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Permalink Reply by Michael Perz on September 9, 2010 at 9:06am

The $37,000 piece was built with funds from Nissan, which is building a $3.7 million dealership in the city. Santa Rosa’s “1% for art” law dictates that 1% of major construction projects be devoted to public art.

Who says irony is dead?

That thing is absolutely hideous, by the way. That's not my opinion, but rather an objective statement supported by the fact that 99.9% of all public art is absolutely hideous.

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Permalink Reply by Davo on September 9, 2010 at 9:06am

"The $37,000 piece was built with funds from Nissan, which is building a $3.7 million dealership in the city. Santa Rosa’s “1% for art” law dictates that 1% of major construction projects be devoted to public art."

I like that law. More comunities should have laws like this.

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Permalink Reply by Spencer "Thunderball" Thayer! on September 9, 2010 at 11:33am

Chicago has something similar to this, in fact many metropolitan areas do.

City of Chicago "Public Art Program"..

In 1978, the City Council of the City of Chicago passed a Percent-for-Art ordinance that requires 1.33% of the construction or renovation budget for City-owned buildings be set aside for artwork on the premises. It maybe commission or purchase of artworks for those buildings. The purpose of this law is to provide the citizens of Chicago with an improved public environment by enhancing city buildings with quality works of art by professional artists. 
Also in 1978, the Chicago Public Art Program was established to implement the city's Percent-for-Art Ordinance, enacted in 1978.  The Public Art Program ... - recognizes the importance of the artistic expression of local and international artists..
- desires to enhance its public structures and environment through artwork located in public places ...
- will enhance Chicago's stature as a national leader in public art ..

The Department of Cultural Affairs is charged with administering Percentage-For-Art law in cooperation with other city departments. The result of this cooperation is the establishment of Public Art Committee.

The Public Art Committee oversees the implementation of the Percent for Art Program. Project Advisory Panels are appointed for each site to recommend artists for commissions. These panels bring together architects, arts professionals, community representatives, and city personnel. The Public Art Committee reviews proposed construction projects and determines eligible Public Art Program projects, determines how the Public Art Program funds will be spent for each project, reviews the recommendation of the Project Advisory Panel regarding the artist(s) and artwork(s) to be selected, and makes the final selection of the artist(s) and artwork(s) to be commissioned or purchased by the Department of Cultural Affairs for each Public Art Program project.

The Public Art Programs have been established across the country in 200 states, counties and municipalities, to provide an effective vehicle for the commissioning and placement of such artwork ..

Since this "Public-Art-Program" has been adopted, the public art in chicago has grown by leaps and bounds ...and has enabled Chicago to build one of the finest collections of contemporary public art in the world.

For more on Percentage-for-Art Ordinance .. click here 

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Permalink Reply by Michael Perz on September 10, 2010 at 2:21am

Wouldn't it be great if all art was funded this way? Then we wouldn't need to decide what we like and don't like because highly qualified mid-level bureaucrats would decide how to rape our eyeballs for us! Progress!

Davo said:

"The $37,000 piece was built with funds from Nissan, which is building a $3.7 million dealership in the city. Santa Rosa’s “1% for art” law dictates that 1% of major construction projects be devoted to public art."

I like that law. More comunities should have laws like this.

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