San Diego Ca

GREEN ART PARADE – July 13 & Aug 10

This post comes to you from Green Public Art

dd6004796c8b04814e47d27d65bc7c40GREEN ART PARADE: San Diego ~ July 13 and August 10, 2013

Join us on two Saturday evenings this summer for a GREEN ART PARADE, a curated street spectacle of portable sculptures, art bikes, green fashion and performances by Southern California artists with a message about the environment.

The PARADE will begin at 7:00pm at Art Produce (3139 University Avenue, San Diego, CA 92104). The parade will conclude around 8:00pm with a reception for the artists at the Art Produce gallery. Visit some of the local North Park businesses for prime viewing locations along the route: Art Produce, Urbn, Splash, Pigment, Linkery, West Coast, Heaven Scent/Bottle craft, Wangs, Hesse, Vintage Religion, and Swoon.

Expect to be delighted with the work of ten artists who will participate in the PARADE including:

Dia Bassett – Temaztub

Dia Bassett, an artist from San Diego, was raised in a family of artists and began performing at 5 years old in her father’s productions. Her involvement in performance both behind stage and onstage has influenced her art, leading her to create a blend of sculpture and performance. She uses a combination of traditional fiber techniques such as sewing, weaving, crocheting and knotting to create soft-sculptural forms, some of which are worn on the body during performances.

Artist’s statement: Temaztub is an invented term referring to the Western European tradition of bathing in a claw foot bathtub mixed with the Mesoamerican rite of purification in a sweat lodge called Temazcal. The hybrid form of Temaztub will juxtapose elements from each bathing structure of basin and dome. Temaztub is a mobile sculpture attached to wheels so that it can easily be pulled in the PARADE.

Temaztub is also a sculptural performance, which combines bathing traditions from indigenous and Western cultures. Western cleanliness requires soap and fresh water, though other traditions, like Mesoamerican, rely on minerals, rock and mud exfoliation, herbs, and steam. Because bathing traditions fluctuate over time and place, I want to ask viewers to reexamine their ideas of “clean” and “pure.” The performers’ mash-up of bathing traditions serves to confound viewers and give them the opportunity to pause and ponder the notion of bathing.

Marina de Bris

…more information about this project to come!

Janelle Despot

…more information about this project to come!

Suki Berry and Friends – Shark Bikes

Suki Berry and 8 other friends will bring a group of glowing Shark Bikes to the PARADE. Species like Great White, Hammerheads, and Basking Sharks, each measuring about 5 feet in length will be attached to bikes riding in the PARADE.

Every year tens of millions of sharks are slaughtered for only their fins, a process called “shark de-finning.” Without fins, sharks cannot swim, and without being able to move water through their gills, they drown. If the fishing rate of sharks keeps up we won’t have many of these beautiful fish left in the ocean. Over fishing is a huge problem today, and eliminating more shares from the ecosystem throws off a delicate balance.

A. Laura Brody – Fashion on the Fly (Live Staple Drawing)

A. Laura Brody creates works of beauty, function and purpose that are ecologically sound. She gives fabric remnants and discards new life as works of art shaping them around participant’s bodies with a stapler, staples and scissors. The newly dressed viewers will then be encouraged to join the parade for as long as they wish.

Artist’s statement: Many people in the Western world have little to no experience in making or working on their own clothing. The craze for fast, cheap fashion and goods is unsustainable in and encourages horrible excesses. The Bangladeshi garment factory collapse and the Foxcon scandals are sadly just the most recent examples in a long history of the ultimate cost of making cheap, mass-produced goods. Even “sustainable” fashion is suspect, because of the toxic processing required to generate, bleach and dye fabrics. Encouraging people to start making their own clothing from reused materials is a positive way to help break this vicious cycle.

My staple draped creations are made exclusively from reused and donated fabrics. The only new materials used are the staples. Staple draping is an unconventional way to get people engaged in the art and fun of creating, using simple and inexpensive tools and materials. It shows people the delight of sculpting on the body and opens them up to their own creative possibilities by demystifying the making process.

Richard Gleaves

Wearing street clothes and a red-ball clown nose Richard Gleaves will walk the parade route pulling, over his shoulder, a line connected to a bridal train of several hundred plastic bottles, which drag and rattle on the pavement behind him.

Artist statement: May your throwaway follow you everywhere.

