Art on the River Exhibition 2010City of Dubuque
.Arts & Cultural.A
airs Advisory Commission
March 26, 2010
The Honorable Mayor and City Council
City of Dubuque
50 W. 13 Street
Dubuque, IA 52001
Re: Approval of 2010 Art on the River Exhibition
Dear Mayor and City Council Members:
Introduction
The purpose of this memorandum is to request City Council concurrence with the selection of
artwork for the 2010 Art on the River Competition.
Background
The City is in the fourth year of the Art on the River Program. The 2009 Exhibit, consisting of
eleven works of sculpture in the Port of Dubuque, will be on display through June 2010.
In January, the "Call for Sculptors" for the 2010 Art on the River Exhibition was sent to several
hundred artists, advertised in various on -line art opportunities web sites, and advertised locally.
This year, there were a record 100 entries from 58 artists from 18 different states and one
international entry from Thailand.. The 2010 Art on the River Exhibition will be installed in July
2010, with the date for the opening event scheduled for Thursday, July 15th.
The Art on the River process is overseen by the Art on the River Committee which is
comprised of Arts Commissioners, arts educators, a representative from the Dubuque Museum
of Art, local artists and city staff. The Committee previously recommended to the Arts and
Cultural Affairs Commission and the City Council that a blind jury process be utilized to select
artwork for the Exhibition and to select different jury members each year, typically one from the
Dubuque area and two from out of the area.
Discussion
On March 13, the jury made their selections of art work for the 2010 exhibition. Jury members
were: Isabel Barbussa, MFA, is a professor in sculpture in the School of Art and Art History at
the University of Iowa. She attended art school at Universidad Nacional de Cuyo in Argentina.
She received an MFA in sculpture and book arts from the University of California, in Santa
Barbara. She has shown her work nationally and internationally in group and solo shows in
the United States, Europe and Latin America. Amy Mangrich, MFA, a Dubuque native,
received a Master of Fine Art and a Master of Art from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee.
She is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Visual Art, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee.
She is also Instructional Design Consultant, Learning Technology Center, University of
Wisconsin - Milwaukee. Mangrich is co- founder of IN -SITE, an organization which fosters
temporary public art in Milwaukee County. IN -SITE has received local and national attention
for its innovative approach to bringing art to neighborhoods which are non -art centers, in the
process creating ongoing relationships with local organizations and business owners.
Bill Farrell, Galena, IL retired after a 35 year teaching career at the Art Institute of Chicago.
He has decades of experience with exhibitions, lectures, workshops, and visiting teaching
appointments around the world. In the `90s he had studios in Portugal, Denmark, the
Netherlands, and Belgium. In 1982, his sculptures called "popeys," received the first National
Endowment for the Arts award in ceramics.
The jury selected 10 works and three alternates. Attachment 1 is a PowerPoint which provides
details on each of the works of sculpture including the title, artist, description of the piece, and
images of each work. Selections are:
Public Prayer Booth by Dylan Mortimer, Kansas City, MO
The Long Toss, by John Anderson - Bricker, Dubuque, IA
Ball Joint by Kristy Summers, Carbondale, IL
Balance by Kristy Summers, Carbondale, IL
*Dapple 1 by Victoria Reed, Cedar Falls, IL
*Dapple 11 by Victoria Reed, Cedar Falls, IL
A Biker's Day of Fishing by Jason Messier, Iowa City, IA
Daredevil by Robert Craig, Des Moines, IA
Oneota Flow by Skip Willits, Camanche, IA
The White Rabbit by Marisa Dipaola, Vernon, VT
Leaf Stack by Nicholas Legeros, Minneapolis, MN
1 Fly You Fly by Marie Evans, Tucson, AZ'
Conscious of Her Shores by Jayson Lowery, Williamsburg, VA (alternate selection)
The jury has also made recommendations on siting the works along the Riverwalk and at the
Grand River Center.
*Although artist Victoria Reed submitted Dapple 1 and Dapple 11 as two separate entries, the
jury's recommendation was that Dapple 1 and Dapple 11 be exhibited together if the city is
able to negotiate with the artist to exhibit both works.
On March 17 the Art on the River Committee voted unanimously to approve the jury's
selections. On March 23, the Arts and Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission voted
unanimously to approve the jury's selections of works of sculpture for the 2010 Art on the River
Exhibition. The Commission was very pleased with the quality of the art work.
