,
reflecting and revealing ourselves to each other and our visitors. The work is an _expression_ of our sense of
place and collective identity as articulated by the artist. Since ancient Greece, public art has
been firmly embedded in the idea of synoikismos: making city or
place. Our commitment to beauty in
artistic _expression_ makes Chapel Hill a beacon for other communities
across the country and helps us celebrate ourselves.
-
[Chpac-staff] Letter to CHNews in Response to Cutson Op-Ed,
Janet Kagan, 01/10/2005
- Re: [Chpac-staff] Letter to CHNews in Response to Cutson Op-Ed, Susan Leeb, 01/11/2005
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