Terri Hughes – Oil Well and Tomatoes

Terri Hughes, an Associate Professor at San Diego City College, creates sculptures, interactive and site-specific installations, and public artwork. She directs the Sugar Museum, a non-profit museum that organized exhibitions and projects at various locations. Her recent artwork is themed on her childhood memories of growing up surrounded by oil wells in Huntington Beach and the transformation of that city. For the PARADE, she will create a mobile sculpture made of 95% repurposed materials; a 8’ x 2’ x 10’ oil pumper made from Styrofoam scraps which will be pulled by 6-8 children wearing heirloom tomato costumes made from thrift store fabrics.

Artist’s statement: The oil pumper structure symbolizes our dependence on fossil fuels and most people do not realize that conventionally grown food uses lots of fossil fuels. But, local organic farms growing heirloom tomatoes produces far less of a carbon footprint than conventionally grown tomatoes.

One could view this project as ironic since typically the fossil fuels produce the tomatoes and here, the tomatoes are pulling the oil pumper. It also could be viewed as the heirloom tomatoes pulling the oil pumper, a dead horse, a thing of the past. I often use humor and sarcasm in my artwork. Involving kids in the project will also symbolize hope for the future.

Miki Iwasaki and the Bakery Design Collective – Caravan

Miki Iwasaki’s curiosity in making and building things eventually led him to pursue a career in architecture, and attend California State Polytechnic University in Pomona California. Miki also studied for a year at the Kyushu Institute of Design in Fukuoka, Japan and received his Masters in Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Miki, currently adjunct faculty at Woodbury University San Diego, School of Architecture, has remained dedicated to his own art projects and furniture designs.

Artist’s statement:  As we look back on the history of personal transportation in California, we have a relatively short but colorful story. From the early California pioneers and the covered wagon, to the advent of the automobile and it’s many permutations, to bicycles, skateboards, segways, scooters, recreational vehicles, custom cars and travel trailers, the culture and identity of California has been intertwined with the way we move. Many fascinating inventions and vehicles have already been introduced and are currently on the drawing boards of designers and creative people today, all in an effort to satiate our longing to explore and our need to get from point A to B. The Caravan project for the PARADE celebrates this history and introduces a mobile space of sorts, a way of having fun while thinking about a range of questions surrounding transport. What we choose to ride, how long it takes to get there, where the materials and fuel come from, how it is made and why we are so dependent on them, are all questions worth asking.

David Krimmel – Demeter’s Chariot

David Krimmel is a community artist, museum exhibit designer and aspiring farmer in San Diego, CA. His art spans many genres from the wheat hARvesT project to performance collaboration, “A Watershed Tale,” with the Mid-City Propagators.

Artist’s statement:  Demeter’s Chariot references the Greek goddess of Demeter, the god of the harvest and her chariot pulled by horses. Riding in the artist’s mobile sculpture will be Demeter. The public will be invited to a workshop where they will make vegetable hats, with materials provided by the artist, to wear in the PARADE.

Benjamin Lavender – Keep the Ball Rolling

Benjamin Lavender’s art reflects his lifelong fascination with the growth and erosion of nature. His signature style involves shaping metal and industrial objects into organic forms reminiscent of plant life. His latest sculptures are constructed primarily out of metal straps (from reclaimed whiskey and wine barrels) that have been cut, shaped and twisted into the shapes of various forms. His 7ft in diameter sculpture will be pushed along the streets in the parade.

Artist’s statement: The Idea behind this piece is that once the “ball” is in motion, it is our responsibility to keep this ball rolling on the right path; in this case referring to environmental awareness using green materials. My sculpture will be a large ball (approx.. 7’ diam) made of reclaimed wine barrel hoops, circling around a ceramic inner ball suspended in the middle representing the earth. Visually, I want to create the earth inside of its atmosphere, which is of obvious concern when promoting green building and conservation. Also, I want this to double as a single cell, with the planet representing the nucleus. Since the single cell is what all living animals start out as, it is the first “ball” to get rolling.

Interested in participating? Contact Rebecca Ansert at rebecca@greenpublicart.com.

**About Green Public Art Consultancy**
Rebecca Ansert, founder of Green Public Art Consultancy, is an art consultant who specializes in public art project development and management, artist solicitation and selection, and creative community involvement for private and public agencies. She earned a master’s in Public Art Studies at the University of Southern California and has a unique interest in how art can demonstrate green processes or utilize green design theories and techniques in LEED certified buildings. She founded her Los Angeles-based firm in 2009 in an effort to advance the conversation of public art’s role in green building.

