Public Art Conference Archive—2004

Concurrent Sessions: Choosing Past and Future: The Debate over the Heart of Three Cities
Summary by Jennifer Lovvorn

Panelists:

• Ritsuko Taho, Artist, Tokyo, Japan
• Glenn Weiss, Public Art Consultant, Delray Beach, FL
• Robin Nigh, Director, City of Tampa, Public Art Program, Tampa, FL
• Margi Glavovic Nothard, Glavovic Studio, Fort Lauderdale, FL

Moderator Glenn Weiss introduced his fellow panelists. He explained that each of the presenters had worked on projects where communities, administrators, architects, planners, officials, and artists were forced to examine what made up the heart of their city. He stated that many public art administrators start with the goal of changing the world, and they often wish to use artwork to show a city how things could be. The projects to be discussed at this session attempted to begin an evolution where artists, administrators and architects work as activists and catalysts for change.

Architect Margi Glavovic Nothard presented the project, Young Circle Arts Park in the City of Hollywood, Florida, which she worked on with public artist Ritsuko Taho. She explained that she was initially hired to design a gazebo for the park, yet she felt that a gazebo might not be what the people of the City of Hollywood would want. She liked that the site had trees and was a large open space (12 acres) in an urban environment. The park is in the heart of an emerging downtown and is encircled by a federal highway. Because of its location, she noticed that the park had the potential to act as a connector for the city. Upon analysis, Ms. Nothard noted that the park had an active link to the downtown, a passive link to the neighborhood, and a cultural link to the city. Using this analysis, she began to develop a plan for the park that would create various zones:

1. The active zone would become a place for families to play, walk and run.
2. The passive zone would be a quiet, shaded area for rest and reading.
3. The cultural zone would be a place to observe and educate and would include a performance space.

Ms. Nothard explained that the design process began to involve many designers and city officials who were all thrown together and forced to resolve their differences and compromise with regard to competing views. She added that bringing in public artist Ritsuko Taho helped change the process from negotiation to collaboration. Ms. Nothard stated that in the end the project was touted as a great success and is now seen as a key development tool for the city.

Artist Ritsuko Taho stated that she was happy that her project was supported by the architect and by many people in the City of Hollywood. She wanted to make the park a model for the future. For the Art Park she worked with the themes of technology, community and the environment and her public art concepts consisted of three main components: Water Sculpture, Dream Wave Pattern Sculpture and E-Sculpture. The design of the water jets in the long narrow main fountain represent life energy wave patterns as measured in one of the massive Baobab Trees (Tree of Life) living in the park. A sound art component makes these patterns audible through speakers at the main fountain and artist-designed sound poles encircling the Tree. The artist-designed festive rope for the Baobab Tree provides an opportunity for community participation in annual celebrations tied to the changing of the rope. Recognizing the dream of the City of Hollywood’s founder, Joseph W. Young, who created the plan for the City, the artist linked the fountain to an existing statue of Young through a unique dream wave paver pattern. Utilizing a web-cam to capture and transmit real-time images of the Baobab Tree via an artist-designed webpage, the E-sculpture component connects people around the world to the Art Park.

City of Tampa Public Art Program Director Robin Nigh presented the public art project at the Cotanchobee/Fort Brooke Park. This park is located at the nexus of downtown Tampa, Florida and is heavily used by conventioneers and tourists. The park is located on a site that was once a fortress (Fort Brooke) and is now a waterfront park. Prior to being named Fort Brooke, the site was known as Contanchobee by the Seminole people. The city faces its past and its future on the same site. Ms. Nigh stated that the public art project faced early challenges:

1. The site was high profile geographically, historically and politically.
2. An election would replace the city’s administration while the project was getting underway.
3. There was a well-meaning, but non-committed volunteer group.
4. There was confusion regarding departmental ownership.

Ms. Nigh added that the project also faced later challenges:

1. Administrations changed both within the City of Tampa and the Seminole Tribe of Florida.
2. There was confusion between memorials and public art.
3. There were challenges related to working with cultural difference and respecting all perspectives.
4. There were problems relative to interpreting history.
5. There were rising construction costs.

Ms. Nigh explained that the project was initiated by the mayor of Tampa and was part memorial and part public art project. One of the project’s early successes was the decision by the mayor to give naming rites for the park to the Seminole people. She added that during the process there were multiple voices that needed to be heard including the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma. The public art project included various components, such as landscape design, which restored the environment and included indigenous plantings. The project also included a memorial to the Seminole Wars of Removal. The process of bringing the memorial into being revealed painful differences between the Seminole Tribe and the Seminole Nation. The City of Tampa Public Art Program did an open call for an artist to design the memorial. The winner was Bob Haozous, who proposed the piece “Ceremonial Space is a Gathering Place.” This piece pays respect to an absent user group. Ms. Nigh stated that there were rewards for the process:

1. The site is a destination in the downtown area for multiple user groups.
2. The site maintains the integrity of and for an absent group.
3. The memorial is a venue for education and a gathering place for events.

In the end, those involved felt like they had done “the right thing.”

Public Art Consultant Glenn Weiss presented the planning and implementation of the Cultural Loop for Delray Beach, Florida. For this project Mr. Weiss worked on an art steering group with Houston-based artist Rick Lowe and Lori Durante of Delray Beach. Mr. Weiss explained that Delray Beach has segregated neighborhoods and in the 1980’s had fallen on hard times. In 1994, the city began its efforts with redevelopment. The majority of development energy was focused on the expansion of economic success along the downtown Atlantic Avenue. Yet two blocks north and south of Atlantic Avenue, life and development was very quiet. Mr. Weiss explained that it was felt that a cultural loop could serve to connect the developed area to its immediate surroundings. The Delray Beach Cultural Loop is a 30 minute walk that connects the traditional cultural zones of this south Florida town: railroad track commerce, main street, city hall and the core residential areas of whites and blacks. The loop links historic zones and museums, the art and entertainment area, civic institutions, and the new economic extremes of apartments for urban professionals and the distressed houses of recent Caribbean & Latin American immigrants. The art steering group spent a year planning. The resulting art program included a parade and installations of temporary artwork along the Cultural Loop.

Key Questions:

For Glenn Weiss: How has the Delray Beach changed since the Cultural Loop was established? Has there been gentrification?

Response: Mr. Weiss responded that there has been some gentrification. There have been many meetings and planning to address the issue so that the gentrification does not result in displacement.

For Robin Nigh: Did the memorial project bring together the two Seminole groups?

Response: Ms. Nigh responded that they had initially hoped that it would, but she thinks that it probably has not. She stated that memorials can’t solve problems.

For Margi Glavovic Nothard: What sort of legacy are dealing with in regard to art and parks?

Response: Ms. Nothard responded that everything has to do with connectivity. Space has to be activated by inhabitants. Parks have to be evolving places. She added that in order for a project to be successful, the process has to be open.

Speaker's handouts are available online.