Governor's Island Proposal

M E T A A R T E 563 NE Ravenna Boulevard Seattle WA 98115

phone 206.523.3071 fax 206.523.6133

October 15, 2010

West 8 New York

Attn: Public Art Consultant RFQ

333 Hudson Street, Suite 905

New York, NY 10013

To the Public Art Consultant Selection Team:

META ARTE is delighted to apply for this unique opportunity to contribute to the concept,

definition, and delivery of a most important public space through the thoughtful and

deliberate introduction of art interventions, both permanent and ephemeral.

Our team – Pablo Schugurensky and Kurt Kiefer – has extensive experience in public art

activities. Please see the attached résumés and past projects‖ information. We prefer to

work in consonance with the development of a site – the earlier the better – so our

efforts can match, mutually inform and affect the evolution of the concept. We feel that

this is a great moment to work on the plan for public art in Governors Island, as the

groundwork has been established and the ambition for an engaged public experience has

been clearly enunciated.

We believe that public art projects can and must meet the interests of various parties: the

artist, the audience, and the funder. In our practice we encourage artists to engage with

the intended location for their work and consider the community. At the same time we

ask them to propose meaningful, important work that can be a mark in their careers. We

ask audiences to stretch their expectations and listen to what the artists propose. We ask

the funders to take calculated risks, to benefit from the opportunity to commission works

rather than acquire existing objects.

In our curatorial work, we strive to bring not only the unexpected but also what will add

to the character of space and will have a long visual life. Our interest in longevity is not

only about the durability of materials but also about integrating artworks into the long-

term narrative of place and community.

We work with both well established artists as well as those with younger practices who

may have not had a public art opportunity before. We see our work as providing scope

and parameters – budget, timeline, local code, intention, expectations – and monitoring

the continued adherence to them, from initial invitations for artist to make proposals to

the final delivery and warranty period. We also prepare interpretive materials to articulate

art efforts to the public and the media.

We enjoy developing all kinds of projects — permanent, semi- permanent or ephemeral –

and celebrate the fact that the meaning of public art has evolved to include time-based

works. Indeed, in a transformative process such as the one in Governor‖s Island, it would

M E T A A R T E

be desirable to create art events that reside in the shared memory of the audience as part

of the overall program.

Our experience includes a deep understanding of governmental practices – meeting the

requirements of enabling legislation and the interests of various project‖s stakeholders,

including artists, schoolchildren, students, government employees, administrators, public

officials and legislators. We take pride in our accomplishments within those scenarios. We

have also worked with private development projects, including commissioning twelve

artworks for the gargantuan new football and soccer stadium in Seattle, Qwest Field, for

the Microsoft Corporation, and for Vulcan Real Estate. A few highlights in our collective

experience include commissioning and delivering a beautiful sculpture by Martin Puryear

for the Cesar Pelli-designed Mark McDermott Plaza at the University of Washington

(Everything That Rises, 1996); Peter Shelton‖s first public commission at Qwest Filed,

(rockSHADOW, 2002); and Ursula von Rydingsvard‖s sprawling work at Microsoft, (Skip

to My Lou, 1997).

For Vulcan Real Estate, we are contributing to the redevelopment of a large central

section of Seattle, South Lake Union, which until recently was occupied by warehouses,

light industry and some commerce. The redevelopment plan for this neighborhood

includes biotech industry, residences, commerce, and a cultural corridor. In order to

conjure the diverse vocabularies that appear in neighborhood architecture, the developer

has been engaging various architectural and landscape design firms to design buildings in

city blocks, including pedestrian-friendly gestures such as through-block courtyards. We

have engaged regional artists and provided them with reasonably ambitious budgets

depending on their career stage and track record / ability to deliver. In some cases we

took calculated risks, resulting in already well-loved installations, such as Akio Takamori‖s

Three Women (2006), Claudia Fitch‖s Placeholders (2007), and Leo Berk‖s Threshold

(2009).

We encourage the artists and designers to collaborate to maximize their respective

budgets. Leo Berk was able to use a budget initially allocated to the furniture, fixtures and

equipment to create a large work for the interior lobby and exterior of a new building that

fulfills some of the functional needs of the space. Claudia Fitch developed a collaborative

relationship with the landscape architect on her project and was able to alter the design

of planters and the sidewalk to become more organic, relate to her sculptures and greatly

improve the pedestrian experience on a narrow sidewalk along a busy street.