**About Art Produce Gallery**
Art Produce is a unique artist-run, storefront exhibition space and public art experience in North Park, a diverse and historic urban community of San Diego. The gallery, entirely visible from the sidewalk, is designed to accommodate sculptural installations, cross-disciplinary works, digital media, and performance events. The space allows for unconventional presentation opportunities for artists and unexpected art encounters for viewers. Intended to enliven the experience of the pedestrian it is an experiment in public art that is accessible to everyone in the community – an attempt to render visibility and transparency into the art process itself.

 

Rebecca Ansert, founder of Green Public Art, is an art consultant who specializes in artist solicitation, artist selection, and public art project management for both private and public agencies. She is a graduate of the master’s degree program in Public Art Studies at the University of Southern California and has a unique interest in how art can demonstrate green processes or utilize green design theories and techniques in LEED certified buildings.

Green Public Art is a Los Angeles-based consultancy that was founded in 2009 in an effort to advance the conversation of public art’s role in green building. The consultancy specializes in public art project development and management, artist solicitation and selection, creative community involvement and knowledge of LEED building requirements. Green Public Art also works with emerging and mid-career studio artists to demystify the public art process. The consultancy acts as a resource for artists to receive one-on-one consultation before, during, and after applying for a public art project.
Go to Green Public Art

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Call to Artists – GREEN ART PARADE

This post comes to you from Green Public Art

Green Public Art Consultancy invites artists, performers and designers to create floats, placards, portable sculptures, kites, performances, art bikes, balloons and street spectacles for a Green Art Parade! Parade entries can make political statements, environmental messages. For inspiration, visit this pinterest board to get those wheels turning! www.pinterest.com/greenpublicart/green-art-parade/

The route will begin at a location TBD in North Park and will conclude at Art Produce (3139 University Ave, San Diego, CA 92104). Participants must be able to walk, run, and/or roll the entire route. The route will not exceed 1 mile in length.

The Green Art Parade will occur on two dates, Saturday, July 13, 2013 and Saturday, August 10, 2013 from 7:00 – 8:00pm. An artist’s reception at the Art Produce gallery and garden will immediately follow each event. The parade will coincide with North Park’s Ray@Night (www.northparkarts.org/).

To extend the ephemeral nature of the parade, Green Public Art Consultancy intends to exhibit a number of Green Art Parade entries in the Art Produce gallery and garden space from July 8, 2013 – August 18, 2013. Art Produce is a unique, artist-run, storefront exhibition space and public art experience in North Park, San Diego. The gallery, entirely visible from the sidewalk, is designed to accommodate sculptural installations, cross-disciplinary works, digital media, and performance events. www.artproduce.org/

ELIGIBILITY: This call is open to all artists residing in Southern California. Artists living in San Diego are especially encouraged to apply.

CRITERIA: Selected artists / teams will have experience creating artworks that express green design theories, utilize green materials and techniques, or express a significant environmental concern; have previously demonstrated a successful collaboration on a project; and are available to participate in a minimum of two public art parades.

DEADLINE: Submission materials are due May 15, 2013 by 5:00pm via email to:
info@greenpublicart.com. Selected artists notified on May 20, 2013 with an official
invitation to participate.

ABOUT THE CURATOR: Rebecca Ansert, founder of Green Public Art Consultancy, is an art consultant who specializes in public art project development and management, artist solicitation and selection, and creative community involvement for private and public agencies. She earned a master’s in Public Art Studies at the University of Southern California and has a unique interest in how art can demonstrate green processes or utilize green design theories and techniques in LEED certified buildings. She founded her Los Angeles-based firm in 2009 in an effort to advance the conversation of public art’s role in green building. For more info: www.greenpublicart.com

TO APPLY: The following materials must be received by 5:00pm, Wednesday, May 15, 2013:

  1. Submit all materials to info@greenpublicart.com in one pdf document labeled: ArtistName.ProjectName.2013
  2. Cover page: Name, Organization (if applicable), Address, Phone, Email, Website, and Narrative bio/artist statement (100 words or less)
  3. A one-page letter of interest describing your proposed project / performance / spectacle
  4. Five digital work samples of similar past projects. Identify each project with a title, dimensions, location, and year. Video clips should be no more than 5 minutes long each and included as links to YouTube, Vimeo, or your website.
  5. Resume and website (limit to one-page please)

SCHEDULE

May 15, 2013 Artists submit application materials listed above
May 20 Artists notified of selection; Artists begin working with Green Public Art Consultancy immediately upon selection
Saturday, July 13 Artist participates in Green Art Parade #1
6:00pm Artist arrives at parade start route
9:30pm Artist removes artwork from Art Produce
Saturday, August 10 Artist participates in Green Art Parade #2
6:00pm Artist arrives at parade start route
9:30pm Artist removes artwork from Art Produce
August 18 Exhibition closes

BUDGET: While Green Public Art Consultancy believes in paying all artists for their time, this project is strictly voluntary and does not have funding available for artist fees or materials. Green Public Art fully supports artists who wish to find outside funding to realize their project.

