Volume 2 Issue 4

October 2000

Applying for a Public Arts Commission

Public Arts Commissions are available throughout the country. Many are due to the percent for the arts requirements that provide significant budgets for design, production and installation of art in new public and private facilities. Sometimes the funding comes from one or more individuals who wish to commemorate some person, place or event through art. Sculpture has long been used to this end and sculptors should consider these opportunities.

Basic requirements for public art generally include slides of the artist's work, biographical information, artists statements (about the art) and a detailed description of the work proposed.

The most difficult part of getting a proposal accepted (over all the other proposals) can be convincing the buying party that the work can be done, that it will be installed, that it will last indefinitely and that it will not be easily vandalized, stolen, injurious or difficult to maintain. When seeking a Public Art Commission an artist should listen very carefully for what the public agency (patron) is asking for.

As in most commissions, the commissioning entity has a desire to have a piece "do" what they want to. Listen to what they want and design to satisfy their needs.

Consider:

1.) Site or location of work.

2.) Reasonable time allocation to produce and install.

3.) Payment schedule which will provide cash flow to ensure project completion.

The agency seeking work will often lean towards an artist with a proven record of completed projects that have been favorably received. Don't be discouraged by rejection. It is what happens to every other artist (except the one rewarded commission). Look at accepted and completed projects and try to determine why they were successful. Talk to the artist whose work has been accepted and to the agencies who have commissioned work. Consider working in collaboration with other artists, architects, landscape artists and the public at large. This can increase your ability to produce, establish working relationships, gain support for your ideas and increase the range of exposure.

The public art process can be a very tedious adventure. One must be patient, persistent and confident. Good ideas and great sculptures are going to come from the effort.

Director’s Message

Artists have a unique opportunity to influence the time in which they live and also effect those who experience their art in the future. Artists may even be ignored in their own life time and then revered long after they have died. Van-Gogh is a great example.

As artists we can challenge the dictates of our society, memorializing the accomplishments of our heroes or soothe the need for tranquility. So whether we are composing a piece to express beauty and harmony or shocking the status quo with unexpected points of view, our job as artists is to examine and report our experiences, preferences, emotions and passions as honestly as we can.

An incredibly diverse group of work at the Art and Culture Center, Fallbrook, (through October 22nd) is doing the above, gloriously.

“All art is a confession. One can conceal nothing of one’s weakness.” Gaston Lachaise

The Fallbrook Foundry Fence

The foundry fence has been taking shape over several months. In wildly energetic spurts of creativity, using recycled materials (mostly steel, but including granite, glass, aluminum, copper and bronze), the delineation between future parking and the outside foundry work area is being established.

An abstract motif of circles and grids meanders through the composition representing the cycles in our lives and the intersections or meeting points we experience throughout these cycles.

Reflected in the fence are the various businesses and individuals who have left their marks at this site. From the railroad (which once owned the land) to avocado packers, auto mechanics, highway sign makers and of course the present tenet, Artworks, this land has been supportive of the production and commerce which allows Fallbrook to thrive. The goal of the project has been to reflect the evolving face of our community in a visually exciting manner, while providing the security inherent in a good neighbor device.