Creating Cultural Icons with Public Art

The very first speaker at the recent "Public Art 360" Conference in Chapel Hill was Winston-Salem native Glenn Weiss, a leading critical voice in the field of public art and guide at the helpful blog Aesthetic Grounds, which both samples his critical eye and provides some of the best web trails at the nexus of disciplines and interests that converge in public art projects. Glenn has also pulled together videos of successful public art installations and events (Newcastle-on-Tyne's "Nocturne" bridge illumination project is featured in a video on the sidebar on this page), and offers photos of his visits to installations around the world.

One of Glenn's photo albums is actually a presentation of his on what makes successful "Icons in Public Art". Interestingly, he begins the presentation with the happy accident of the tin coffee pot, the unofficial hospitality symbol of his hometown, Winston-Salem. The over-sized coffee pot was an advertising gimmick, suspended in front of a store along old Main Street, and now sits in a grassy median island at the northern edge of Old Salem. Though it is a sentimental favorite of locals, I think it has surpassed the possible kitsch of its advertising origins by reminding residents and guests of something about the value of memory and hospitality in the town, not to mention the taste of the special coffee that is a part of Moravian Lovefeast traditions. In his Chapel Hill talk recently, Weiss noted that while critics often evaluate the success of public art based on a vocabulary of professional art criticism, communities consider public art successful if it becomes a cultural icon, or a photo opportunity; if it makes enjoyable a pedestrian space; or if it solves some other non-artistic problem for the area. The transportation corridor work coming to Winston-Salem offers plenty of opportunities both for "problem-solving" and successful place-making - in the eyes of the local community and of professional art critics. We've added this week a number of links to Public Art sites on the web that Glenn and others have suggested, as well as a sample of other helpful local links to those thinking about public art in Winston-Salem.

Welcome to the Conversation!

Thanks to those who took part in tonight's conversation at Green Street United Methodist Church about the possibilities for public art and enhanced design in the Business 40 bridge project. As tonight's panel discussion showed, the potential to re-imagine and re-present our city with the aid of transportation corridor renovation exists both along US 52/future I-285 and along Business 40, and helping create an infrastructure to address those opportunities will likely be a part of the future work of the Arts Council's Public Art and Design committee. But we'd like you to be part of the conversation now with us. How?

--Leave a comment here on your ideas for what's possible - what's exciting - what's important to say about our place in such a venue. Showplacing the work of well-known artists and designers? Integrating stories and symbols of what makes this "our place"? Brainstorm with us on how can we use art and design to make the necessity of transport corridors into opportunities to celebrate and build and reflect community. Is there a cultural icon or got-to-have-photo-opportunity down the road in this project?

--Participate in local bridge design meeting groups sponsored by NCDOT over the summer and insist that the talents of artists and designers be included in the plans for the corridor from the start, not after the fact. Keep in touch with plans for these sessions at the Business 40 website.

--Lobby regional and state leaders at NCDOT to include consultation with artists and aesthetic design teams in the earliest planning of the project.

--Stay tuned here for updates on future events promoting the opportunities of this project and other public art work. And tell your neighbors you want them to join in "this vision thing," too!

Special gratitude to our hosts at Green Street United Methodist Church for being yet again a great place for community building, and to Salem College Arts Management Students Sandy Romanac and Katie Gunter for their good work in promoting the Business 40 corridor opportunity.

Community Arts Forum on April 22

Titled "The Integration of Public Art into the Bridges of Business 40," this panel discussion, idea slideshow, and community inspration-sharing session will be held Tuesday, April 22, from 7:00 - 8:30pm at Green Street United Methodist Church (639 S. Green Street, Winston-Salem – Phone: 722-8379). Panelists will include: Thorns Craven, Attorney and Chairman, Arts Council’s Public Art and Design Committee; Mark Leach, Director of SECCA and Member, Arts Council’s Public Art and Design Committee; and Eric Elliott, West End Association Past President and Member, Arts Council’s Public Art and Design Committee. Hear business, arts, and community perspectives on the opportunities for our city hidden in Business 40 highway renewal project. A question and answer session to follow with refreshments. For additional information, contact organizer Sandy Romanac. This forum is presented in conjunction with the Public Art and Design Committee of The Arts Council of Winston-Salem & Forsyth County.

Public Art 360

North Carolina is blessed with a number of examples of cities who follow plans for the intentional integration of public art into their landscapes. A gathering of folks from those cities and from places interested in public art throughout the southeast, and of nationally known experts in the field, attended a fascinating and insightful conference last week in Chapel Hill. "Public Art 360" was a series of panel discussions on best practices and challenges in public art creation, siting, and management from the perspectives of seven different "publics": artists, critics, governments, architects, private developers, landscape architects, and communities. We'll be posting information gleaned from this event over the coming weeks. The event's website remains open for information and inspirations.