Public Art: Where Creativity Meets Community
Imagine a world where there were no painted electrical boxes, no murals on buildings, no artistically designed bike racks, it'd be boring and maybe even a bit sad. Public art can breathe life into a community, it adds whimsy to the mundane, and its accessibility can inspire all who view it. Public art can bring together communities and inspire creativity in residents and visitors alike.
Swoon, Bethlahem Boys, 2011, St. Louis, Missouri
Swoon is possibly one of the most recognized street artists. She creates art on buildings that seem to have just jumped from a page in a sketchbook. This type of street art focuses heavily on lines and color to create this sketchbook like effect. The added detail of the lines creates the sketchbook look while the colors she uses serves to highlight and add depth and dimension to her art. She is able to create this unique look by pasting paper portraits on her "canvases" instead of the more common type of street art which involves using spray paint. This particular work of art depicts three boys living in the shadows of the Israel-Palestine Wall in Bethlahem, Palestine. I think this piece is very powerful, it speaks to resilience and hope while also bringing awareness to the devastation of the Israel-Palestine conflict. This project by Swoon was organized by Banksy, Swoon traveled to Palestine to create art and while here she saw these three boys in the shadows of the West Bank Barrier (“Swoon - Bethlehem Boys”).
This exhibit comes from the Paris Gibson Art Museum in Great Falls, Montana. Lee and Dee Steen created the tree people using driftwood that would wash up by their property. Lee and Dee Steen's property in Roundup, Montana was filled with tree people that they would try and sell for $5 or $10 to people that would be passing by their home. The Paris Gibson Art Museum is free to both locals and tourists; the museum is funded by donations and community support. Specifically, the tree people exhibit was made possible with support from the Great Falls Tribune and Virgina and Dean Howell. The museum features rotating exhibits, but Tree People by Lee and Dee Steen is a permanent fixture at the Paris Gibson Art Museum. The form of the tree people is really unique, when a piece of driftwood would wash up, they'd create a person around the form of the driftwood. The colors utilized really personify the driftwood and despite the age of the art and the fact that they were exposed to the harsh Montana elements for so many years they are still vibrant today.
Tree Circus is just one sculpture of many featured in the outdoor exhibit Sculpture in the Wild in Lincoln, Montana. Blackfoot Pathways: Sculpture in the Wild is an ongoing collaborative effort to bring art, community, and nature together. It is free to visit and enjoy these sculptures year-round. I have visited Blackfoot Pathways: Sculpture in the Wild every few years since I was in middle school, there is always new sculptures being added but Tree Circus has always been my favorite. The form and shape of Tree Circus give the Tree Circus it's whimsical appearance. The cone shapes on the top are similar to that of the pointed tops of a circus tent and the form of the walls and windows being asymmetrical give it a sense of movement.
References
Swoon - Bethlehem Boys - Turner Carroll Gallery
The More You Do the More It Comes To You: Lee Steen and the Tree People
Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art gets Scripps Howard Fund grant
Blackfoot Pathways: Sculpture in the Wild Sculpture Park. Lincoln, Montana. Sculpture + Landscape + Nature + Human experience
Tree Circus by Sculptor Patrick Dougherty at Sculpture in the Wild, Lincoln, Montana from September 11th to 29th. Dougherty at Stickworks will weave willow into a work of art. Contact Artistic Director and curator Kevin O'Dwyer.
I really liked how your theme focuses on how public art changes the public's mood. I really liked the different examples, and how they were made from different materials and were different types of art but provided the same purpose for the public. I particularly like the last one, I liked the interactive aspect that you could actually go up and touch it and walk through it, it seems like a place children would love to play in. Another element you could talk about with the last one might be texture, as the materials and the textures of this art is what makes it so unique and interesting.
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