Questions for Sound Garden
Guy:
Establishment Questions:
What pieces do you work on?
What do you do to them?
What are challenges you face in maintaining large scale
installations?
Do you have contact with the artists who created the
pieces?
Do you ever have to make decisions that might change part
of the artistic intent of a piece for logistical or
structural reasons? If so, do you contact the artist in
these cases?
People get very connected to pieces of public art, the
Sound Garden definitely included, and changing a piece
after it's installed seems like it could create an
emotional response. Have you ever encountered such a
situation, or been put in a situation to make a decision
that might have such an effect?
Was there much public response to the new security measures
as they related to the accessibility of the Sound Garden?
What do you think it is about the Sound Garden that draws
people to it and makes it a successful piece of public art?
Do you think that people are willing to invest more in the
upkeep of popular pieces, and, if so, is this a a way that
public art is indirectly judged by its audience? Is the
Sound Garden particularly well cared for in a sense because
of its popularity?
Do you have any favorite pieces of public art?
Any least favorite pieces?
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Questions for Barbara:
Establishment Questions:
What is your current role in public art finance and
creation?
What have been your previous roles?
How did you get involved?
What are some criteria you use in selecting pieces?
What do you think the role of good public art is in our
society?
Given the fact that many people are not trained in the
interpretation of fine art, do you find that you must
balance selection of pieces between those that ones that
are artistically stimulating and pieces that would largely
confuse viewers?
A lot of installations, particularly on private property
downtown, are, at first glance, quite imposing and
inaccessibly abstract structures. What do you think the
intent of these pieces was?
In the case of privately sponsored public art, do you think
that the selectors go out of their way to gauge public
reaction to pieces, or are they more concerned with
pleasing their clients?
Given the pitfalls of so called "design by committee," how
can the process of selecting and installing public art
maintain the vibrancy and passion of good art?
How much interaction is there with the artist after a piece
has been selected?
Are artists frequently asked to change their designs in
order to accommodate the needs of the patron? If so, do
artists react positively to such requests?
A lot of pieces in Seattle, such as Waiting for the
Interurban and the Fremont Troll have been very much taken
in by the community, and people feel drawn to interact with
them. This, however, is not the case with many of the the
large pieces on private property downtown. Do you think in
the latter cases this is a failure on the part of the
selectors to choose engaging pieces, or is there an intent
in creating something that has a more isolated feel?
If you don't mind engaging in a bit of a thought
experiment, public art is often used by archeologists and
historians to draw conclusions about a culture. What do you
think the public art that would be found in Seattle today
would say about our society to someone isolated from it by
time?
Do you have any favorite pieces of public art?
Do you have any least favorite pieces?
Do you see any trends in current selection and creation of
public art pieces?