Audiences are not uniform, and we expect that people will like some works more than

others. We believe in providing multiple points of entry to a public art program without

being condescending to audiences. From figurative to abstract, from ephemeral to

permanent, a program can be punctuated to include diverse and serious approaches to art

-making. There are many talented artists that can provide smart and engaging artworks to

invigorate the shared space.

Depending on budget, timeline, and development plan, the public art program for

M E T A A R T E

Governors Island could be concentrated in one area or deployed as punctuations in

various locations. We think it is important to recognize the need for flexibility for future

development and additions, and to leave room for them.

We hope our materials are of interest to you and look forward to enter in dialogue to

imagine and realize a truly new art space.

Sincerely,

Pablo Schugurensky Kurt Kiefer

M E T A A R T E ∙ Public Art Consultant for Governor’s Island ∙ 44

M E T A A R T E

P A B L O S C H U G U R E N S K Y [ P R I N C I P A L ]

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

META ARTE LLC, Seattle, Washington. Owner, 2005-present.

Meta Arte provides art advisory services to various individual and corporate clients to develop,

manage, and shape art collections in private and public settings.

Provides art advisory services to various individual and corporate clients to place artworks for

sale through private treaty or public sales.

Monitors developments and practices in the field, track new artists, and maintain presence to

identify, solicit, and gain access to great opportunities for acquisition.

Vulcan Inc, Seattle, Washington. Director of Art Collections (2002-2005); Director of Art

Collections and Management (1999-2002); Art and Foundations Manager (1998-1999).

Represented company, principals, and affiliates in the field.

Identified opportunities for artwork acquisition and placement for a variety of settings.

Developed and executed art program concepts for diverse purposes, from public facilities to

company collections to private interests.

Cultivated relationships and understood practices, methods and developments in the field;

negotiated complex contracts, understood intellectual property issues, customs, legal, and tax

implications.

First and Goal, Inc, Bellevue, Washington. Art Program Consultant, 1998.

Developed public art program for a new sports stadium with an initial allocation of almost two

million dollars.

Designed contracts that reflect practices in the field and the interests of the new stadium

constituencies.

Assisted in negotiations to integrate diverse interests for the art program.

Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Washington. Director, Microsoft Art Collection, 1997 - 1998.

Directed acquisition efforts in collaboration with the Microsoft Art Committee.

Procured artworks.

Provided articulation to collecting efforts and interpretation to collection holdings.

Set guidelines for, and conducted internal and external communications regarding the collection.

Identified placement opportunities.

Coordinated with Real Estate group.

Coordinated activities with the Collection Administrator and installation team; managed the

collection budget.

Prepared annual request for new acquisitions and collection management.

Devised and implemented employee programs associated with the collection.

Established general collection policies regarding tours, loans, and unsolicited submissions.


M E T A A R T E

P A B L O S C H U G U R E N S K Y

Washington State Arts Commission, Olympia, Washington. Program Manager, Art in Public Places

Program, 1992 – 1997.

Responsible for statewide program administering art allocations for public schools, colleges and

universities, and state agencies, with an annual acquisition budget of over one million dollars.

Shaped state policy, interacted with other programs, Visual Arts Committee, and Commission.

Provided art selection procedures, managed acquisition process, maintained contact with artists

and sites.

Upgraded collection management and developed conservation programs for the State Art

Collection.

Secured first-time allocation towards conservation. Established deaccession policy.

Improved relations with communities and partner agencies. Invented new partnership models.

Represented Program and Commission regionally and nationally.

Supervised program staff (7 members) supporting their career growth.

New York State Council on the Arts, New York, New York. Program Officer, Visual Artists

Program, 1987-1992.

Responsibilities in all phases of the grant administration process, from handling inquiries to

evaluating fiscal and programmatic aspects of applications from New York State arts

organizations.

Made funding recommendations, wrote reports, compiled statistics, and shaped policy.

Attended exhibitions, performances and events to keep current with contemporary visual arts

activity.

