You call that art? Sure
Looking forward to a 2009 filled with new public art in Houston — and to a lively discussion of its merits.
— Houston Chronicle2
AT the risk of jumping the gun a bit, here’s to 2009! By the end of the coming 12 months, Houstonians will be able to cast their gaze (and highly critical eyes, we have no doubt) on eight new public works of art. That is something to bring civic cheer, particularly in these gloomy economic days.
If history is any guide, these new oeuvres d’art in the local public square will also be something for Houstonians to cuss and discuss in public and private, as each comes into view.
[snip]
The new pieces appearing across our local landscape will range from a “bouquet” of seven overflowing bathtubs that will be located outside the Houston Water Museum and Education Center scheduled to open in northeast Houston, to an interactive sculpture titled “Open Channel Flow” at the Sa-bine Street Pump Station, and commissions destined for the city’s two major airports.
Houstonians can thank the publicly/privately funded Houston Art Alliance for the coming artistic bounty. Established in the late 1970s, the group, which spends funds set aside in the city’s capital-improvements budget, “manages, grows and maintains the City of Houston’s Art Collection.” It is admirably ambitious in this task, seeking to make this city the home of “the country’s next great civic art program,” according to Jonathan Glus, the alliance’s CEO.
[snip]
It should be interesting to see what the response is to the new public art projects, once they’re done.
Footnotes
2 = article may expire in a few weeks.