Upon City Council concurrence with this recommendation, city staff will notify all artists of the
recommendation and work with selected artists to coordinate installation of the artwork in July
2010.
2
Recommendation
The Arts and Cultural Affairs Commission is recommending that the City Council concur with
the 2010 Art on the River jury selection for outdoor sculpture at the Port of Dubuque.
Sincerely,
Geri Shafer
Chairperson
Arts and Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission
Attachment
Public Prayer Booth
Artist: Dylan Mortimer, Kansas City, MO
Public Prayer Booth
Artist Statement
• This piece plays on the format of the traditional public
phone booth, but adds a spiritual element. It functions
as a normal booth with a private enclosure, but adds a
flip down kneeler for prayer. Inside the enclosure is an
instruction manual simply guiding the viewer to use the
piece to pray if they so desire.
• There is no literal affiliation with any particular faith per
se, rather the piece aims to question the idea of prayer in
the public itself. The piece fuses humor, sarcasm, and
sincerity, and has produced a myriad of reactions from
sincere use, humorous use, offense, praise, etc. It aims
to highlight and spark further discussion about the
contemporary expression of religion within the public
community.
Public Prayer Booth
Artist Dylan Mortimer Biography
• Dylan Mortimer graduated with a BFA from
the Kansas City Art Institute and a MFA
from the School of Visual Arts in New
York. He has created public art
installations in nine states including New
York, Chicago, Baltimore, and
Washington.
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The Long Toss
Artist: John
Anderson - Bricker
Dubuque, IA
The Long Toss
John Anderson - Bricker
• Materials: Steel
• Dimensions of spheres vary (6 spheres at
35" diameter, 1 sphere at 14" diameter)
and exhibition dimensions of final piece
can be determined by space available.
The Long Toss by John Anderson - Bricker
Artist Statement
• The Long Toss is a pop art nod to the communal
summer activity of lawn games such as Bocce
Ball. This playful piece mimics the enticing lure
of barbeques, friendship and long- summer
evenings. These metal assemblage spheres
arranged in the landscape surprise the passerby
as an encounter with an ongoing game where
the players are absent. The spheres become
surrogates for the human activity that the viewer
can step into and interact with.
The Long Toss
John Anderson - Bricker
• After receiving a BFA in sculpture and ceramics at Aquinas College
in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1990, Anderson - Bricker immediately
began teaching ceramics at the Metropolitan School for the Arts in
Syracuse, New York. One year later he assumed director
responsibilities for the department and continued to teach ceramics
and sculpture until 1996. From 1995 through 1997 he worked as a
staff artist for the City of Syracuse Parks and Recreation Programs.
As a staff artist Anderson - Bricker oraanized and imDlemented
collaborative mural painting projects, ceramic mosaics and public
sculptures. In 1997 he moved to Dubuque, Iowa, simultaneously
sculpting, painting and overseeing community collaborative projects
which led to a curatorial position at the Dubuque Museum of Art in
1998. He resigned his post from the Dubuque Museum of Art in
2001 to pursue sculpture and painting full time. Anderson - Bricker
works and resides in Dubuque, Iowa.
Ball Joint
Artist: Kristy Summers
Carbondale, IL
Ball Joint
Artist Kristy Sommers
• Materials: cast iron and bronze
• Dimensions: 2' wide x 6.5' high X 2'
• Artist Statement: I think about my work as a way to understand and
make realizations about myself and society, to make sense of a
thread that is going to take me through life and lead me to a
destination. My work is about basic truths about the "self" and
hence myself. It is an exploration and acceptance of who I am and
how I relate to my surroundings.
• What makes an individual tick? Where does your strength and
balance lie? How do you navigate life? What is your relation to
others and how does that change your perception of what surrounds
you. This is the basis of my intrigue and revelations into human
nature. These questions not only help me understand myself, but
also allow me to begin to understand others and the world that we
inhabit.
Kristy Summers — Biography
• Kristy Summers was born in Kansas City, received her
BFA from the University of Kansas in 2003 and MFA
from Alfred University in 2006. She has shown her work
in many group and solo exhibitions nationally. Kristy has
received numerous travel grants to participate in iron art
casting conferences and various iron pours around the
country, guest lecturing at Florida State University on her
work within contemporary cast iron art. She has directed
multiple group exhibitions. Kristy has held workshops on
welding and glass casting at the University of Kansas
and has been involved within the teaching field for the
last six years through Alfred University and Southern
Illinois University Carbondale.