RELATED EXPERIENCE

Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, WA. Collections Committee (2002 to present). Board of Directors

(2002 to 2005).

Northwest Film Forum, Seattle, WA. Board of Directors. 2007-2008.

Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA. Olympic Sculpture Park Advisory Committee (2001-2006),

Committee on the Collection (2002-2006).

Artist Trust, Seattle, WA. Board of Directors, 1997-1999.

Foundation for Art Resources, Los Angeles, California. Board of Directors, 1987.

EDUCATION

The Otis Art Institute Of Parsons School Of Design, Los Angeles, California.

Master of Fine Arts Degree in Painting, 1987. Additional emphasis in Art Management

The Evergreen State College, Olympia, Washington. Bachelor of Arts Degree, Fine Arts, 1984.

Additional emphasis in Art Management

LANGUAGES

Fluent language skills in English, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese.


M E T A A R T E

K U R T K I E F E R [ P R O J E C T M A N A G E R ]

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

META ARTE LLC, Seattle, Washington. Project Manager, 2008-present.

Manages public and private commissioned projects, coordinates projects with client

representatives.

Understands developments and practices in the field, track new artists, and maintain presence to

identify, solicit, and gain access to great opportunities for acquisition.

University of Washington, Seattle, Washington. Campus Art Administrator, 1994–2008.

Manager of the UW Public Art Program and curator of the Campus Art Collection.

Managed all phases of master planning, project development, artist selection, project

management and collection maintenance for the university‖s growing collection of art.

Oversaw maintenance budget, guided development of major commemorative works, raised

funds for maintenance and acquisitions and managed gift review and acquisition.

Rainmaker Industries, Seattle, Washington. Owner, 1992-2008.

Completed public art projects in Tacoma, Washington, Portland, Oregon and Seattle,

Washington.

Various projects including art planning with Meta Arte, the Puget Sound Environmental Learning

Center (now Islandwood) and early development of a public art planning guide for Seattle

neighborhoods for the Seattle Arts Commission.

University of Washington, Seattle, Washington. Lecturer, 2006-2008.

Yearly Spring Quarter seminar on professional practices for artists.

First and Goal, Inc, Seattle, Washington. Consultant, 2001-2002.

Oversaw the construction and installation of a $1.2 million collection of public art projects

associated with the Seattle Seahawks football stadium (now Qwest Stadium).

Rhodes Masonry Inc, Seattle, Washington. Project Manager, 1993-1994.

Supervisor of crew of traditional craftsman fabricating intricate stonework for residential and

commercial clients.

Capp Street Project, San Francisco, California. Contract Preparator, 1990-1992.

Facilitator of on-site and off-site artists' projects.

Oliver Art Center, California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, California. Lead Preparator, 1990-

1991.

Facilitator of on-site artist‖s projects, exhibition designer, artwork handling and installation.


M E T A A R T E

K U R T K I E F E R [ P R O J E C T M A N A G E R ]

Washington Project for the Arts, Washington, DC. Chief Preparator, 1988-1990.

Designed and installed exhibitions, fabricated site-specific artwork, administered project budgets,

maintained facility, recruited and supervised volunteers and interns.

Washington Cathedral, Washington, DC. Stone Carver, Shop Steward, 1985-1988.

Carved a wide variety of architectural ornament, maintained and repaired existing stonework and

managed the storage and handling of work in progress.

Shop Steward, representing the carver‖s studio in internal and external interactions.

RELATED EXPERIENCE

Mayor’s Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, Seattle, Washington. Member at Large, Public Art

Advisory Committee, 2002 to present.

911 Seattle Media Arts, Seattle, Washington. Board of Directors, 2008 to present.

Grantmakers in the Arts, Seattle Washington. Facilitator, “Walking the Edges of Creative Space.”

Grantmakers in the Arts Conference, Seattle WA. Panel discussion of artists acting as

environmental activists, 2003.

Seattle Arts Commission, Seattle, Washington. Panelist, “Gifts and Memorials: Building a Legacy

or Making Private Taste Public?” Public Art 101 Conference, Seattle WA, 2001.

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Advisor. Development of a campus public

art program, 2001.

Washington State Major League Baseball Stadium, Seattle, Washington. Panelist, Public Art

Program. Winter, 1997.