QUESTIONS: Please contact Rebecca Ansert, rebecca@greenpublicart.com or 424-229-2257

 

Rebecca Ansert, founder of Green Public Art, is an art consultant who specializes in artist solicitation, artist selection, and public art project management for both private and public agencies. She is a graduate of the master’s degree program in Public Art Studies at the University of Southern California and has a unique interest in how art can demonstrate green processes or utilize green design theories and techniques in LEED certified buildings.

Green Public Art is a Los Angeles-based consultancy that was founded in 2009 in an effort to advance the conversation of public art’s role in green building. The consultancy specializes in public art project development and management, artist solicitation and selection, creative community involvement and knowledge of LEED building requirements. Green Public Art also works with emerging and mid-career studio artists to demystify the public art process. The consultancy acts as a resource for artists to receive one-on-one consultation before, during, and after applying for a public art project.
Go to Green Public Art

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the arctic is melting and everyone wants a piece of it « Mo`olelo Blog

Two years ago, thanks to a grant from The James Irvine Foundation, Mo`olelo commissioned playwright Chantal Bilodeau to write a play that explores the intersection of race, class and climate change. Originally from Montreal, Ms. Bilodeau was already researching the impact of climate change on the Inuit communities of the Canadian Arctic. This commission supported that work. As she traveled to the arctic and did further research, she encountered the complexities and contradictions of climate change: ice versus maritime commerce, human rights and activism colliding with family obligations, sovereignty colliding with sustainability. The result was a new play, Sila. The title, Sila, is an Inuit word for the breath of life, the primary component of everything that exists.

Mo`olelo workshopped the first draft of this script last year; Ms. Bilodeau and Mo`olelo’s Artistic Director Seema Sueko journeyed to Montreal in January of this year to workshop the script at Playwrights Workshop Montreal with Inuit and Quebecois actors; and we will now host the third and final workshop reading of this script on May 24. We invite you to join us. For those who saw the reading in 2010, the script has gone through significant adjustments, with some characters “being fired,” and a tightening of the story.

Details

What: a reading of Sila by Chantal Bilodeau

When:   Tuesday, May 24, 2011 with 5:15 PM Potluck reception & mingle with the artistic team and 6:00 PM Reading

Where: The 10th Avenue Theatre, 930 10th Avenue, San Diego, CA 92101

Reservations: Space is limited. Email: tickets@moolelo.net or call 619-342-7395

Admission: Bring something to drink (bottle of wine, soda, whatever you fancy), food to share (cheese & crackers, hors d’oeuvre, or some other munchie), or make a $10 donation at the door.

www.moolelo.net

About the play:

The Arctic is melting and everyone wants a piece of it.

In the race to shape the future of the region, four characters – an ice scientist, an Inuit activist, an officer for the Marine Communications and Traffic Services and a polar bear – see their values challenged as their lives become intricately intertwined.

H20 – Preview: Terri Hughes-Oelrich

This post comes to you from Green Public Art

On May 6, 2011, H20: The Art of Conservation, at the Water Conservation Garden, San Diego, CA, will open to the public. Green Public Art reviewed over 1100 artists portfolios before inviting 14 San Diego artists to participate in the exhibition which offers San Diego homeowners an artistic alternative to incorporate water conservation into their own garden spaces. Green Public Art awarded each artist a mini-grant to develop their site-specific sculptures. In the weeks leading up to the exhibition opening the artist’s concepts will be revealed on this site. Questions? Contact Rebecca Ansert, Curator, Green Public Art at rebecca@greenpublicart.com.

Hughes-Oelrich.Terri inspirationHughes-Oelrich.Terri concept

CONCEPT: A Feeble Attempt to Catch Water (working title) was inspired my interest in historical ways of catching water. The formal structure of the work was inspired by a chance moment when I peeked in on my kids movie, The Secret of Kells, and was struck by the scaffold like structures before me. I imagined the cloth stretched in between the raw wooden forms as catchment systems similar to succulents and cactus leaves which catch water like little pools. The wooden forms will be replaced with steel which will rust in time with the rainfall redistributing iron to plants which rely on the mineral.

