So where does art come from, anyway? Creative passion? All-consuming vision? That much renowned, semi-mystical chaotic loam popularly deemed "inspiration"?
Well perhaps, but while such rare commodities might provide an artist with the germ of an idea, the work of cultivating that germ into full artistic fruition is longer, more arduous and complicated than one might think. And if the process of planning, refining, designing and constructing is difficult for the relatively autonomous studio artist, imagine the challenges awaiting the public artist, who must do all of the above while also securing financial backing and the support of public officials.
Such is the task posed by the School of Art's annual University City Sculpture Series, now in its 13th year. The program, sponsored by University City, the Regional Arts Commission and the University City Municipal Commission on Arts and Letters, requires students to meet with local officials, choose sites, design projects and submit proposals. If their proposals are selected for funding, the students then have the opportunity to install their works in the parks, courtyards, libraries, bus stops and other public spaces of Washington University's neighbor to the north.
"It's really a year-long process," said Denise Ward-Brown, associate professor in sculpture, who co-directs the program with Arny Nadler, lecturer in Art.
"It's a great opportunity for sculptors to get some professional experience before they graduate," she added. "Often when you see calls or competitions for public artists, one qualification is that they've had previous experience in public art. This is a really nice way for students to enter that arena."
Ward-Brown said that of the 16 proposals submitted this year, 12 were funded. The final works, which were unveiled April 11 and remain on view through mid-May, range from traditional sculpture to site-specific installations to community projects that seem part activism, part performance art. For one project, juniors Ann Roll and Leslie Silverstein made 3,000 pencils and went door to door, giving them away. For another project, junior Katie Britton created beanbag chairs for the public library's Children's Room. A third, by Tina Morano, involved youngsters at the Nathaniel Hawthorne Elementary School, who created fabric illustrations for the story "Tar Beach," which Morano then stitched into a quilt.
Ward-Brown said that one of her favorite projects is by junior Katy Rose Krupnick, who -- inspired by a recent trip to Costa Rica -- wove brightly colored ribbon through the slats of the plain brown bus benches at Leland Avenue and Loop North.
"It's really quite beautiful. She's taken this drab, dark corner and completely livened it up," Ward-Brown said. "She's also a very friendly young lady. While she was working she'd be explaining the project to people actually waiting for buses. They all got a real kick out of the exchanges."
Ward-Brown said she knows of only one similar public art program, in Springfield, Ill., but noted that that program was founded by Washington University sculpture alumni. She added that her colleagues at other institutions often express envy for the training and experience such public/private collaboration provides.
"From the artist's point of view, there are several ways to look at public art," Ward-Brown concluded. "Artists can adapt their ideas to a site, a budget and a deadline. Many times the artist's concepts are inspired by the site itself -- by its physical characteristics and/or its historical significance as well as issues of safety and public use of the area. These kinds of components then combine to create the sculpture. It's a challenge that gives rise to a whole new kind of creativity in our students."