University of Washington, Seattle, Washington. University Landscape Advisory Committee,

October 1994 – December 2008.

Sand Point Arts and Cultural Exchange, Board of Directors, Seattle, Washington. Co-President

(2002-2004). Member at Large (1999–2004).

Seattle Arts Commission, Seattle, Washington. Member at Large (1999 – 2002). Chair, Public Art

Advisory Committee (2001-2002). Chair, Art Selection Committee, Seattle Civic Center

development, (2001). Vice Chair, Public Art Committee (1999-2000).

Mayor’s Arts Task Force, Seattle, Washington. Member, 1998-1999.

REFLEX Magazine, Board of Directors. Seattle, Washington. President, 1995-1996. Member, 1993

–1996.

EDUCATION

California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, California.

Master of Fine Arts (Sculpture), 1992. Graduated with High Distinction. Received Barclay

Simpson Award for distinguished work.

The Colorado College, Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Bachelor of Arts, (Theater, emphasis on design), 1985. Graduated magna cum laude and Phi

Beta Kappa. Received top departmental awards in both Theater and Studio Arts.


M E T A A R T E

W O R K S A M P L E S

SOUTH LAKE UNION ART PROGRAM, SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

South Lake Union, a former neighborhood once dominated by light industry, warehouses and auto

dealerships, is being transformed by Vulcan Real Estate into a center for biotechnology, housing

and a campus for Amazon.com. Hoping to enliven the built environment and create a lively

pedestrian atmosphere, Vulcan hired Meta Arte to identify public art opportunities, recruit artists

and oversee the fabrication and installation of projects throughout the neighborhood. We have tried

to focus our attention on talented local artists without significant experience in public art and have

had great success in helping them translate their studio practices into publicly-sited works and

environments.


M E T A A R T E



Akio Takamori

Three Women, 2006

Painted cast aluminum

2200 Westlake Avenue

Drawing on memories from his childhood in Japan, Akio Takamori‖s

Three Women is a collection of cast-aluminum sculptures depicting a girl,

a young woman and mother with her baby. The figures are all about the

same size, suggesting that these three people are of equal prominence in

Takamori‖s mind‖s eye – however they are also larger than life-size,

giving a sense of importance to what appears as an ordinary moment.

Though they have come together and stand facing one another, they

aren‖t interacting, preferring instead to avoid each other‖s eyes and keeping a close watch on the

space around them. Takamori was intentional about this equivocal relationship among the women,

inviting the viewers to project their own imagination.


M E T A A R T E



Jenny Heishman

Cabin Corners, 2010

Aluminum, urethane epoxy

paint, concrete

Amazon.com, Block 26

Jenny Heishman grew up

in Florida surrounded by

theme parks, water flumes

and golf courses.

For this piece for a new

publicly accessible plaza

adjoining a new Amazon

building, Heishman‖s aim

was to design a sculpture

that would intersect with

both the architecture of the

adjacent building as well as

the planter beds in the pocket park.

Choosing to work with forms that are recognizable to

the Pacific Northwest, her hope was to embed the

piece in its site by way of a historical reference.

Heishman writes “I‖m interested in how the three

components of the sculpture enclose an imaginary

room, creating a space within a space and how the

invented history embodied in the work might send its

audience back in time.”


M E T A A R T E



Claudia Fitch

Placeholders, 2007

Group Health Building, Block 40

Steel, epoxy paint, concrete, brick,

landscaping

This artwork installation in multiple

parts by Claudia Fitch, refers to the

“survivor tree” landscape of early Terry

Avenue. Using the urban vocabulary of

brick, steel and street landscaping, the

asymmetrical composition of oval

elements is balanced in counterpoint to

the straightforward geometry created

by the sidewalk and building facade

along Thomas Street and Terry

Avenue. The artist considered a new

addition to the neighborhood, the

streetcar, for perception of her work.

Placeholders is inspired by the history

of Terry Avenue. When the street was

originally developed for industrial use in

the late 19th century, the neighborhood

contained remnants of the site‖s original

old growth forests with the occasional

tall evergreen standing in sharp contrast

to the newly- formed urban grid.