ABOUT: Terri Hughes-Oelrich artwork consists of sculptures, interactive and site-specific installations, and public artwork. She received her BA in Studio Art at UC Santa Barbara and her MFA in Ceramics at San Diego State University. As an Associate Professor at San Diego City College, she teaches sculpture and ceramics and continues to be inspired by her student’s enthusiasm. Her recent artwork is about her childhood growing up surrounded by oil wells in Huntington Beach and the transformation of that city. Terri Hughes also directs the Sugar Museum, a non-profit museum, which organized exhibitions and projects at various locations.

Rebecca Ansert, founder of Green Public Art, is an art consultant who specializes in artist solicitation, artist selection, and public art project management for both private and public agencies. She is a graduate of the master’s degree program in Public Art Studies at the University of Southern California and has a unique interest in how art can demonstrate green processes or utilize green design theories and techniques in LEED certified buildings.

Green Public Art is a Los Angeles-based consultancy that was founded in 2009 in an effort to advance the conversation of public art’s role in green building. The consultancy specializes in public art project development and management, artist solicitation and selection, creative community involvement and knowledge of LEED building requirements. Green Public Art also works with emerging and mid-career studio artists to demystify the public art process. The consultancy acts as a resource for artists to receive one-on-one consultation before, during, and after applying for a public art project.

Go to Green Public Art

H20 – Preview: Ruth Wallen

This post comes to you from Green Public Art

On May 6, 2011, H20: The Art of Conservation, at the Water Conservation Garden, San Diego, CA, will open to the public. Green Public Art reviewed over 1100 artists portfolios before inviting 14 San Diego artists to participate in the exhibition which offers San Diego homeowners an artistic alternative to incorporate water conservation into their own garden spaces. Green Public Art awarded each artist a mini-grant to develop their site-specific sculptures. In the weeks leading up to the exhibition opening the artist’s concepts will be revealed on this site. Questions? Contact Rebecca Ansert, Curator, Green Public Art at rebecca@greenpublicart.com.

Wallen.Ruth Wallen.Ruth

CONCEPT: Dew Harvesters. San Diego receives less than ten inches of rain a year, with almost no precipitation falling between May and October, but yet many native plants stay green throughout the summer.  This project provides sculptures to harvest dew and/or fog, demonstrating the way that local plants survive during the summer months.  Dew harvesting was practiced in antiquity and is again being explored as populations grow, climates change, and water becomes increasingly scarce. Actual dew harvesters would generally be much larger than the proposed sculptures.  While these sculptures are functional, harvesting a small amount of potable water that could be used to water a garden, they are also meant to raise awareness about the local ecology and the need to regard water as a precious resource.

ABOUT: Ruth Wallen is a multi-media artist whose work is dedicated to encouraging dialogue about ecological and social issues. She has created outdoor interactive “nature walks” at Carmel Mountain, the San Bernardino Children’s Forest and Tijuana River Estuary, and has participated in group exhibitions at the Long Beach Museum of Art and the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Colorado. She is a founding member of the multiethnic/national collaborative artist group Las Comadres.  Her work is included in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Light Work, New York. and the Atheneum San Diego. She has published critical essays in journals including LEONARDO, Exposure, High Performance, The Communication Review, and Women’s Studies, as well as two anthologies, With Other Eyes: Race, Gender, and Visual Culture and Blaze: Discourse on Art, Women and Feminism.  She is core faculty in the interdisciplinary arts MFA program at Goddard College, a lecturer at the University of California, San Diego and was a Fulbright lecturer at the Autonomous University of Baja California, Tijuana.  She received her BA from Swarthmore College and her MFA from the University of California, San Diego.

Rebecca Ansert, founder of Green Public Art, is an art consultant who specializes in artist solicitation, artist selection, and public art project management for both private and public agencies. She is a graduate of the master’s degree program in Public Art Studies at the University of Southern California and has a unique interest in how art can demonstrate green processes or utilize green design theories and techniques in LEED certified buildings.

Green Public Art is a Los Angeles-based consultancy that was founded in 2009 in an effort to advance the conversation of public art’s role in green building. The consultancy specializes in public art project development and management, artist solicitation and selection, creative community involvement and knowledge of LEED building requirements. Green Public Art also works with emerging and mid-career studio artists to demystify the public art process. The consultancy acts as a resource for artists to receive one-on-one consultation before, during, and after applying for a public art project.

