My Favorite Public Art...

[PonderInc]

I thought I'd start a thread about some of the cool public art that exists in Tulsa. 

Post some of your own favorites.  Only rule: it can't be inside a museum.  Bonus points for obscure art that not everyone knows about.

Here are some fun ones that I appreciate whenever I see them. 

[cannon_fodder]

Great challenge!  I'll take you up on it . . . though I've been slacking on the pictures lately.

[Wrinkle]

The big white decaying monolith on the old city plaza.
Art imitates life.

[Hometown]

I wish I could say there was at least one piece of public art in Tulsa that I like, because the search for "beauty" is a guiding principle in my life.  But honestly there is not even one piece.  Also I can't finger even one public artwork in Tulsa by an artist that one would see in Art History books.  No name artists, in other words.

I admit that there are probably a number of artworks in public areas of the interiors of buildings that I unaware of.

I can say that we have a great many decorative pieces from Nature Works that I do not like and that would not be seen as being artworks by art world insiders.  Today art includes invention and there is no invention at all in Nature Work's decorations. 

The overabundance of Nature Works' decorations along the River creates an image for Tulsa that I would call amateurish and unsophisticated. 

My parent's generation installed at least one decent Modern artwork.  Amity next to the old City Hall.  They were, in an odd way, more sophisticated that we are.

I was looking at a listing of art venues in the Southwest on Art Forum's website and was disappointed to see that Oklahoma has not one listing.  But don't give up yet, Gilcrease is widely seen by Art world insiders as a treasure trove of important American artworks.  Gilcrease is something of an insider's secret.  Philbrook has many virtues but its collection is lackluster and I have never heard Philbrook discussed outside of Tulsa.

There is a lot of opportunity to make one's mark with gifts of artworks in Tulsa, but please work with our museums' curators and let them help you shape your legacy.

[cannon_fodder]

I wish I could say there was at least one piece of public art in Tulsa that I like, because the search for "beauty" is a guiding principle in my life.  But honestly there is not even one piece.  Also I can't finger even one public artwork in Tulsa by an artist that one would see in Art History books.  No name artists, in other words.

1) Who gives a damn if it is in some book?

2) Who cares if some celebrity created it?

3) Who cares if it is "sophisticated."

Frankly, if you can not find one piece of art displayed in public that you enjoy in Tulsa then you either need to get out more or care too much about finding a cliche than art. 

The spires on a Deco building are art.  The details of a facade.  Statues on the outside of a church.  All are artwork for the public to enjoy.

The Linnaeus gardens are a work of public art, as are the Gardens of Philbrook.  Several statues around town.  Fountains.  The much maligned and unsophisticated nature work statues.  The gaudy driller man.  The architecture of the BOK Center.  The terracotta on the Pavilion at Expo square.  The statue in front of Gilcrease or at Woodward. The simple stone facade of the Union Depo, the apocalyptic statue outside of it.  The melodic repetition of the pedestrian bridge over the Zink Dam.  The litany of penguins. The interior of 100 buildings in downtown.

Certainly you can find SOMETHING in the City of Tulsa that is art for the public if not art owned by the public.  If not, contribute to some fund, get on a board, or donate something to the city.  If you truly think there is no art worth looking at in this city I'm flabbergast.    Tulsa isn't a public art mecca, but you should be able to find SOMETHING attractive anywhere in the world.

If you want expensive art by a public institution from a named artist we could blow a couple hundred thousand on this:

[TheArtist]

We really do seem to be lacking in creative, inspiring, public artwork. Even our graffitti sucks lol.  

[PonderInc]

I'm ambivalent about the Naturworks stuff.  It's "inoffensive" and particularly mundane (generally boring and unimaginative).  However, I always enjoy the bear fountain at 71st and riverside.  And I like the galloping coyotes for their motion and energy.

To be true "art" I think it needs to make you stop and think.  At least, stop and notice.  Some great art is hideously ugly.  Some is breathtakingly beautiful.  Some is laugh-out-loud funny.  Some is completely original.  All are worth having.  Tulsa seems scared of art, by that definition.  Not all Tulsans, mind you, but as a community, we're "conservative" in the sense that we choose "art" that doesn't challenge anyone (or dare to offend a single person) in any way.  Thus, we have "non-art."

My examples at the top of this thread probably don't qualify as "art" in any sense of that definition.  But I appreciate them nonetheless b/c they each one adds interest to its surroundings.  Downtown is better off because of them.  Could we do better?  Sure.

I think the Chicago "Bean" is one of the most amazing examples of public art I've seen.  I love the way it makes every viewer (and the weather and surrounding cityscape...via its reflections) active participants in the art.  The piece is never the same from one instant to another.  It's interactive.  It changes when viewed from any conceivable angle and from moment to moment.  It encourages touch.  Although it's a static object, it moves and breathes.  It contains multitudes: the people, the city, the park, the sky, sun and weather....inclusive of everything that surrounds it.  Amazing.  (I've got some cool pics to post later.)

In a strange way, the BOK Center shares some of those characteristics.  And it might be our most daring piece of public art in decades.  Hmmm...

