Public Art Conference Archive—2004

Concurrent Session: Public Art and the Federal Government

Panelists:

• Susan Harrison, Director, GSA Art in Architecture Program, Washington, DC
• Barbara Wolanin, Curator, Architect of the Capitol, Washington, DC

Barbara Wolanin discussed the history of the architecture of the Capitol and the artwork commissioned for the site. Their website includes a comprehensive overview of the works Ms. Wolanin presented, with images. Their website is www.aoc.gov and the link to the artwork section is www.aoc.gov/cc/cc_art.htm.

She discussed the following works:

• The Statue of Freedom on the Capitol dome installed in 1863, which is waxed every 3 years
• A series of paintings by John Trumbull, including the Declaration of Independence

She discussed The Apotheosis of Washington a fresco painted by Constantino Brumidi in 1865 at length, including its recent conservation. In the fresco, Greek goddesses assigned to political figures of the time, e.g. Benjamin Franklin.  The renovation of the rotunda was approved in 1987, which involved scaffolding 180 feet tall. The joints at sections of fresco became visible and disfiguring and the frieze in rotunda was painted to look like sculpture.

Barbara discussed recent efforts to commission new murals for the rotunda, which failed because of politics between the house and senate being tense, and the attitude of not wanting to spend money.

Susan Harrison described the history of the GSA’s Art in Architecture Program. She stated that getting money contracted is a very long process—it can take up to two years. Most of her projects are located in courthouses and government buildings. 

The program has commissioned 262 works of art with about $25million. There are currently 90 projects in process across the country.

The program was started 1962, under President John F. Kennedy as a committee on government office space.

By 1966, the program has commissioned 45 works of art across US. At that time, the program was suspended due to budget constraints that resulted form the Vietnam War. When the program was re-established, it was reborn as GSA

The program is limited to US artists or Green Card holders to create public and permanently installed works of art. The primary broad goal is to commission critically esteemed and thought provoking work.

She then discussed and showed slides of some of the projects commissioned by the program:

• An Alexander Calder work commissioned in 1974 inspired Chicago to declare Alexander Calder day. The city held a circus parade to coincide with the opening of the Ronald Regan building.
• One of the most infamous works commissioned by the program was Tilted Arc by Richard Serra. The 14’ tall sculpture was removed after heated public debate. The plaza was then redesigned by Martah Schwartz, without the GSA’s involvement. The controversy surrounding this work led to the creation of the 1990 Visual Artists Rights Act.
• Close to the site of the Serra, Maya Lin designed a scholar’s rock garden on the edge of Chinatown, NYC. The work includes inverted fountains which must be turned off in winter, leaving the space a bit desolate. There is currently an effort to raise funds for lighting to make the work more attractive year round.
• Also in Manhattan, at  290 Broadway, is the site of an African American burial ground which was discovered during excavation. There are two artworks developed for building. One by artists Tomie Arai and another by Roger Brown. 
• Sculpture by Tom Otterness at a courthouse in San Francisco.
• A commission at the CIA by artist Jim Sandborn, which includes coded text. To her knowledge, is has not yet been deciphered.
• A work by Dina Moore in Newark, NJ  that includes imagery of one colossal blind folded head. The  eyes of piece are at eye level; not on pedestal.

Some of the projects in progress include works by Arturo Herrera at the INS building in DC, Jim Campell’s electronic media works, which is a new direction for the program.

Susan described the structure of the selection panel. The architect is selected and put under contract, and sits on the artist selection panel with arts professionals. The panel includes 5 art professionals and 5 non-arts professionals. There is not direct community participation. For the GSA, community is defined as the site’s employees.

The program has a registry of 5,000 artists, which is open to anyone. The registry is consulted, but they rely heavily on panel recommendations. The program allocated ½% of GSA projects. 

For more information about the Art in Architecture Program, visit the General Services Administrations website.