Go to Green Public Art

H20 – Preview: Fritzie Urquhart

This post comes to you from Green Public Art

On May 6, 2011, H20: The Art of Conservation, at the Water Conservation Garden, San Diego, CA, will open to the public. Green Public Art reviewed over 1100 artists portfolios before inviting 14 San Diego artists to participate in the exhibition which offers San Diego homeowners an artistic alternative to incorporate water conservation into their own garden spaces. Green Public Art awarded each artist a mini-grant to develop their site-specific sculptures. In the weeks leading up to the exhibition opening the artist’s concepts will be revealed on this site. Questions? Contact Rebecca Ansert, Curator, Green Public Art at rebecca@greenpublicart.com.

CONCEPT: Topichairy is a 5’x 4’x3’ whimsical chair that was created with 32 square yards of synthetic turf and filled with 30 cubic feet of polystyrene beans.  The sides are secured with heavy duty zippers that are locked in place. The concept behind the sculpture was to be playful with the idea of seating and topiary. I wanted to create a giant green shrub that doubled as a chair. It is environmentally friendly and inviting, and allows visitors to interact with it. I find humor in the possibility of a sign that directs visitors to ‘walk on the grass or sit on the topiary’.  The Topichairy is very durable and safe and requires no maintenance other than the occasional sweeping.

ABOUT: Fritzie Urquhart strives to create art that communicates humor, irony and truth with materials that are unconventional and unexpected. She graduated from Ohio State University with a Bachelor in Fine Arts degree and Masters of Arts degree from San Diego State University. She has exhibited her sculpture installations at California State University, San Marcos, the San Diego Embarcadero, Scripps Memorial Hospitals in La Jolla and Encinitas and the Carlsbad Sculpture Garden. Currently Urquhart works out of her studio in Carlsbad, creating sculptures and paintings.

Rebecca Ansert, founder of Green Public Art, is an art consultant who specializes in artist solicitation, artist selection, and public art project management for both private and public agencies. She is a graduate of the master’s degree program in Public Art Studies at the University of Southern California and has a unique interest in how art can demonstrate green processes or utilize green design theories and techniques in LEED certified buildings.

Green Public Art is a Los Angeles-based consultancy that was founded in 2009 in an effort to advance the conversation of public art’s role in green building. The consultancy specializes in public art project development and management, artist solicitation and selection, creative community involvement and knowledge of LEED building requirements. Green Public Art also works with emerging and mid-career studio artists to demystify the public art process. The consultancy acts as a resource for artists to receive one-on-one consultation before, during, and after applying for a public art project.

Go to Green Public Art

H20 – Preview: Adam John Manley

This post comes to you from Green Public Art

On May 6, 2011, H20: The Art of Conservation, at the Water Conservation Garden, San Diego, CA, will open to the public. Green Public Art reviewed over 1100 artists portfolios before inviting 14 San Diego artists to participate in the exhibition which offers San Diego homeowners an artistic alternative to incorporate water conservation into their own garden spaces. Green Public Art awarded each artist a mini-grant to develop their site-specific sculptures. In the weeks leading up to the exhibition opening the artist’s concepts will be revealed on this site. Questions? Contact Rebecca Ansert, Curator, Green Public Art at rebecca@greenpublicart.com.

Manley.Adam JohnManley.Adam JohnManley.Adam JohnManley.Adam JohnManley.Adam John

CONCEPT: Leaky Faucets (waste study). Living in a desert, water is a precious commodity and a huge amount of it is wasted everyday. The obvious culprits of course are people over-watering lawns and non-indigenous plants that cannot withstand the harsh climate, and swimming pools as far as the eye can see. These are the glaring types of waste that I often focus on. However, waste does not only happen on such a grand scale. We can all do our part in conserving what little water we have. Leaky Faucets (waste study) addresses this ordinary household waste and misuse by exaggerating it. The iconic house form is overrun with plumbing and faucets, all continuously dripping. In this house though, the water is constantly cycling back through itself. This endless cycle suggests both a seemingly endless supply of water and cycle of waste that goes on indefinitely. A solar pump powers this system, serving its functional purpose as well as adding another layer of content to the work. The use of solar to power a house of perpetual waste is an ironic twist and commentary on the idea of “offsetting” ones negative impact.

ABOUT: Growing up in the Adirondack Mountains of New York and then going to college and living in the Hudson Valley meant that Adam John Manley‘s experience of his surroundings was primarily one of dense mountains and green forests, not to mention harsh winters. This landscape formed his personality and sense of place. The decision to move to San Diego, in order to attend an MFA program, was one based both on the program that he was joining and the dramatic shift in environments. Since relocating, Manley has found much of his artistic inspiration in the desert and urban landscapes of San Diego and the southern California region. His work, primarily in wood but containing various mixed media as well, has become a sort of conversation with as well as about these new surroundings. Adam John Manley is currently in his final semester of an MFA in the furniture and wood program at San Diego State, and intends to stay and further pursue this body of sculptural work in this unique environment and landscape.