M E T A A R T E



Jamie Walker

Beacon, Cloud, Toto, 2010

Fabricated aluminum

Jamie Walker‖s three sculptures

installed in this plaza are clusters of

spheres which suggest mountains,

clouds and animals. Installed at the

entry on Terry Avenue, Beacon acts

as a landmark marking the entrance

to the building complex and leading

pedestrians into the plaza. Rising

dramatically from the ground, the

sculpture‖s large scale and raw

surface hint at the geologic forces

that form mountains. Cloud hangs

on the northeast corner of the south

building, looming ominously, but in

contrast, hinting at its real playful nature by

casting a surprising pink halo against the

building‖s façade on the occasional bright,

sunny days. In the middle of the courtyard,

Toto sits patiently on the edge of a

landscape island, waiting for someone to

play with.


M E T A A R T E



Leo Berk

Threshold, 2009

Salvaged Douglas

fir, urethane, epoxy

and cork

Rollin Street Flats

The timbers and

decking used to

create Threshold

were salvaged from

a one-story building

that previously

stood on the site of

Rollin Street Flats.

To highlight the

history of this wood,

the artist milled the

100 year old

Douglas fir beams to

make them smooth

and true, and then patched their cracks, bolt holes, and other imperfections with tinted resin, to

reveal them. The flooring tiles are slices from three of these beams; for each set of tiles, Berk

emphasized the same year of growth by cutting away a step surrounding the matching growth ring

and filling the void

with orange-tinted

resin. The tiles are in

sequence and book-

matched to make

the resulting pattern.

The standing

timbers, floor tiles

and decking in

Threshold respond

to the building‖s

design, recall the

material‖s former

use, and allude to

the landscape from

which they were

originally claimed.


M E T A A R T E


505 5TH AVENUE SOUTH, SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

As the Director of Art Collections at Vulcan Inc., Pablo Schugurensky encouraged a successful

collaboration between John Hoge, a local stone sculptor, and Murase Associates, a well-regarded

landscape architecture and planning firm, to create a large, refined open space at the base of

Vulcan‖s headquarters building that performs as a community-gathering space.

John Hoge (in collaboration with Murase Associates)

Cascadia: Sentries of the Palisades, 2000

Garden of Vessels, 2000

Basalt and plant materials

To create a transition space between the office complex and Seattle‖s International District, Seattle

sculptor John Hoge collaborated with Murase Associates to install a plaza centerpiece of large-

scale basalt columns and water features. This immensely popular plaza is a gathering place for

commuters, sports enthusiasts and nearby workers. Low stone walls direct active pedestrian

traffic and provide seating. The north garden, in keeping with the owners‖ request for a Zen

garden, is a contemplative space that includes raked gravel fiels, rough granite slabs and a stone

watertable.


M E T A A R T E


STADIUM ART PROGRAM, QWEST FIELD, SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

Pablo Schugurensky, working with the owners of the Seahawks football team and the Public Stadium Authority, designed and managed the art program for Qwest Field, working with a voluntary $1.75 million investment from First & Goal Inc. The development partners formed an 11-member selection committee and invited qualifications from artists from both the US and Canada. Of 254 respondents, twelve were chosen to develop for exterior and interior sites in and around the facility. In 2000, Kurt Kiefer was brought on to the team as a consultant to oversee the fabrication

and installation of all the works in the collection.

The guiding mission of the art program was to: engage both regional and national artists to create artworks that capture the public's interest and imagination; develop a collection that will serve as a destination for visitors from around the world; represent a diverse range of cultural and artistic perspectives; and create a collection that will be a source of pride for the region.

Peter Shelton

rockSHADOW, 2002

Granite boulder, cast bronze

Shelton‖s sculptural grouping pairs a massive Cascade granite boulder and its shadow — a bronze

form suggesting a mold to reproduce that boulder. The work, while not specifically referring to the

activity at the stadium, is evocative of the physicality and grandeur of football as spectacle.


M E T A A R T E



Susan Point

Written Into the Earth,

2002

Cast bronze (North

Tower reliefs), cast iron

(tree grates)

Susan Point, a

distinguished artist

working to revitalize

Coast Salish visual

traditions, created two

distinct projects at

Qwest Field. The first is

a band of cast bronze

bas-relief sculptures at

the base of the North

Tower which serves as a

threshold to the facility.

