|
Publicly funded art projects have not always created a positive image Public art is increasingly adorning urban landscapes across the country
The sculpture by artist Claes Oldenburg and his wife, Coosje van Bruggen, is a gift to the city from Gap Inc
The Des Moines trowel â€â€? another Oldenburg-van Bruggen sculpture called "Plantoir" â€â€? will be at the entrance of corporate headquarters for Meredith Corp Firman, a consultant hired to oversee the city's program
A 1988 bicentennial project in Cincinnati created a furor over an Andrew Leicester sculpture depicting 3-foot-high bronze flying pigs S oldenburgvanbruggen
In the past two decades, a growing number of city and state governments have discovered how public art can help enhance development and improve their image
founder Donald Fisher and is an example of the private funding that creates many pieces of public art
Seattle artist Jack Mackie created the idea in 1982 and incorporated instructions for the mambo, tango, fox-trot and waltz into the sidewalks on both sides of the street for five blocks
Installation of the $1 million sculpture culminated a $40 million corporate headquarters expansion that also anchors a major redevelopment project on the west edge of the city's downtown People are now used to the pigs and 11 years after the park was dedicated, an annual marathon was renamed the Flying Pig Marathon
"People come and put their feet in them and do the dance and they really enjoy it," Firman said , anyone driving down Main Street may notice what is perhaps the epitome of large-scale public art put to practical use: A 45-foot-tall pair of binoculars serve as the entrance to a parking structure for the West Coast corporate headquarters of Chiat/Day Advertising Inc
Public art is not always massive in size and cost and can be as whimsical and interactive as Dance Steps on Broadway â€â€? a series of brass foot imprints imbedded in concrete on Broadway Street in Seattle Public Art Popping Up in U com/
About 300 cities in 30 states provide funding and support for public art
â€â€?â€â€?â€â€?
On the Net:
Claes Oldenberg and Coosje Van Bruggen: http://www
"It's innovative and fun yet it speaks to our heritage in gardening," said Art Slusark, a Meredith spokesman
Des Moines enacted a public art ordinance in 2001 which requires businesses seeking incentives from the city to set aside money for public art and to dedicate about $250,000 in public funds for projects , which publishes home and garden magazines Cities
Nov 19, 6:02 PM EST
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) â€â€? A bright, red 24-foot trowel will be planted here this week joining a colossal clothespin in Philadelphia and a super-sized spoon holding a cherry in Minneapolis
Besides installations this month in Des Moines and San Francisco, the New York artists are working on "The Big Sweep," a gigantic broom and dustpan slated for Denver in 2004
"I've witnessed it â€â€? it's had a pretty significant impact on how the city feels about itself," said John W
Oldenburg and van Bruggen have collaborated on more than 40 large-scale projects around the world The binoculars, created by Oldenburg and van Bruggen, stand four blocks from the Pacific Ocean and house space for private conference rooms and research
"The dissemination of art outside of museums and onto the street is something that most major cities are focusing a lot of energy and resources on," said Joe Nootdar, spokesman for West Coast developer Wilson/Equity, which is coordinating the installation of Cupid's Span, a mammoth bow and arrow, in a San Francisco waterfront park
In Venice, Calif |