Rebecca Ansert, founder of Green Public Art, is an art consultant who specializes in artist solicitation, artist selection, and public art project management for both private and public agencies. She is a graduate of the master’s degree program in Public Art Studies at the University of Southern California and has a unique interest in how art can demonstrate green processes or utilize green design theories and techniques in LEED certified buildings.

Green Public Art is a Los Angeles-based consultancy that was founded in 2009 in an effort to advance the conversation of public art’s role in green building. The consultancy specializes in public art project development and management, artist solicitation and selection, creative community involvement and knowledge of LEED building requirements. Green Public Art also works with emerging and mid-career studio artists to demystify the public art process. The consultancy acts as a resource for artists to receive one-on-one consultation before, during, and after applying for a public art project.

Go to Green Public Art

H20 – Preview: Benjamin Lavender

This post comes to you from Green Public Art

On May 6, 2011, H20: The Art of Conservation, at the Water Conservation Garden, San Diego, CA, will open to the public. Green Public Art reviewed over 1100 artists portfolios before inviting 14 San Diego artists to participate in the exhibition which offers San Diego homeowners an artistic alternative to incorporate water conservation into their own garden spaces. Green Public Art awarded each artist a mini-grant to develop their site-specific sculptures. In the weeks leading up to the exhibition opening the artist’s concepts will be revealed on this site. Questions? Contact Rebecca Ansert, Curator, Green Public Art at rebecca@greenpublicart.com.

CONCEPT: The Drop (steel barrel rings, plexiglass, approx. 4′ x 4′ x 8′ ht.). When thinking about water conservation, words like recycle, and reuse are commonly associated with it.  The creation of “The Drop” is closely associated to this notion. Made primarily out of reclaimed wine barrel rings, “The Drop”  symbolizes the importance of our most precious resource, water, while emphasizing the importance of using recylcled materials whenever possible. After many years of holding a wine barrel together as the juice ferments, the wine barrel rings are reused again, taking the viewer back to where the whole process started, with water.

ABOUT: Benjamin Lavender returns this year to participate for a third time in SDFAS’ annual sculpture exhibition. He received his Associates of Fine Art from Watkins College of Art and Design and later a BA in sculpture from San Diego State University in 2003. The artist self-describes his work as Abstract Naturism and Industrially-Organic which he defines as the outcome of mimicking nature through intense hours of manipulating metal, concrete, paint and found or reclaimed objects into organically formed art. Lavender recently held a solo exhibition at the Oceanside Museum of Art and installed his largest permanent sculpture Kite of Paradise in the annual Kites over Vista, Vista, CA.

Rebecca Ansert, founder of Green Public Art, is an art consultant who specializes in artist solicitation, artist selection, and public art project management for both private and public agencies. She is a graduate of the master’s degree program in Public Art Studies at the University of Southern California and has a unique interest in how art can demonstrate green processes or utilize green design theories and techniques in LEED certified buildings.

Green Public Art is a Los Angeles-based consultancy that was founded in 2009 in an effort to advance the conversation of public art’s role in green building. The consultancy specializes in public art project development and management, artist solicitation and selection, creative community involvement and knowledge of LEED building requirements. Green Public Art also works with emerging and mid-career studio artists to demystify the public art process. The consultancy acts as a resource for artists to receive one-on-one consultation before, during, and after applying for a public art project.

Go to Green Public Art

H20 – Preview: Rebecca Goodman

This post comes to you from Green Public Art

On May 6, 2011, H20: The Art of Conservation, at the Water Conservation Garden, San Diego, CA, will open to the public. Green Public Art reviewed over 1100 artists portfolios before inviting 14 San Diego artists to participate in the exhibition which offers San Diego homeowners an artistic alternative to incorporate water conservation into their own garden spaces. Green Public Art awarded each artist a mini-grant to develop their site-specific sculptures. In the weeks leading up to the exhibition opening the artist’s concepts will be revealed on this site. Questions? Contact Rebecca Ansert, Curator, Green Public Art at rebecca@greenpublicart.com.

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CONCEPT: Drop. Living with an average of only ten inches of rain a year, San Diegans often long for lush, green, grassy yards.  This is especially true in the summer, when the rain all but stops and those who choose not to water their yards watch their (at least they’re green) winter weed patches turn into brown, dirt lots.  Inspired by the form of falling rain, Drop is an eight-foot tall steel sculpture with a living surface of succulents that will remain green year round.  Leaf-like veins comprise the structure and the steel has natural, rusty patina that will continue to develop over time.  A hammock-like sling hangs in the center of form, supporting a living pad of Sedums, Echeverias, Crassulas, and other succulent varieties that require minimal water to remain beautiful and verdant.

