by Bailey White
Staff Writer
Selection committees for the Art in Public Places Commission have selected two artists for the Main Library interior and exterior projects and are close to finalizing a deal with a third artist for projects at the new arena.
The commission’s plan calls for the use of $1.5 million from several different sources, including the Better Jacksonville Plan Reserves and the River City Renaissance Bond Funds, to establish public works of art at various projects around the City.
Though more details about each artist selected and their planned works won’t be released until later this week, members of the commission are pleased with the results they have seen so far.
“It feels good to make progress,” said Mark Shorstein, a local CPA and member of the commission. “It’s a very exciting process.”
According to the Jeff Dunn, an attorney and the commission chairman, they’ve received about 500 responses from artists worldwide since releasing a call for artists last fall.
A selection committee made up of nine people, including at least one commission member, a site architect, a member of the community in which a project is located and an art professional is assigned to each site.
“After that, the selection committee met with those artists to look at the site and talk with the artist about his or her philosophy and background,” said Dunn. “Once the choice was made, the artist presented a proposal for the site and it went back to the commission. And if they approve it, a contract is signed.”
The projects vary in size, funds, location and material. For the Main Library, two sculptures are planned for the cutout areas outside the building and walls beside the library’s grand stairway will be appropriate for paintings, relief work, mosaics or photography.
“We really tried to stay as broad-minded as possible so that the artists could give us their ideas as they looked at the spaces,” said Shorstein. “As they come to the community and look at the space, they can give us ideas that we may not have thought of before.”
Shorstein said certain sites lend themselves to certain types of art, so the call was more specific. For example, the Ritz Theatre project will involve either a mosaic on the sidewalk under the marquee or a work of art to either conceptually or literally span the street to connect the theater to a park across the street which is often used for a pre-function area. A photography collection is planned for the branch libraries because it will be easy to transport them from branch to branch. While some of the pieces in the collection will remain in one library permanently, most will rotate between branches.
“But with an open area like the arena, we wanted to be as open as possible,” said Shorstein.
Though the commission has requested that the arena work make use of light because so many events take place at night, many of the guidelines for that project are broad and open to the artist’s interpretation.
The bill to appropriate the necessary funds has passed the City Council Finance and Recreation and Community Development committees and will go before full Council Tuesday, where the measure will most likely pass.
“I really liked the plans,” said City Council president Jerry Holland. “They all seemed quite appropriate and I’m glad to see that they’re bringing art into the community.”