Public Art at Curry College

In the Fall of 2012 my Senior Seminar class and I wrote public art proposals and sent them to the president of our College (Curry College). Our class was not the first to send public art proposals. A few weeks ago I received an email from my professor saying that the college has decided to go ahead with the project and put public art on the campus! I will be part of the committee that will be discussing the public art on campus and I am over joyed! Here is the proposal that I wrote:

Many college campuses display public art such as, sculpture and murals. Public art can be displayed indoors or out. Currently, the Curry College campus contains one piece of public art, the mural in the Hafer Academic Building. The campus does not contain any outdoor public art. Sculpture would be a wonderful way to celebrate the Curry community’s past, present, and future. It is something that the Curry College community can enjoy viewing and it also provides creative inspiration.

After looking at many different types of sculptures in a variety of settings, as well as researching sculptors and their work, I have decided the best fit for the Curry College campus would be something whimsical and imaginative. I have chosen a sculpture that would interact with its environment and viewers through the use of reflective brilliant colors. Sculptures that have reflective qualities catch the attention of the viewer and add to the environment around them. These sculptures are quite intriguing because they constantly change along with the weather and time of day.

Deanne Sabeck creates sculptures that use iridescent glass that changes with the light of the day. Sabeck states, “My light sculptures are created from pure light refracted into the brilliant colors of our physical world. Using dichroic glass, which divides the light spectrum, transmitting one color while reflecting its opposite, I create sculptural light paintings with forms and colors that continually evolve, appear, and disappear in meditative patterns.” A Sabeck sculpture would be a great representation of the ever-changing academic growth and diversity of the Curry community. The iridescent glass also changes with the weather; reflecting differently on sunny and cloudy days. It also reflects its environment and would be ever changing along with the New England seasons. Here are three of Deanne Sabeck sculptures:

“Spiral De Luce” by: Deanne Sabeck (http://www.deannesabeck.com/)

Deanne Sabeck lives and works in California. Though most of her installations are in the western part of the U.S., she has done commercial installations on the East Coast.  I believe it may be possible to have her install one of her sculptures at Curry College. Sabeck’s definition of public art is; “Public Art, must not only stand alone as art but also must address the specific site, both visually and conceptually.” She also says, “I take into account the community it will serve, the space it will occupy, and the purpose of the facility. It is from this perspective, that I create a piece that communicates an idea through a veil of mystery so that each viewer’s imagination is stimulated.” Some of the places that she has installed her pieces at are, Eastern New Mexico University, the Sheraton Hotel in Phoenix Arizona, and The San Diego International Airport

The sculpture below is available in limited editions. I believe the best place for this sculpture would be at the Student Center. This setting is ideal because it is the heart of the Curry campus. Students, professors and visitors all go to the Student Center. If this sculpture is placed somewhere near the Student Center it will be viewed and enjoyed by all. Here are some pictures I have photoshopped to show how this sculpture might potentially fit on campus:

 
I hope to see public art on the Curry College campus in the near future and to see the Curry community truly able to enjoy a piece of art.

(The artist that I chose will not be the artist to install their public art on campus. here is the website I got my information about the artwork and artist from: http://www.deannesabeck.com/ )

I cannot wait to see the finished public art on the Curry College campus!

Thank you for reading!

-Samantha L. Carr