25 January 2008

Public art proposal

| Gungahlin Al
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Connoisseurs of public art that RA regulars are, I’m curious to see what you all think of this latest proposal for City Walk that I found while trawling the DA notices on the ACTPLA site. Check the file marked Elevation. I dunno art but I know what I like. This one ain’t topping my pops list…

But on the other hand, that new technicolour cube outside the back of the Canberra Centre isn’t too bad.

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I actually quite like the look of it.

I for one feel much better knowing the ArtPolice(tm) are on the case.

c’mon cranky, all i’m asking is for you to nominate the art you actually like. if you can’t, maybe outline in brief the sorts of fundamental faults in the best of the bad lot so we can understand what you understand about it.

btw, the b/f memorial was, yes, a public project but incorporates a great deal of artwork.

Astro,

Stop at the bottom of the current bottle, and re-read what you just wrote in tomorrows light.

I do not recant from my comments above.

i suggest, then cranky, that you make your comments known to the act arts council, a representative body comprising well-regarded, not inverted comma experts, who advise the arts minister. artsACT also of course advise the minister and the staff comprising this public service body are constantly in touch with the arts community, both practicioners and art enthusiasts and patrons. but of course, you knew this…

what do you rekkun about the bushfire memorial? what’s your assessment of that ‘public project’?

what about art on campus at anu – anything you like there? they’ve got lots of sculptures and art pieces about, even a sculpture garden down towards the moo-zeum… surely there’s some art you like? i just want to get a sense of what you like, rather than comments that everything is ‘crap’ (except al’s statue) surely then the large ‘parcel’ near the wig and pen is worthy of praise? the laser piece on the health building opposite it? the cutlery drain cover in garema place? the sheep? they’re well constructed…

The current sculpture that they have planned reminds me of cold war Russian era too, would look soo much better if it was covered in LED Throwies

Astrojax,

I’m not sure I am particularly fond of anything that Sonic and Co have financed from the public coffers in the name of ‘art’. The Grasby statue appears technically competent, the subject matter malodorous.

This is my point. We, the ratepayers of this city, pay for it, but opinions from the general public are not called for – some faceless art ‘expert’ signs off on it, commissions some artist at a not inconsiderable sum to produce it, and we are expected to stand back and applaud. An open system of comment by ‘qualified’ persons on the works proposed would at least add a veneer of respectibility to the process.

The potential for corruption is obvious, with any questioning of the process treated as an ignorant rant, as illustrated by your post above. This closed shop transfer of public funds from the public purse to mates of the Sonic crowd reaks.

It would be cheaper to get that old unused V-2 Rocket. Not to mention it would be infinite times more awesome.

so let’s see, cranky. if this proposal is “crap”, i wonder if you’d let us know the parameters for your comment by telling us which pieces of public art in canberra are not ‘crap’; in fact, which you deem to be ‘quite good’..?

i’m curious now.

Gungahlin Al1:43 pm 26 Jan 08

Yeah Spectra that what I was reminded of too. The lines of thought one could draw from that and its place in the ACT are many…

Am I the only one reminded of the monuments to “the workers” that used to pepper the USSR?

I saw the new cube, so many people loved the old one, I figured they must have reinstalled it… looks like it’s been fixed up though.

All I can say about this proposal is… hmmmmm.

New cube eh?! We used to go and yell at it on our way home from the Private Bin.

Is it supposed to represent a man lifting a heavy pile of rocks? Maybe something relating to the construction industry?

The “New” technicolour cube is the old one that used to live up on London Circuit – it’s been moved because its new location is less drunk-hoon prone.

What sort of gravy train have we got going here?

An ‘artist’ is able to press the right buttons in the LA, and gets paid to add to the items Sonic and Co can point to as ‘Art’. For we, the public, to admire (and of course pay for).

This is a scam, right? We are supposed to agree with some clown’s assesment that this is ‘Art’, and happily cough up so we may admire it in perpetuity?

Can someone please take a reality check! This is crap!

With all due respect to the artist, to me it looks like a giant rhinoceros dung pile – but hey – art is subjective isn’t it. I am not as narrow minded as to say its not art – its just not my “kind” of art

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