[Vision2020] PR - Wren Welcome Garden Selection Committee Recommends Robert Horner piece for installation

[Gary Crabtree]

Could some body please refresh our collective memory just exactly how many
tax dollars in total are being lavished on this pile of packed dirt?

g

On Tue, Dec 20, 2011 at 3:18 PM, Stephanie Kalasz
<skalasz at ci.moscow.id.us>wrote:

>  *City of Moscow *
>
> 206 E Third Street****
>
> Moscow, ID 83843****
>
> Contact: Gary J. Riedner, City Supervisor****
>
> p     |  208-883-7006****
>
> e     |   griedner at ci.moscow.id.us****
>
> w    |  www.ci.moscow.id.us****
>
> * *
>
> *PRESS RELEASE*
>
> *Wren Welcome Garden Selection Committee Recommends Robert Horner piece
> for installation*
>
> * *
>
> *December 19, 2011 (Moscow, Idaho) – *The Wren Welcome Garden Selection
> Committee has formally recommended Robert Horner’s “Helio-Terra” proposal
> to the City Council for installation at the Wren Welcome Garden, located at
> the south couplet of Highways 95 and 8, just south of Gritman Medical
> Center.****
>
> ** **
>
> The proposed piece as described by the artist, “Helio-Terra is a mass of
> locally quarried earth that is compacted into a form resembling a seed.
> The geometry of artwork is a gesture towards the agricultural heritage of
> Moscow, as well as the grain towers that flank the site.  The seed is a
> concentration of nutrient that gives forth the energy necessary to yield
> future sustenance, and thus serves as a metaphor for the community of
> Moscow. Helio-Terra strikes a direct connection between the sun and the
> harvest. The artwork highlights the furthest reaches of the sun along the
> horizon and depicts solar-rhythmic seasonal crests that have served as
> agricultural anchors for thousands of years.”****
>
> ** **
>
> The recommended piece stands 20 feet tall, and will be constructed of
> rammed earth, a well-graded mixture of subsoil with varying amounts of
> iron-oxide affecting the color of the earth to simulate the colors of the
> rolling hills of the Palouse.  Additional features include the variety of
> concave cavities that correspond to solar orientation.****
>
> ** **
>
> Selection Committee Member Robin Ohlgren notes of the piece, “At its core,
> the Horner piece which was the final selection by the Wren Welcome Garden
> Public Art Committee, evokes several significant features of Moscow and the
> surrounding Palouse:  its landscape, its agricultural traditions, and the
> innovative people who settled it. The rammed earth symbol of harvest tells
> a story of the land and of the culture that has evolved here, and gives us
> a visual reminder of the solar rhythm that influences our lives. It is both
> innovative and ancient, serene yet dynamic. It will welcome citizens at a
> busy intersection into our community, and provoke inquiry for years to
> come.”****
>
> ** **
>
> Horner resides in Port Townsend, Washington, and has a background in
> planning and design, as well as archeology and microbiology. In 2008, he
> decided to dedicate himself to public artwork.  His first public art
> installation was in 2008-09 at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle,
> Washington.  His most recent installation was the Tidal Resonance Chamber
> in Tacoma, Washington, another rammed earth project.  More information
> about the artist can be found at his website at www.robertmhorner.com. ***
> *
>
> ** **
>
> The selection process for the site began with a Request for Qualifications
> that closed September 9, 2011.  The project was open to Idaho, Montana,
> Oregon, and Washington artists. Twenty-one submissions were received, and
> from that the Wren Welcome Garden Selection Committee, an independent
> selection panel of arts professionals and community stakeholders, selected
> three semi-finalists after an in depth review of past work, previous
> experience, and demonstrated skill level. ****
>
> ** **
>
> The Committee was led by Karen Bubb, Public Arts Manager for the City of
> Boise, Idaho.  Bubb’s assistance was made possible by an Idaho Commission
> on the Arts grants.  With her services, the City of Moscow established a
> process for this and future public art selections.  The selection committee
> was comprised of the following local volunteers: ****
>
>    - Ann-Marie Bilderback, Moscow Parks and Recreation Commission Member**
>    **
>    - Stephen Drown, Chair of the Landscape Architecture Department at the
>    University of Idaho, Moscow Urban Renewal Agency Commissioner****
>    - David Giese, Chair of the Moscow Arts Commission and Academic
>    Faculty in Art and Design at the University of Idaho****
>    - Tom Lamar, City Council Member and liaison to the Moscow Arts
>    Commission****
>    - Jeanne Leffingwell, Moscow Resident, Public Artist****
>    - Heidi Linehan, Gritman Medical Center Foundation Executive Director**
>    **
>    - Robin Ohlgren, Moscow Arts Commission Member****
>    - Donna Woolston, Moscow Arts Commission Member****
>
> ** **
>
> A site visit with the three finalists was held in late October at which
> point a Request for Proposals was forwarded to the finalists requiring
> specific proposals for the design, fabrication, and installation of a
> permanent outdoor sculpture.  The deadline for proposals was November 28,
> 2011.****
>
> ** **
>
> Proposals were then displayed and public comment was accepted from
> December 8 to the 16, 2011 at City Hall in Moscow, Idaho.  Artist
> submissions were also posted on the City of Moscow website on December 10
> and are still available for viewing at
> www.ci.moscow.id.us/art/wrenrfq_temp.aspx.  Based on the Committee’s
> independent selection panel’s input and the gathered public comment,
> Horner’s design was chosen for recommendation to be approved by the City
> Council at their next scheduled meeting on January 3, 2012.****
>
> ** **
>
> Selection Committee Member Donna Woolston, explains the process, “The Wren
> Public Art project was a rewarding adventure to be a part of the journey of
> discovering each option and opportunity for Moscow as presented by the
> professional artist was rich and thought provoking. In the end, as each
> story was told, the final decision unfolded with it, rendering a thoughtful
> and exciting conclusion for us all in the form of the Horner sculpture.”**
> **
>
> ** **
>
> The Wren Welcome Garden was acquired by the City of Moscow via a land
> exchange with the Idaho Transportation Department in August of 2002.
> During the summer of 2006, Moscow downtown merchants were asked to submit
> name suggestions for the park.  Wren Welcome Garden is a hybrid of two
> names proposed and was put forth by the Parks and Recreation Department and
> approved by the City Council in July of 2006.****
>
> ** **
>
> *###*
>
> * *
>
> *Story Contact:* Kathleen Burns, Arts Director**
>
> *Phone:* 208-883-7036**
>
> *Email:* kburns at ci.moscow.id.us**
>
> * *
>
> *The City of Moscow delivers quality municipal services while ensuring
> responsible use of resources. *
>
> *We anticipate and meet the needs of our diverse population in order to
> build public trust *
>
> * and enhance a sense of community.*****
>
> ** **
>
> ** **
>
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