Balance
Artist: Kristy Summers, Carbondale, IL
Balance by Kristy Summers
.
Materials: Cast iron, wood, and steel
14" x 6'x 4'
• Weight 1,000 lbs
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Dapple I Artist: Victoria Reed, Cedar Falls, IA
Dapple II, Artist Victoria Reed
Dapple 1 and Dapple 11
Artist Victoria Reed, Cedar Falls, IA artist statement
• Materials: Aluminum
• 3.5'xTx10'
— All of my work hinges from the premise that the mind supplies detail far
better than the hands, so large portions of my work are merely implied,
with only small focal points of naturalistic detail. As such, my work
relies heavily on its audience to complete it.
— The use of animals from my work stems from my Iowan roots, which
both love and mock in equal shares. Farm girl turned fine artist, my
work talks about heritage at the same time as it talks about the
aesthetics of form and the emotive qualities of its subjects, which
simultaneously undermines the same. Ever present is a conflict
between memory and reality, between fact and fantasy, so that the end
result is a seamless compromise of each.
— The motivation for this particular piece, entitled "Dapple," was to mesh
the delicacy of scroll work, lace, and the daydreams of a little girl
together with the power, grace, and mass of the horse; recalling the
common dapple grey coloration, yet also bringing to mind something
reminiscent of jewelry.
Victoria Reed biography
• Victoria Reed is a lifetime resident of Cedar Falls, Iowa. She is
currently seeking her BFA degree from the University of Northern
Iowa, with an emphasis in sculpture and printmaking, and expects to
graduate in May 2010. Victoria was awarded full tuition
scholarships from the UNI department of Art for the 2008 -09 and
2009 -10 academic years and also received the Butch Bender
Scholarship in 2009. Reed's work has appeared in several group
exhibitions, as well as a solo show at the Waterloo Center for the
Arts. Reed was presented with the Outstanding Body of Work
Award in the 2008 UNI Annual Juried Student Art Exhibition, and
earned a Merit Award in the 2009 exhibition. Reed's work is
represented in the permanent collections of the University of
Northern Iowa, the Target Corporation, and the Waterloo Center for
the Arts.
Iowa City
A Biker's Day of Fishing, Jason Messier.
A Biker's Day of Fishing
Jason Messier, Iowa City Iowa
Artist Statement
• "A Biker's Day of Fishing " was created to bend the world
of art while it combines motorcycles and fishing. As the
giant steel dragonfly lands on the bobber, its weight
bends the top of the bobber giving the sculpture a
special movement. The concept is brought about from
my automotive background, as the form of the dragonfly
comes from a custom designed motorcycle gas tank.
While the shapes of the wings also breathe hot rods and
pinstripes. The overall focus is of a single moment in
time captured for all to see.
A Biker's Day of Fishing
Jason Messier Biography
• As a mechanic, I worked on cars for nearly seven and one half years to the
point that I started looking at parts for their shapes and functions for
inspirations, without even noticing that I was doing it.
• Beginning in graduate school, I was still looking for a focus or main direction
that I would follow, or go towards to find out who I was as an artist. I was
able to find that direction in the combination of mechanical parts and
automotive designs. I was able to bring a part of who I am in to my pieces
and now I feel free to create.
• The work that I create is not to attract the regular viewer into the art world.
It's for the hard working, "grease under my fingernails excites me"
mechanics, car collectors, and bikers. The mechanical style and feel of my
pieces would bring a new appeal to art viewers for many years to come.
• I draw my inspirations from past and present technologies and
achievements in the automotive industry. My main inspirations are drawn
from the work and lives of Indian Larry and Jesse James. Both men have
had a lasting effect on the world of custom fabrication and motorcycle
design; however they remain true and compassionate to those who they
have learned from.
