WHAT IS SUCCESSFUL PUBLIC ART?

Successful public art, creates a focal point that both engages the viewer on a personal level, and calls attention to the larger context of place.

Cloud Gate by Anish Kapoor, located in Millennium Park Chicago, is a perfect example of elegant public art that masterfully calls attention to the beauty of the city itself. Made with a mirror finish, Cloud Gate reflects the city in its undulating curves, transforming tall looming sky scrapers into delicate curves that bend around the viewer. The sculpture also engages the viewer with a sense of humor, as it's so delightful to observe your distorted reflection as you pass by, framed by an altered vision of the city around you.

KOTA EZAWA

Earlier this year,  Kota Ezawa was awarded a commission to create a large scale sight-specific piece for San Francisco International Airport. Above, Kota and Marcus Guilliard from One Hat One Hand, wave a hand, and a hat, after meeting to discuss details for fabricating Kota's  20' x 25' mural commissioned by the San Francisco Art Commission.

Louisiana Bendolph

Quilt-Paper-Tile:

A quilter from Gee's Bend, Alabama, Louisiana Bendolph gained national recognition when her quilts -  noteworthy for their bright colors and bold composition - were included in the Whitney Museum of Art exhibition The Quilts of Gee's Bend (2002). Because of the success of the show at the Whitney, Bendolph was one of four women from Gee's Bend invited to make fine art prints with Paulson Bott Press. Bendolph's work with the press opened the door for an opportunity to work with the San Francisco Arts Commission. Her large-scale tile installation is based on a print she made at Paulson Bott Press, by the same name - New Generation, 2006.

Magnolia Press produced the tile for Louisiana Bendolph's New Generation installed at SFO

Louisiana Bendolph's: New Generation (2015) - Glazed ceramic tile,  9' x 16' - commissioned by the San Francisco Arts Commission.  Illuminates a lobby at the San Francisco International Airport.

Printing Ed Rucha

27 years ago in 1988 I had the honor of working with Ed Ruscha at Crown Point Press. This past September at the opening of his retrospective at the deYoung Museum I had the pleasure of seeing Ed again. While I shook his hand and reintroduced myself, it was clear that he wasn't sure who I was.  I reminded him simply by saying "Remember Ed, we made Heaven and Hell together!"  He laughed and replied "Well that's a hell of line to put on your bio!"

Ed Ruscha: Heaven & Hell, 1988 Color Aquatint Etching, Published By Crown Point Press. Printed by Renee Bott

Radcliffe Bailey: Walking In Sugar-Lift

In 1997, Radcliffe Bailey was working on three intaglio prints at Paulson Press. One morning Radcliffe said that he wanted to add a few footprints to one of his images. After a little discussion about the best technique to use, Radcliffe stripped off his shoes and socks and stepped into a dish of inky black sugar-lift, and then he walked across the plate.

Radcliffe's foot prints are visible in his print: Until I Die: Crossing, 1997.  Printed in pale raw-sienna, the footprints are located on both the upper right hand and lower left hand corner of the image.

The most direct approach often yields the best results.

Radcliffe Bailey, Until I Die: Crossing, 1997.  Color intaglio print with chine collee color Xerox.