ABOUT: Rebecca Goodman has a Master’s of Fine Art degree from San Diego State University’s School of Art, Design, and Art History with an emphasis in studio furniture. She received a BFA in the same subject from California College of Art in San Francisco in 2002 and has spent much of her life on stage- dancing, acting, and designing sets and props.  This has affected her work greatly, making the performance and interactive elements key.  Also important to her work has been her study of ritual and spirituality in world cultures. Rebecca enjoys bringing together her investigations of sculptural forms and movement and is available to create unique and custom pieces ranging from personal altars and reliquaries to functional objects, sculptures, and interactive performance experiences.

Rebecca Ansert, founder of Green Public Art, is an art consultant who specializes in artist solicitation, artist selection, and public art project management for both private and public agencies. She is a graduate of the master’s degree program in Public Art Studies at the University of Southern California and has a unique interest in how art can demonstrate green processes or utilize green design theories and techniques in LEED certified buildings.

Green Public Art is a Los Angeles-based consultancy that was founded in 2009 in an effort to advance the conversation of public art’s role in green building. The consultancy specializes in public art project development and management, artist solicitation and selection, creative community involvement and knowledge of LEED building requirements. Green Public Art also works with emerging and mid-career studio artists to demystify the public art process. The consultancy acts as a resource for artists to receive one-on-one consultation before, during, and after applying for a public art project.

Go to Green Public Art

H20 – Preview: Omar Lopez

This post comes to you from Green Public Art

On May 6, 2011, H20: The Art of Conservation, at the Water Conservation Garden, San Diego, CA, will open to the public. Green Public Art reviewed over 1100 artists portfolios before inviting 14 San Diego artists to participate in the exhibition which offers San Diego homeowners an artistic alternative to incorporate water conservation into their own garden spaces. Green Public Art awarded each artist a mini-grant to develop their site-specific sculptures. In the weeks leading up to the exhibition opening the artist’s concepts will be revealed on this site. Questions? Contact Rebecca Ansert, Curator, Green Public Art at rebecca@greenpublicart.com.

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CONCEPT:  Deterioration = blooming of seeds within = potential for failure, accidents and a story. This sculpture, approximately a 4’x4’x4’ cube, will be made from a hardened mixture of clay, straw, fertilized soil, and various species of plant seed. As a vessel it consists of guilds, biomes, and designed communities of complimentary plant species. The sculpture will serve as a sort of time capsule, carrying seeds of various ecosystems into the near future. The work is reminiscent of a living tomb in the Egyptian sense, as a vault or holding vessel which carries preserved life to the blooming of another life. The piece can be left intact or split up to speed process and facilitate distribution. Pieces or chunks can be given away to friends/family, or taken and planted as far away as the owner wishes to take it. As a solid piece, it imbues a state of potential and can remain in a form of stasis. The process of the sculpture’s decay gives way to further emergence of life.

ABOUT: Omar Lopez is a writer, artist and environmental enthusiast. Lopez studied art, history, philosophy and English at Southwestern College and San Diego City College. He strives to be descriptive, not prescriptive and to illuminate things accurately. He is most interested in dynamics, theatrics, emotive structures and the noble vulnerability in things. He is passionate about furthering the ambition of wonder and is often informed by his experience in construction, design, travel, mountaineering and his passion for direct engagement with strangers.

SEE another Lopez installation, In the Belly of the Whale in the Bell Jar, currently on view at Art Produce until April 3, 2011. Check gallery’s website for times and additional special events.

Rebecca Ansert, founder of Green Public Art, is an art consultant who specializes in artist solicitation, artist selection, and public art project management for both private and public agencies. She is a graduate of the master’s degree program in Public Art Studies at the University of Southern California and has a unique interest in how art can demonstrate green processes or utilize green design theories and techniques in LEED certified buildings.

Green Public Art is a Los Angeles-based consultancy that was founded in 2009 in an effort to advance the conversation of public art’s role in green building. The consultancy specializes in public art project development and management, artist solicitation and selection, creative community involvement and knowledge of LEED building requirements. Green Public Art also works with emerging and mid-career studio artists to demystify the public art process. The consultancy acts as a resource for artists to receive one-on-one consultation before, during, and after applying for a public art project.

Go to Green Public Art