Daredevil
Artist: Robert Craig
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Daredevil
Robert Craig, Des Moines, IA, artist statement
• Steel, 5'x 7'6" x 3', 500 Ibs
• My work points both inward to the inherent qualities of metal and
outward to the constructed environment and to the history of the
industrial age. "Daredevil" is part of a series of five large -scale
fabricated steel sculptures that derive their form through the study of
selected industrial and domestic objects. The objects' shape, part -
to -part functional relationship, age and wear become points of
interpretation and abstraction. I further consider the objects' form,
function and history through drawing and model building. In this
series, the abstract composite form of "daredevil" retains some
recognition to known things that lead to ideas of function and action.
Color is a critical element, and the color was chosen to be as
suggestive as the structure itself.
Daredevil
Robert Craig biography
• Robert Craig creates large -scale sculptures for
public and private spaces. His work can be
viewed in the collections of cities, museums,
sculpture parks and universities. He actively
participates in juried exhibitions throughout the
United States. Robert lives in Des Moines, Iowa,
and he is a Professor of Art at Drake University.
He received his MFA from Florida State
University and BA from Eastern Illinois
University.
Oneota Flow
Artist: Skip Willets
Camanche, IA
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Oneota Flow
Skip Willets, Camanche, IA Artist Statement
• Materials: steel and beaver harvested willow
• This is a proposal for an installation called,
"Oneota Flow." In the flow of the river, beaver
sticks, chewed clean, beautifully marked and
sculpted, lay on the shoreline. Altered by wild
and magical creatures, these sticks are
important to me. I collect them and use them in
my work. I would like to install a sculpture
consisting of beaver sticks woven into steel
reinforced frames creating a series of columns.
Oneota Flow
Skip Willets, Camanche, IA Biography
• The technique I use to help create my artwork,
welded metal, is a skill I began learning at age
ten from my father, who was a shop welder for
40 years. He taught me everything from the
characteristics of materials such as steel, cast
iron and aluminum to various techniques from
arc to torch welding. In 1983 I placed my first
large scale outdoor public sculpture. Since that
time I've continued to make art and live, happily,
on the banks of the Mississippi River.
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The White Rabbit
Artist: Marisa Dipaola
The White Rabbit
Marisa Dipaola, Vernon, Vermont
Proposed sculpture
Materials: braided found plastic bags, nylon webbing and outdoor lights on reinforced
found metal frame. `The white rabbit' will wrap and clamp around a central lamppost or
tree.
Continuing my theme of storybooks come to life, I propose to create `the white
rabbit' as an illuminated sculpture, glowing in his court dress, heralding all with his
trumpet, as he appears on the cover of my copy of The Complete Works of Lewis
Carroll.` "It's- it's a very fine day!" said a timid voice at her side. She was walking by the
White Rabbit, who was peeping anxiously into her face.' This illuminated sculpture
symbolizes the new beginnings that are constructed each day. Trumpet in hand, `the
white rabbit' entices everyone further down the rabbit hole, to enjoy this community filled
with imagination and wonder. "The white rabbit' will be woven from found nylon webbing,
found plastic bags and strings of white and pink outdoor lights, wrapping a reinforced
chicken wire framework. Overall the structure would be 5 feet tall, with a 3 1 /2 feet
diameter, and could be oriented to hover above on a tree limb or stand upright,
clamped through the frame to a lamppost, fence, or tree in the area.
The White Rabbit
Marisa Dipaola Biography
Marisa Dipaola was born barefoot on December 12t ",1977, and grew up in
the coastal marshlands and cedar swamps of southern New Jersey.
Graduating with honors in 2000 from the Rhode Island School of Design,
she majored in painting and began experimenting with site - specific soft
sculptures. Upon graduation, Marisa received a travel grant for Cordoba,
Spain, which began a collection of travels to fourteen countries and various
environments, studying the sacred architecture and natural wonders,
producing site - specific artworks in Spain, Japan, and Iceland, and entire
series of work while on residencies in India and Egypt. She exhibits her
sculptures and fibrous installations internationally, at museums, galleries,
universities, and cultural institutions. Currently, she creates storybook
worlds handmade from recycled materials, an effort to clean up this world to
glow with the wonders of the natural world.
Examples of Other Work
Leaf Stack by Nicholas Legeros, Minneapolis, MN
Leaf Stack by Nicholas Legeros
• Cast bronze
• This bronze chair and ottoman is a playful
metaphor for my childhood experience of
raking a pile of leaves and then sitting in it.