The second is a large

collection of ornamental tree grates adopted as the standard fixture for the entire Stadium and

Exhibition Center site. The arc of bronze bas-relief sculptures (outlining a portion of the former

footprint of the Kingdome — the stadium replaced by Qwest Field) is composed of four designs

intended to represent world cultures. The tree grate designs are based on the designs of spindle

whorls—stone

flywheels used by the

Coast Salish for

spinning yarn.


M E T A A R T E



Bob Haozous

Earth Dialogue, 2002

Painted steel

Haozous‖ installation on the

stadium‖s North Tower is

assembled from four 24-

foot diameter discs.

Although inspired by

symbols that are part of his

Warm Springs/Chiricahua

Apache heritage, Haozous

believes that the forms and

colors have universal

meanings — the artwork is

intended as a constant

reminder of our deep

connection to the earth.

According to Haozous, the

lowest disc, depicting a

stylized cityscape,

represents our

contemporary, man-made

world. The green disc

above it symbolizes life and

growth, but its human

figures are flying away,

suggesting the loss of

man‖s direct tie to nature,

or in a more hopeful

reading, a return to those

ties. The third disc honors

the sun, highlighting our

dependence on the natural

world and the redemptive

powers of nature. The top

disc is a collection of man-

made clouds, meant to

suggest the immensity of

the natural environment.


M E T A A R T E



Claudia Fitch

Collosal Heads, 2002

Cast bronze, cast iron

Inspired by carnival masks,

penny arcade signage and

the larger-than-life statuary

of Rome‖s ancient civic

arenas, these sculptures

enhance the ritual of entry

from the city street into the

stadium. The sculptures

dwarf passersby and are a

playful counterpart to the

large Seahawks banners

hung adjacent to them —

banners displaying enormous images of

current players intended to amplify the

larger-than-life qualities of the events

inside the stadium.


M E T A A R T E


WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, BELLINGHAM, WASHINGTON

As Program Manager of the Washington State Arts Commission‖s Art in Public Places Program,

Pablo Schugurensky developed a number of projects in collaboration with Western Washington

University, whose campus is home to a large collection of contemporary sculpture.

Magdalena Abakanowicz

Manus, 1994

Cast bronze

A deeply rooted respect for and

close observation of nature have

always been reflected in

Abakanowicz's preference for

materials and themes. As part of the

Hand-like Trees series begun in the

nineties. Abakanowicz's sculpture

"represents a metaphoric bridge

between a form of nature and a

human form." The artist chose the

site at the south end of campus

because she felt her work would

link the natural beauty of the area,

such as the trees of Sehome Hill,

with the human activity of the

campus. [Source: Western Gallery,

Outdoor Sculpture Collection

website. http://

westerngallery.wwu.edu/

sculpture_s.shtml]


M E T A A R T E


UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON CAMPUS ART COLLECTION, SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

As Campus Art Administrator at the University of Washington, Kurt Kiefer managed the

development of the public art collections on three campuses. Working with the UW Public Art

Commission, he developed strategies and proposals for working on campus to respond to a rapidly-

developing physical plant and landscape. Until 1997, Pablo Schugurensky collaborated with the

University as Program Manager at the Washington State Arts Commission‖s Art in Public Places

Program.

Stokley Towles

An Archeology of Manhood, 1994

Month-long residency performance

Towles month-long performance was staged inside

a construction site trailer parked alongside a busy

pedestrian pathway in the center of campus.

Performing in the guise of a professor temporarily

dislocated by a renovation, Towles gave two

lectures a day to groups of passersby. The project

was so successful that he was invited to be a

regular guest speaker in a number of campus

academic departments and gave the

commencement speech for Women‖s Studies in June 1995.

Of the project, Towles writes “Surrounded by manhood related images, articles and objects, I gave

lectures inside an office trailer on various subjects, including hand holding and football, breast

feeding, and the possibility of expanding my pleasure zone.”


M E T A A R T E



Suzanne Hellmuth and Jock Reynolds

Brockman Memorial Tree Tour and Shelters, 1994

Cedar structures, printed ephemera

Unknown to most

campus visitors as

art, this collection

of sculptural

outbuildings was

intended as a

conceptual

squatter‖s camp,

highlighting

important campus

history by making a

series of sites seem

like places of

historic importance.

