OKLAHOMA
CITY – When Debby Williams sees a piece of art in the public sphere,
she doesn’t just notice its visual appeal. She also sees economic
development, business incentives, quality of life and educational
opportunities.
Williams is the director of Art in Public Places,
a program operated through the Oklahoma Historical Society and the Arts
Council. The program was launched after the 2004 passage of a Senate
bill that requires artwork to be incorporated in or near new state
office buildings or those undergoing major renovations costing $250,000
or more. The bill stipulates that 1.5 percent of the construction
budget be allocated for artwork. In those statues, sculptures and
monoliths, Williams sees all sorts of potential.
“The idea is to
enhance the site and make it a better experience for people who work in
the building, live around the building and visit the building,” she
said. “Public art is just that – public. There is no cost to see it,
and it makes a huge difference in an environment. And when people
outside Oklahoma are looking to relocate their businesses here, they
are looking for a nice environment, and public art can help create
that.”
Artwork has been completed at several state buildings,
including the new state Banking Department facility and an addition to
the Department of Agriculture, both on Lincoln Boulevard. Twenty
projects around the state are in development, Williams said, including
several non-state entities that aren’t required but want to be a part
of the process.
To begin the process of a public piece of art, a
committee is formed of people who work in the building, live nearby,
architects who designed the building and others. Williams said
committee members collaborate to choose an artistic design and an
artist, so that a piece of artwork isn’t simply installed, along with a
mandate for it to be enjoyed. The result is an increased sense of pride
and ownership, she said.
Terry Peach, commissioner of the
Department of Agriculture, recently led his agency through the
construction of an additional laboratory and the requisite artwork. The
result is an outdoor plaza with monoliths carved in granite and an
accompanying sculpture. The design reflects the work of the department,
from livestock to crops to a larger-than-life plow.
As the
steward of a state organization, Peach said he initially didn’t warm to
the artwork requirement. But as the planning process began and the
design came to life, he said he gained a belief in the project.
“I
was concerned initially with the additional cost,” Peach said. “But I
think if you are thoughtful in your utilization of the money, it’s
fine. Our new plaza is a pleasant environment for our employees, and we
feel like it has actually increased employee performance.”
It’s
not unusual to hear occasional negative public comments about the
superfluousness of art, Williams said, but for less than 2 percent of
the construction cost, people are getting a lot of artistic bang for
their buck. States like New Mexico and Arizona are seeing an increase
in tourism and economic development because of their incorporation of
art, Williams said. Her goal is to help Oklahoma do the same.
Art
in Public Places comes with additional educational and mentoring
components. For every public art project, a curriculum is designed for
teachers to use in their classrooms, Williams said. The lesson plans
cover the history of a piece, especially as it relates to Oklahoma, as
well as the science that goes into a bronze statue or the math required
to build a tall sculpture.
A mentoring program teaches Oklahoma
artists how to work within the public art process, Williams said.
Creating a piece of public artwork is different than working on a
private commission because of the collaboration and budgetary
guidelines, she said. Artists from other states are working with
Oklahoma artists to move into that realm.
Although the law
applies only to state agencies, others are using Art in Public Places
to bring artwork to their facilities: wing-like steel sculptures at St.
Anthony’s Hospital, whimsical pieces on the Educare façade and, perhaps
most noticeably, artwork on Oklahoma’s bridges and interstates.
Terri
Angier, spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, has
seen her agency design stampeding buffaloes along I-235, scissortail
flycatchers on an I-35 bridge and other decorative elements. When
considering designs that will be seen by at least 100,000 drivers every
day, the approach is a bit different, she said.
“We have to
consider the type of art aesthetic,” Angier said. “It still has to be
extremely safe for driving, so we’re not going to do something that’s
so attention-getting, that requires reading or otherwise gets your
attention off the road.”
The expense of using artwork in a
transportation project is included in the initial budget, she said. For
example, the cost of the I-235 buffalo wall was about $400,000, but
that barrier wall would have been erected anyway, so the addition of
artistic elements was a justifiable expense, she said.
“It’s the
same with bridges – a lot of them are using geometric shapes anyway, so
we still have to pay for the form liner,” she said. “So it’s not a lot
of additional cost.”
Breaking it down
Senate Bill 1347
established the “State of Oklahoma: Art in Public Places Act.” The
program receives no state appropriation, but works within the 1.5
percent of a construction budget required for artwork in new state
buildings or renovations.
Of that 1.5 percent:
• 80 percent goes for the artist selection and commission.
• 10 percent is used for ongoing maintenance of the artwork and a core curriculum available to teachers.
• 10 percent goes toward administering the program.
For more information about Art in Public Places, call Debby Williams, director, at (405) 522-8959, or visit www.arts.ok.gov/resources/pubart.html.