Leaf Stack
Nicholas Legeros Biography
Nicholas Legeros has a Masters of Fine Arts degree from
the University of Minnesota. For over twenty years he
was an Artist -in- residence and instructor at the
Minnetonka Center for the Arts. Eight years ago,
Legeros left teaching to pursue a full -time career as a
sculptor. His recent large commissions include St.
Joseph's Hospital, Lifetouch Studios, Hudson Hospital
and Roselawn Cemetery. Legeros served for three years
as President of the Northeast Minneapolis Arts
Association (NEMAA). He has also served for the past
two years as Coordinator of NEMAA's Art -A- Whirl, the
largest artist open studio tour in America.
Fly you Fly by Marie Evans
Tuscon, AZ
I Fly You Fly
Lisa Marie Evans Artist Statement
• Proposed sculpture
• Materials: Steel, Lazy Susan, Powder Coat Finish, Anchors, Ink on Banner
• A ZOETROPE is a cylinder object with slits on the outside and still images on the inside that,
when spun and viewed through the slits with the cylinder rotating, creates the illusion of an
animation. "I Fly, You Fly" is a sky blue ZOETROPE with a series of still images of a Heron. As
the ZOETROPE spins, the Heron flies.
• Animation presents an interesting avenue as we can relate to the images in a childlike and simple
fashion while, at the same time, the message is applicable to adult content. My approach with
animation is to present themes of human interest in a childlike manner, which induces the viewer
to understand the conceptual motivation and deeper meaning behind the work.
• Sustainable Dubuque is a community that values biodiversity through the preservation, restoration
and connection of nature and people. "I Fly, You Fly" uses a Heron to represent Sustainable
Dubuque's preservation of Environmental Integrity, specifically through its Heron Pond
Restoration. Sustainability is defined by a community's ability to meet the environmental,
economic, and social equity needs of today without reducing the ability of future generations to
meet their needs. "I Fly, You Fly" symbolizes this positive relationship between generations and
the effects our actions today may hold tomorrow.
• The interactive aspect of the ZOETROPE, while enjoyable for the people, also models the
interactive relationship we hold with the environment and brings others closer into the work. A
ZOETROPE inherently returns to its original image in a cyclical fashion. "I Fly, You Fly" shares in
this theme of a certain recycling and connectivity of existence between all living beings.
Lisa Marie Evans Biography
• Lisa Marie Evans' work is shown internationally and
varies in form from feature length documentary to short
animation to public art installation. Evans has worked as
an instructor at the Kansas City Art Institute, the
University of Missouri Kansas City and Artists, INC, a
professional development course for artists. She has
been a selected artist for Creative Capital's Professional
Development Workshop for Artists, the Arts Council of
Metropolitan Kansas City's Inspiration Grant, Avenue of
the Arts in Kansas City and Boynton Beach, and
Charlotte Street Foundation's Urban Culture Project
Studio Residency Program For Visual Artists. Evans
recently moved to Tucson, AZ and is currently building
connections for future collaborations.
alternate
Conscious of Her
Shores
Artist Jayson
Lowery
Williamsburg, VA
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Conscious of Her Shores Artist Statement
• Materials, marble, limestone, steel, and cast iron
• This sculpture expresses tension between two
bodies resulting from a situation in which one
reinforces the other while remaining
inconspicuous or even intentionally hidden. This
relationship is evident in physical objects such
as roof -top billboards and their support
structures. It can also be found in relationships
between people in many work environments,
and between communities of people.
Conscious of Her Shores
Artist Jayson Lowery Biography
• Jayson Lowery has a MFA from Wayne State University (2004) and
a BFA from Northern Arizona University (2000). He recently moved
to Williamsburg, VA to start work at the College of William and Mary,
where he teaches 3 -D Foundations. He lived and worked in Detroit,
Michigan for 7 years, and taught sculpture at Wayne State
University on a Lectureship. He often works on a life size and larger
scale and has exhibited in galleries and in outdoor exhibitions
nationally and internationally. Commissions include work installed at
the Auburn Hills, Michigan, and the Telford, England, offices of EDS,
Inc, and a centerpiece for the Thomas Bonner Memorial Court on
the Wayne State University main campus, Detroit, Michigan. In
2005 he served as faculty representative for Wayne State University
at the Southern Conference on Cast Iron Art. In 2003 he was
selected to participate in the Art on the Move Summer Mentorship
and Artist Residency programs.