Built in the style of

World War II era

temporary facilities,

the cedar structures

are carefully

designed and

artfully crafted areas for people to

wait for buses or escape from the rain

while visiting the surrounding

Medicinal Herb Garden. Once inside,

the specific views of the garden are

revealed — views to rare plantings

and juxtapositions of sculptural trees.

Hellmuth‖s and Reynolds‖ project

further includes a recreated version of

the campus tree tour created by the

late forester and UW professor Frank

Brockman. Used by Brockman in his

classes at the College of Forestry for

many years, the document was

rediscovered by Hellmuth and

Reynolds in the course of their research for the project. The information (though not the design) of

their brochure can be found at http://www.cfr.washington.edu/BrockmanTreeTour/.


M E T A A R T E



Martin Puryear

Everything That Rises, 1996

Fabricated bronze

According to Martin Puryear, for many years he had wanted to create a sculpture that was the

same form in all directions — a turned form that emphasized the relationship of the sculpture to

its surroundings. Additionally, Puryear had been looking for an opportunity to work with a master

craftsman at a company in Louisville, Kentucky — one of the last facilities in the US where

distillery tanks were handbuilt. Merging the two of these desires, the piece was designed using a

woodturning as a model, but shows the marks of the tank-building process on its skin.

Though not intended as representational in any way, Everything That Rises is similar in shape to P

Orbital, one of the four basic orbital patterns of electrons in an atomic structure. This accidental

relationship has proven to be an important factor in the enjoyment of the artwork by its

surrounding audience.


M E T A A R T E



Various Artists

Bus Shelter Projects, 1993-1996

Duratrans transparencies in custom lightbox

structures

As an experiment in temporary public projects, the

UW Public Art Commission and Washington State

Arts Commission developed a series of simple

projects housed in two Metro bus shelters on the Seattle Campus. One shelter contained six

lightboxes; the other held two. Nominated artists were given the opportunity to develop projects

for all eight lightboxes or to focus their attention on only one site. Once approved, the artists‖

pieces were fabricated locally and installed on a two-month rotating schedule over the course of

three years. The artists selected for these projects were: Barbara Noah (Seattle), James Casebere

(New York), Yong Soon Min (San Francisco), Jon Rubin and Harrell Fletcher (Oakland, California),

Ted Gibson (Boseman, Montana), Mike Glier (New York), Alfred Harris (Seattle), Alfredo Jaar

(New York), Jeffrey Mitchell (Seattle), Susan Schuppli (Vancouver, British Columbia), Jake Seniuk

(Port Angeles, Washington), Timothy Sciciliano (Seattle), William Wegman (New York).


M E T A A R T E



Robert Irwin

9 Spaces 9 Trees, 1982 (re-envisioned 2006)

Chain-link fence, aluminum poles, concrete and Cor-ten steel planters, “Winter King” hawthorns

This artwork is an adaptive re-creation of a piece originally commissioned by the Seattle Arts

Commission (SAC) and sited at the City‖s Public Safety Building. When that building was marked

for demolition, SAC and the University agreed to explore the possibility of moving the work to the

Seattle campus. Robert Irwin agreed to this precedent-setting experiment and redesigned the

piece, changing its scale slightly, creating new planters and specifying trees more suitable for the

site.

Hoping to create a garden space that offered both privacy and transparency, Irwin designed 9

Spaces 9 Trees using “no-climb” chainlink material as he had used theatrical scrim for his well-

known interior installations in galleries and museums. The form of the original work was dictated

by the structure of the building on which the piece stood — a lightweight roof plaza supported by

nine concrete columns. Knowing that he could install only a limited amount of plant material in

the garden, he created nine large planters, one for each room of the work, in which he planted a

single tree. The resulting overall form, when seen from above is a series of cells, each forming a

classic circle-in-square motif.


M E T A A R T E



Cris Bruch

Department of Forensic Morphology

Annex, 2004

Fabricated stainless steel

The form of Bruch‖s massive

stainless steel construction refers to

both the Theodor Jacobsen

Observatory and the F.K. Kirsten

Wind Tunnel Building, two iconic

buildings on the University of

Washington campus. Taking

inspiration from these two facilities,

the sculpture has a streamlined form

that on closer inspection becomes an

intricate latticework of light,

shadow, and steel. Sited on the periphery of the

historic center of campus, the sculpture is hidden in

plain view — something to be discovered.


