Six foreign public works of art to treasure

In the previous article I highlighted six public art works in Bermuda that one should seek out and enjoy. This week I will showcase six examples of what has been achieved overseas to inform you of creative concepts that can be mirrored locally to enhance our built environment. 

1. Joan Butterfield’s Bermuda-influenced public piano: Bermudian artist Joan Butterfield modified a standard piano into this amazing replica of a traditional Bermuda cottage. This particular public piano was cited outside the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada as part of an international initiative inspired by artist Luke Jerram. Photos and videos of Joan’s public piece can be found here: www.streetpianos.com/toronto2012. Hopefully it will not be long before Joan is commissioned to create a similar piano in her native Bermuda.

2. The Splittelau Waste to Energy Plant in Vienna, Austria: Redesigned by artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser as part of a facilities retrofit in the late 1980’s, this waste to energy facility looks more like a museum of contemporary art. The merger of art and industry has also been explored using fuel storage tanks as canvases, and one wonders of further possibilities to enhance industrial complexes; particularly ones that are highly visible and/or near residential neighbourhoods. 

3. ‘Funky Blue’ Rain Chime Building in Dresden, Germany: Most buildings in Bermuda capture rain water for practical purposes. This building in Dresden, Germany collects rain water for leisure by using a system of bowels, tubes, and pipes to play various chimes during a downpour. Artists Christopher Rossner, Andre Temple, and Annette Paul are responsible for this addition to Dresden’s already renown architecture. If anything, it makes being rained on slightly more enjoyable.

4. Mosaic Stairs in San Francisco, California: Mosaics have the ability to meticulously display imaginative and inspiring accents to public spaces. This staircase can be found between 16th Avenue and Moraga in San Francisco, California. Three hundred residents and over two-hundred tile contributors completed this project in August of 2004; a great example of neighbourhood initiative. 

5. POBEL’s ‘Child with a Watering Can’: Some of the best public art works are considered by some to be graffiti and if not commissioned by a formal organising body, can constitute as vandalism. Many works are blatant political and social commentary – the artist ‘Banksy’ being the most synonymous — and others such as this piece by Norwegian artist ‘POBEL’ also begs interpretation. POBEL’s Child with Watering Can was part of the 2008 Cans Festival in Waterloo, London, England; and I personally enjoy it because it can represent the need to assume personal responsibility in developing one’s own character and destiny.

6. Tagtool Urban Light Projection (iPad App): Vienna-based design firm ‘OMAI’ have created a computer application that allows digital artists to showcase large light art designs on buildings using just a projector and wi-fi.  The brilliance of this approach to urban art is that it invites participation by anyone, and the building exterior is only temporarily altered at night. Allowing for very brief corporate adverts in between art works can generate revenue to sustain this project, and potentially others. The HSBC Bermuda building near Albouy’s Point on Front Street stands out as a suitable location should ‘Tagtool’ be deployed locally.

Tiago Garcia lobbies for local public art and building-exterior enhancement projects.