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Getting our art on
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Published: January 18, 2009
Even in The City of the Arts, some of us take art for granted. Too many see it as something for galleries or living rooms, not part of everyday life. The Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art will soon start a public-art series that could help us all connect with art in more meaningful ways.
The irony is that Winston-Salem has never had enough public art, despite a lot of earnest effort by SECCA and other groups and individuals. SECCA's latest project is driven by necessity. The museum's building is undergoing a lengthy renovation, and the public-art series is a way to keep SECCA's work before the community.
The series that starts in March will include unconventional displays, such as video projections against downtown storefronts, figures sculpted with packing tape and placed at unexpected spots, and "audio-guided tours of a city's forgotten places."
SECCA plans to interview artists at work and post the results on YouTube. It also plans to have some of the artists visit schools.
The city of Winston-Salem should do more to encourage such efforts, and in turn lead us to better support of the arts community. Art is integral to downtown revitalization. And just as important, public works of art can comfort, challenge and inspire us.
Consider one of the city's best-known works of this kind, the "Memory Wall of Peace and Love," behind the Campbell Transportation Center on Trade Street. It was created 10 years ago by Gregory Warmack of Chicago, also known as "Mr. Imagination," an artist brought in by SECCA.
Warmack crafted stones, beads, seashells, bottle caps and many other items onto a 55-foot wall, seeking public input as he worked.
Every day, people of varied backgrounds walk by it. Some stop to give it a look. It no doubt pleases or provokes, and that's its purpose.
Perhaps some of the works that will be created in the SECCA series will have such enduring impact.
Public art can include acts like "the Renegade Ninja Cowgirls," created by Kelly Petersen, who died last week, with fellow artist Millicent Greason.
In the days after the terrorist attacks on America, they "waged war on negative-thought pollution" with hand-painted signs.
Public art can also involve infrastructure, as in a local group's push to beautify Business 40 through downtown Winston-Salem when major improvements begin.
In other parts of the country, cities have used unusual bridge designs to enliven their highways. That might work here, along with murals done by local artists and creative lighting.
The SECCA series could remind us of the enriching possibilities of public art -- and start a dialogue on how to encourage its use here in The City of the Arts.
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