Comments on: Public Art Commission: “Get the Word Out” http://annarborchronicle.com/2011/05/29/public-art-commission-get-the-word-out/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=public-art-commission-get-the-word-out it's like being there Tue, 16 Sep 2014 04:56:38 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.2 By: Justin Fenwick http://annarborchronicle.com/2011/05/29/public-art-commission-get-the-word-out/comment-page-1/#comment-66904 Justin Fenwick Wed, 08 Jun 2011 11:48:01 +0000 http://annarborchronicle.com/?p=64584#comment-66904 “Parker noted that two major websites – for the Arts Alliance and ArtServe – hadn’t posted the SOQ. Harrison said both organizations had been sent the item for posting.”

The Arts Alliance prides itself on hosting a publicly accessible website, a3arts.org. Content on a3arts.org is generated by the public and posting is available to all who have a free account. To that end, Margaret Parker’s statement is incorrect with regards to the Justice Center Murals SOQ.

Additionally, The Arts Alliance was contacted by Ms. Harrison on May 13th at which time the opportunity had already been posted in our e-newsletter, “Cultural News from the the Arts Alliance.” Since, it has appeared 2 more times in that space.

The notice was also reposted on The Arts Alliances’s Facebook Page and also onto the organization’s Twitter account. Lastly, upon notification of the deadline extension, we’ve continued to list the item in the three above-mentioned spaces.

–
Justin Fenwick
Community Outreach Manager, The Arts Alliance
“Creating Strong Communities Through Arts and Culture”
a3arts.org
Twitter – @TheArtsAlliance
Facebook – The Arts Alliance Fan Page

202 East Huron St., Suite 202,
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
tel: 734.213.2733

]]> By: Fred Zimmerman http://annarborchronicle.com/2011/05/29/public-art-commission-get-the-word-out/comment-page-1/#comment-66711 Fred Zimmerman Fri, 03 Jun 2011 13:49:14 +0000 http://annarborchronicle.com/?p=64584#comment-66711 +1 Ed on the Lego hijack.
+1 Tom on getting the frame right.
+1 / -2 Simon Perazza for the insane (and possibly record-breaking) number of addresses in his .sig.

]]> By: Tom Whitaker http://annarborchronicle.com/2011/05/29/public-art-commission-get-the-word-out/comment-page-1/#comment-66639 Tom Whitaker Wed, 01 Jun 2011 18:45:13 +0000 http://annarborchronicle.com/?p=64584#comment-66639 Too often I think the discussion about public art in Ann Arbor gets off track. It’s not about whether or not people value having works of art accessible to them in public spaces (or value art MORE than police and fire protection). I think the vast majority do appreciate it, and many would donate privately towards it if asked.

The question I hear bantered about locally is whether or not public funds should be used for this purpose, especially given the condition of government budgets at this time.

Drilling down further, can millage funds that were approved by voters for a specific purpose be re-appropriated to another purpose without voter approval? Or, can “surplus” fee revenues collected as payment for water and sewer services rendered be re-appropriated to a purpose other than providing those services?

]]> By: Rick Cronn http://annarborchronicle.com/2011/05/29/public-art-commission-get-the-word-out/comment-page-1/#comment-66562 Rick Cronn Tue, 31 May 2011 15:52:51 +0000 http://annarborchronicle.com/?p=64584#comment-66562 I want to hear how people define what “Public Art” is and what it means to Ann Arbor. As defined by the AAPAC it’s art that is chosen and placed by elites with little public input, meaning, or relationship.

There are “artists cities” places where artists live and work and there are Arts Cities that showcase and promote art. These two are rarely the same place for many reasons mostly economics and in Ann Arbor, the arts scene is dominated by the UM to the virtual exclusion of the rest of the art community. Ann Arbor needs to figure out which one it is, art or artist, and do it as best it can. It should also keep some distance between what it sees as their public art niche and the UM dominated art scene.

Many cities (and politicians) want to be recognized as having some sort of creative presence. To be recognized as an “arts town” Ann Arbor needs to differentiate itself from how and what other communities are doing. I see public art in Ann Arbor best represented by organizations like Festifools, even tho associated with UM. Their events are organic, interactive and seek to involve people. They’re successful because they do the event r&d that gets people out and involved. There are also other smaller struggling arts organizations, mostly young people and craft artists who struggle because of the UM and arts elites dominance. These small groups and young people is where the emphasis should be placed. This, I believe is where Ann Arbor can differentiate itself from cities like Grand Rapids. Rather than be like everyone else, Ann Arbor needs to not only be different but have a vision for the future.

I’m an art lover, enjoy art of all kinds and make public art myself. From my point of view the AAPAC is out of touch, has an extremely limited vision and like other posters have noted, they seem a bit lost and directionless. I believe this is because the AAPAC is a top down heirarchy and was hastily thrown together with little initial public outreach and inclusion. It was all about “the fountain” and the ability to funnel public money into yet another fountain in front of yet another public building.

And yes, a complete rewrite of the AAPAC and name change is in order.

