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- From: "Steve Wright" <swright AT townofchapelhill.org>
- To: <chpac-staff AT lists.ibiblio.org>
- Subject: [Chpac-staff] project artist in news
- Date: Wed, 12 Dec 2007 16:30:17 -0500
Dear CHPAC, Linked and printed below to an interesting article on a
Janet Echelman project for the City of http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/1209art1209-ON.html
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Plans for the art, which
have been reviewed in several public meetings earlier this year and were poised
to receive the remaining funding by the City Council, were dropped suddenly
last week by Ed Zuercher,a
It was also news to the artist, who said she had been working closely with the
contractor and the architect on installation configurations. Echelman said no
official has asked her if the art could be installed sooner.
'Not
a lot of return'
Zuercher, who recently
began his job after serving three years as Mayor Phil Gordon's chief of staff,
said Friday he won't ask the council to authorize the remaining money for
Echelman's work. City officials will have to start over to have art in the
park, he said.
Gordon issued a statement Friday saying Echelman's work was "not a lot of
return" for $2.4 million, saying the piece would only withstand the
elements for a decade.
Echelman said Gordon was misinformed, adding that webbing material alone has a
15-year warranty. Of the $2.4 million, only $315,000 is budgeted for the
netting material, the artist said.
On Saturday, the Downtown Voices Coalition and some arts members who selected
Echelman met with officials, demanding answers.
"All of a sudden, it's a no go," said Andrea Norman, chairwoman of
the public art committee for the Phoenix Arts and Culture Commission. "I
feel the whole process has been hijacked."
City officials on Saturday told coalition members they would consider their
comments and would give them an update today.
Architect Will Bruder, who has designed several
"I know everyone is afraid of the pots process," Bruder said,
referring to the early 1990s controversy of the artwork placed along the
then-named
Echelman was chosen from among 178 artists.Arts and Culture Commission members
expected the process to be finalized soon, with the City Council approving the
remaining funding for the project. Money for the public art is already set
aside as part of the percent-for-art program.
If Echelman's piece is not used, the $2.4 million still must be used for public
art. A selection process would begin again.
"Our commitment to have art in that space is not diminished,"
Zuercher said.
Gordon also said he wants art for the space.
"I am confident we will end up with a defining piece of artwork that can
be appreciated for generations and centuries to come," he said.
Some members of the arts community wonder if city officials are worried about
allocating $2.4 million during a tight budget year.
"It's capital money, it won't come from the police or fire budget,"
Iconic
or complicated?
Speaking from her home outside
"I think the city is trying to dump me," she said. "All fall
we've participated in weekly meetings with the entire Civic Space team. The
contractors for landscape and sculpture have worked together to create a
feasible schedule, and so far they've tackled the numerous challenges that are
always present in a project of this scale. Our plan for the sculpture is
completely feasible."
Echelman acknowledges the design is unfamiliar. "But great cities have
always taken bold steps. . . . No city ever built an
Zuercher insists that the piece isn't being killed because someone didn't like
the design.
He said he likes the piece, especially how it would be lit with different
colors, depending on the season: pink for fall and spring, blue in summer and
red-orange for winter.
"That was going to be neat," he said. "The scale of it is very
dramatic."
Zuercher said the work's fate is tied to a firm opening of the Civic Space park
by November. Several things converge this fall at the space, including the
opening of the ASU journalism school and a downtown student dormitory. Light
rail is also scheduled to start next December.
"It had been the desire and plan and intention to have a large-scale
iconic piece of art integrated into the design of the space," Zuercher
said.
To put the piece in after the park is open would be impossible, he said,
because landscaping would be damaged. It's going to require significant
engineering with cranes and lifts to install the three steel towers that would
support the piece, he said.
"There has been a strong commitment to the ASU community and larger
downtown community that the park will open on time," Zuercher said.
Wellington Reiter, dean of the
But Susan Copeland, a member of the Arts and Culture Commission, can't believe
the project was scrapped. "I'm furious," she said. "The park
opening is an arbitrary deadline. This piece of art would have drawn people,
even if they liked it or didn't. Without it, it's going to be a little nothing
park."
- [Chpac-staff] project artist in news, Steve Wright, 12/12/2007
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