M E T A A R T E



Brian Tolle

Stronghold, 2008

Cedar, steel, concrete

Brian Tolle‖s sculpture for the southern part of

campus is intended as an outsized remembrance of

the history of the site. Its form and scale loosely

based on the lowermost section of the famous

Quinault Big Cedar south of Olympic National Park,

the artwork seems to be a stump that was too large

to remove from the forest that was cleared to make

the UW campus. The artwork also serves as a

gathering place and viewing platform — a specific

reference to the West Coast tradition of repurposing those too-large stumps as small buildings.


M E T A A R T E



Erwin Redl

Nocturnal Flow, 2008

Cedar, steel, concrete

Nocturnal Flow emphasizes the vertical dimension of

the building's atrium. The interior brick wall is the only

architectural element reaching from the floor to the

ceiling. The installation uses this wall to create an

enormous plane of light that conceptually links the

different floors of the building.

The ambient light level in the atrium controls the

appearance of the white grid of 10,000 LEDs

mounted floor-to-ceiling on the brick wall.

During the day, when the sun shines

through the skylight and the light level is

at its maximum, the grid is evenly lit. At

night the LED grid becomes animated and

moves upwards. A light sensor on top of

the building measures the external light

level (influenced by the weather conditions

and the position of the sun) and changes

the intensity of the animation accordingly.


M E T A A R T E


MICROSOFT ART COLLECTION, REDMOND, WASHINGTON

As Director of the Microsoft Art Collection, Pablo Schugurensky developed the first major

commissioned project in the company‖s history.

Ursula Von Rydingsvard

Skip to My Lou, 1997

Cedar, graphite

In her 1998 article about the artist for Smithsonian Magazine, art historian Avis Berman writes “A

meandering circular form, 67 feet in diameter but just 36 inches high, Skip to My Lou invites

passersby to nestle into its curves. Since it snakes around a mound of land surrounded by an office

complex, the artist explains that she ―had to concentrate on the top of the piece, and what people

would see when they overlooked it.‖ Von Rydingsvard isn‖t sure if Skip to My Lou represents a

sustained new direction or a tangent in her work. But that distinction isn‖t an issue for her. ―No

matter how corny this sounds, my whole world deals with feelings,‖ she says. ―A lot of the

decisions that I make are intuitively based. The stuff that starts being academic or pedantic I just

can‖t weave my brain into, and I really choose not to. I hope more than ever to be able to dip into

that which is not so consciously controlled, to be able to trust myself where things are less

predictable. That‖s where the fun is for me, and that‖s where I want to go.‖” [Source: Berman,

Avis. Smithsonian Magazine. April 1998, pp. 98-107]


M E T A A R T E

H O U R L Y R A T E S 2 0 1 0

HOURLY RATES

PREFERRED RATES

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Daily – Principal $2,800 + costs + expenses for client-specific work + travel

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Annual Retainer $60,000 Paid in advance for annual contract. Priority Service.

+ costs + expenses for client-specific work + travel

Hourly – Principal $300 + costs + expenses for client-specific work + travel

Daily – Principal $2,400 + costs + expenses for client-specific work + travel

Hourly – Project Manager $150 + costs + expenses for client-specific work + travel

Daily – Project Manager $1,200 + costs + expenses for client-specific work + travel


M E T A A R T E

R E F E R E N C E S

REFERENCES

Hamilton Hazelhurst

Real Estate Development Manager

Vulcan Real Estate

505 Fifth Avenue South, Suite 900

Seattle WA 98104

(206) 342-2493

[email protected]

Weldon Ihrig

Former Executive Vice President

University of Washington

Seattle Washington,

(206) 909-4466

[email protected]

Ursula Von Rydingsvard

Artist

78 Ingraham Street

Brooklyn, NY 11237

(718) 963-4319

[email protected]

Erwin Redl

Artist

425 Napoleon Road #5

Bowling Green OH 43402

(917) 536-6541

[email protected]

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