]]> By: Edward Vielmetti http://annarborchronicle.com/2011/05/29/public-art-commission-get-the-word-out/comment-page-1/#comment-66561 Edward Vielmetti Tue, 31 May 2011 15:40:52 +0000 http://annarborchronicle.com/?p=64584#comment-66561 Lego is a good medium for QR codes, see e.g. this seen at the Brick Bash

[link]

from mosaic artist Christopher Doyle at Reasonably Clever.

]]> By: Simon Perazza http://annarborchronicle.com/2011/05/29/public-art-commission-get-the-word-out/comment-page-1/#comment-66558 Simon Perazza Tue, 31 May 2011 13:45:23 +0000 http://annarborchronicle.com/?p=64584#comment-66558 “Parker noted that two major websites – for the Arts Alliance and ArtServe – hadn’t posted the SOQ. Harrison said both organizations had been sent the item for posting.”

FYI, the statement above is incorrect in regards to the Justice Center Murals SOQ. Margaret Parker contacted ArtServe on May 18, 2011 to request help in distributing the artist opportunity to our network. The posting was put up on ArtServe’s blog the same day on May 18, 2011 and can be viewed here: [link]

The posting was also reposted on ArtServe Michigan’s Facebook fan page and also onto the organization’s twitter account. Margaret Parker was notified of the postings. ArtServe has to date received no notice or update from Ms. Parker or the City of Ann Arbor regarding the extended June deadline for this artist opportunity.

–
Simón C. Perazza
Director of Constituent Relations
ArtServe Michigan
1 Clover Court
Wixom, MI 48393
C 517.980.1839
T 248.912.0760 x4#
F 248.912.0768
News & Events://www.CreativeImpactMichigan.com
Website http://www.artservemichigan.org
Michigan Cultural Data Project http://www.miculturaldata.org
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/artserve
Twitter http://twitter.com/artservemi
YouTube http://www.youtube.com/artservemi
Blog http://creativeconnectionsmi.blogspot.com

]]> By: abc http://annarborchronicle.com/2011/05/29/public-art-commission-get-the-word-out/comment-page-1/#comment-66502 abc Mon, 30 May 2011 13:42:31 +0000 http://annarborchronicle.com/?p=64584#comment-66502 Rod,

Yes, that is more. Art has never been ‘take it or leave it’. Art provokes; by its content or lack of content. A QR code as a waffle (for whatever reason) is still more than a QR code that is a… QR code.

Artists, unlike many other professions, has to ask themselves, “Is this working.”and be the first to say no and put it aside if that’s what they think is the thing to do. Every artist has to have a kind of self-skepticism where they heavily scrutinize their own work as they squeeze both the craft and the thought for all they can get from them. In that context I would think the commissioners should be doing the same with respect to their work. Is this board performing as the commissioners and the council had envisioned?

It has now been 3 to 4 years for this board and they have financed designs from $10,000 to $1,000,000. I would love to hear from one or more board members as to how they think this run has been and what they think the future holds.

]]> By: Alan Goldsmith http://annarborchronicle.com/2011/05/29/public-art-commission-get-the-word-out/comment-page-1/#comment-66496 Alan Goldsmith Mon, 30 May 2011 12:11:07 +0000 http://annarborchronicle.com/?p=64584#comment-66496 If ONLY AAPAC has hired some German graphic artist and spent $70K+ on the flyer design I’m sure it would have been just stunning.

]]> By: Rod Johnson http://annarborchronicle.com/2011/05/29/public-art-commission-get-the-word-out/comment-page-1/#comment-66477 Rod Johnson Sun, 29 May 2011 20:17:12 +0000 http://annarborchronicle.com/?p=64584#comment-66477 abc, how about this? [link to waffle QR art]

]]> By: Rod Johnson http://annarborchronicle.com/2011/05/29/public-art-commission-get-the-word-out/comment-page-1/#comment-66476 Rod Johnson Sun, 29 May 2011 20:14:26 +0000 http://annarborchronicle.com/?p=64584#comment-66476 Without meaning to disparage the contribution of any individual, does it not seem obvious that this is an organization without a real purpose? There’s no energy, no real agenda, no inspiration, nobody knows who was supposed to do what, but they’re surprised something doesn’t get done or that their listless PR releases don’t get any uptake. Public meeting announcements “don’t get sent out on time” (but are nonetheless paid for). They finally catch up with 2008 by featuring a QR code, a couple of months after Google very publicly announced they were giving up on QR. Nobody really wants to accept responsibility, and the major project they’ve been behind in recent years (Dreiseitl) is a complete cock-up.

One or two of these little failures is going to happen, but when they grind on, month after month, year after year… I love and support public art and want to see it flourish, but god, someone please put AAPAC out of its misery so we can get on with it.

PS: I know this is probably just an infelicity of phrasing in this article, but: “AAPAC’s redesigned website,…prominently features an image of a QR code…that directs people to AAPAC’s website”? Whee! A high-tech You Are Here sign! Or to look at another scenario, suppose someone spots one of the signs, and excitedly points their smart phone at it. They end up at AAPAC’s site, which features… the QR code they just used to get there.

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