Hello, this is Elizabeth Abrahamson, public art intern at 4Culture! I have been assisting Esther Luttikhuizen, collection curator, and Bill Whipple, collection assistant, with the 2010 survey of the King County Public Art Collection.
We have been going to locations and buildings in King County and checking the condition of the artwork, as well as making sure that the locations and information matches up with what we have in the database.
For the most part, the art is relatively easy to locate and survey, but we have had a few challenges. Our records indicated that on the 12th floor of the King County Courthouse there was an integrated piece by Karen Guzak. We could not find it anywhere. There was no picture of the piece on the printout; just a vague description that mentioned its size was 46 inches high x 56 inches wide and that there were extra glass orbs in the basement in case any were to break. The county council staff on the 12th floor was very helpful in our arduous search for the missing artwork. Eventually, we found it thanks to an especially vigilant staff member. It turned out to be the balcony railing overlooking the Council Chambers. The piece was indeed 46 inches high, but rather than 56 inches wide, it was 56 feet long. The balcony door was of course locked, so we had to return another day to survey and photograph the piece. The glass orbs (pictured) were our best clue.
The most interesting aspect of surveying has been talking to county workers and the public about their interactions and thoughts about the art. While there has been a few, “My child could make that,” comments, many people seem to really enjoy the art and find that the pieces definitely enhance their environment.
The survey continues on into the summer; in three weeks a new intern comes on board. This has been a great opportunity to understand the impact of public art and what goes into maintaining a large public art collection.
4 comments
Joan Stuart Ross says:
May 27, 2010
Regarding the “missing”public art piece by Karen Guzak, it occurred to me that 4Culture’s Collection staff could have called the (local) artist to get more information on its whereabouts!
jeffrey KIRK says:
May 27, 2010
Much of the art that is public art gets put where the OWNERS never get to see it. Everett has a multi million dollar, world class collection of glass called the Pilchuck Collection, and its almost always locked up. The people that own it dont know that they do or what or where it is. I bet you in seattle/kingco can point out several more examples, just swing a cat by the tail, hey there’s some art right over there. Buy it dont hide it.
Jeffrey Kirk
pain...@yahoo.com
Tina4Culture says:
Jun 3, 2010
Thanks for responding to this guest post! In King County we make a concerted effort to site permanently integrated and portable artworks in publicly accessible places. Sometimes building use will change or security will restrict access, but our goal is to place artwork where it may be seen by the public – the owners as you point out. Because of the breadth of the collection our surveys take time and individual works may not be surveyed every year. In the case of Karen Guzak’s integrated railing our curator, Esther Luttikhuizen, had never seen the piece. We surely would have called Karen if our County partners hadn’t helped us out. Luckily, the survey is a team sport. Want to see more of your collection? Check out our interactive map: http://www.4culture.org/publicart/publicartmap.htm
Alumni + Student News – Public Art 4Culture | School of Art News + Events says:
Sep 7, 2010
[...] recent Blog4Culture Public Art posting by intern Elizabeth Abrahamson (senior in SoA IVA) made us realize that we also have alumni who are [...]