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Some of the most vital art in America is now public art. Art in the Public Square brings this important movement into focus through the story of one state’s journey to make art integral to the lives of every citizen.
The history of art is the history of public art. You think of the pyramids, you think of the cathedrals – that art was public art! Private art is actually an exception in the history of art.
-- Tom Finkelpearl, author, Dialogues in Public Art |
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Wednesday, January 7, 2009 @ 11:30 pm
 Visit Art in the Public Square Press Room
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 So begins Art in the Public Square, a State of the Arts special focusing on the remarkable renaissance of public art in New Jersey. From NJ Transit stations to convention centers to college campuses, public building projects have included a “percent for art” since 1978, when Governor Brendan Byrne signed into law New Jersey’s Public Buildings Art Inclusion Act. Since then, up to 1.5% of the total estimated cost of public building and renovation projects has been allocated to the development of works of art. The result – an unprecedented number of highly visible contemporary artworks throughout the state, created by both internationally renowned and emerging local artists. Central to this process is Tom Moran, the director of the Visual Art Program at the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, who has coordinated the state’s arts inclusion projects since 1981. In Art in the Public Square, Moran describes how artists are chosen and what logistical considerations come into play when designing large public art installations.
Some of the public artists featured in Art in the Public Square:
Mac Adams
www.macadamsstudio.com
“Life Force”
An anodized steel exterior wall installation
The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
Newark, NJ
“Wetlands: Summer and Winter”
Two glass tile mosaics
Senator Lautenberg Transfer Station
Secaucus, NJ
“Wings and Wheels”
An installation involving changing shadows
Department of Transportation
Cherry Hill, NJ
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 “Life Force”
250 foot anodized steel ribbon
by Mac Adams, 2005
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey,
Newark |
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Katherine Hackl
www.katherinehackl.com
Batsto State Park Visitors Center
A historically informed tile and iron wall mural
Hammonton, NJ
Edison Rail Station
A tile mural featuring native birds and trees
Edison, NJ
River Line Light Rail (Camden, NJ to Trenton, NJ)
(with Hiroshi Murata and Marilyn Keating)
Each stop includes tile work and other art relating to the community
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 “Pinelands Birds” Tile detail
Tile and iron installation
by Katherine Hackl, 2005
Batsto State Park Visitors Center, Hammonton, NJ |
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Larry Kirkland
“Civil Rights Garden”
The first large-scale Civil Rights memorial in a state north of the Mason-Dixon Line
Atlantic City, NJ
“Journeys Tread”
Based on the history and prehistory of humankind in New Jersey
Trenton, NJ
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 Atlantic City’s Civil Rights Garden |
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Clyde Lynds
www.clydelynds.com
“Confluence”
A stainless steel fountain installation
State Capitol Plaza
Trenton, NJ
“Beacon”
A 65 foot light tower
NJ Transit Station
Hamilton, NJ
“Current”
A fiber optic and concrete mural featuring phosphorus sea-life
Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences
Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
 Watch a State of the Arts story from 2001 featuring Clyde Lynds in his studio
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 “Confluence”
Stainless steel fountain installation
by Clyde Lynds, 2000
State Capitol Plaza, Trenton, NJ
 “Web” by Clyde Lynds, 2000
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- also read
Dialogues in Public Art by Tom Finkelpearl (The MIT Press, 2000)
Public Sculpture in New Jersey by Meredith Bzdak (Rutgers University Press, 1999)
- also visit
the new jersey state council on the arts
www.njartscouncil.org
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