[cannon_fodder]

By definition, art doesn't have to make you think.  I prefer art that does, art that one can look at for a period of time, over and over again, and not grow bored.  But that's my preference.  Art is much broader by definition.

A flower arrangement is art.  An American flag on the floor in front of a book welcoming comments and picture of US war dead (such that you must stand on the flag to write in the book) is art.  A jumble of glass panes and workout equipment is art.  A mural on the wall of a house is art.    Graffiti is art.

You don't have to like it for it to count as art.  It doesn't have to "high class" for you to like it.  And it certainly doesn't matter what name is attached to it.  You can have your preferences, but your preferences don't limit the definition of the word.


Art:

- the products of human creativity

- the creation of beautiful or significant things

- the class of objects subject to aesthetic criteria

-  the product of the conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects

- The conscious production or arrangement of sounds, colors, forms, movements, or other elements in a manner that affects the sense of beauty

Here's a scholarly dissertation on the definition or art:
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/art-definition/

[FOTD]

Just kidding....

Groove crusher? Sparty sounds better....

[TheArtist]

I think there is something to be said for all kinds of art. Even that which some of us would call mundane and boring. This is a city which has a lot of different people of different ages, life experiences, etc.,,, Some are more mature or evolved with respect to art. Most of us go through phases in our lives where we start off appreciating one thing, then move on to another and so on.

So our civic art should reflect that diversity.

Just as it shouldnt be a battle between urban living and suburban living as if we can only have one type. A mature city should offer good examples of both to those who prefer one over the other. Likewise some of our civic art can be more basic, some of it more sophisticated and challenging. Some old world, some contemporary, etc. Please pardon my innacurate characterizations, just trying to get a general broad point across.  

So yes, we have a lot of,,, umm... "basic" art, but we could use something with more flair.

I ran across some flickr photos of the sculptures and such that they create at the Burning Man festival. Yes its a bunch of nekkid hippies in the desert lol. But, wow, some of that artwork is amazing. Just makes you realize how incredible some of the art is out there and how lackluster our collection is in that, how much of our art makes you go "Wow!" or "Oooooh!". I would love to see some art that captures your imagination, makes you wonder and perhaps even inspires you to dream. Art can create all kinds of emotional responses, it can be uplifting or even haunting. Art can even push you to grow, can challenge you. It can change how you see the world.  

Here are just a few examples from Burning Man, and to think, much of it they build right there and is only meant to be temporary (they burn the largest pieces). If a bunch of hippies can create this stuff out in the desert, shouldn't an entire city muster enough gumption to create even more remarkable pieces of art?

When they had talked about the Fin Tube site being an artists colony, I immediately imagined getting artists together and building this type of stuff all around the site and in the building.

[Hometown]

Ultimately art is what artists tell us it is.

But like any industry art has standards and experts.  And there are various categories of art.  Fine Art (painting, sculpture and drawing) can be considered research.  Applied Art (decoration, fashion and advertising) follows Fine Art and it represents the application of Fine Art's research.  For example, today you see many advertisements that incorporate Pop Art images from 40 years ago.

I think Ponder has it right when he says "Tulsa is afraid of art."  A good indication of that was the public's reaction to purchasing art From Jenny Holtz (spelling) for the BOK Center.  Jenny is considered a cutting edge artist that deals with language that is often controversial.  She was selected by the artwork committee for the BOK but once news of her controversial art making surfaced she was assigned to and apparently died in committee.

There were a whole lot of protestant ministers here at our founding and their stodgy, puritical views continue to this day.  Hell Fire.  Aint we got fun.  But there will come a day when we won't be afraid of our urbanity.

Now, Cannon reminded me that if pressed I would cite Bruce Geoff's local architecture as being important local public artworks, though that is stretching the definition of public art.  The work of Tulsa's Bruce Geoff is firmly established, included in many histories and is widely recognized by international architecture experts.

Alexander Hogue's art work has also been memorialized in art histories.

Of course there are other exceptions to my remarks but we don't have all day or the patience to outline every exception. 

And we can take pride in the fact that the Gilcrease Museum is the only art venue in Oklahoma with any standing with the Art World.

Is Tulsa imbued with beauty?  Yes Tulsa's beauty is quite remarkable, but you have to be an artist or a poet or young and in love to really see it.

[Hometown]

By definition, art doesn't have to make you think.

Henry Matisse compared his artwork to a comfortable overstuffed chair.

[Conan71]

Here are just a few examples from Burning Man, and to think, much of it they build right there and is only meant to be temporary (they burn the largest pieces). If a bunch of hippies can create this stuff out in the desert, shouldn't an entire city muster enough gumption to create even more remarkable pieces of art?

Fuggin' hippies.  Haven't they heard we got this global warming er climate change thing going on?

[joiei]

Fuggin' hippies.  Haven't they heard we got this global warming er climate change thing going on?

If this type of art was built in Tulsa, would the city allow them to burn it down?  Fire codes and everything. 

[Hoss]

Fuggin' hippies.  Haven't they heard we got this global warming er climate change thing going on?

You know what you just did, don't you?  You've just set off 'SauerKraut radar'.  Mumbling post from our Nebraskan in 3...2....1....1....1....oh, they've limited access to the library computers.  Put the countdown on indefinite hold please.