I lived in Philadelphia, PA for a long block of time. There is a line in the tax code that if you have a public building, you have to contribute 1 percent to public art.
Mind you I could easily have this mixed up, and I don't seem to remember what the definition of Public was there in this context.
However, one thing about being in town there was that I felt steeped in art. One of the Rodin Museums was very close to where I worked, for example.
Philly did miss the mark when it came to a few things, but you get to the point where when you go to other places, you expect art.
Even if it is just something built into the doors and walls like the art deco of the buildings around Rittenhouse Square or the "WCAU Building" on Chestnut Street.
So when I see art being put on display here or simply appearing I have a strange "Well yeah it's needed" mindset. As in, "It is like Oxygen. You can't live without art."
When we started seeing things crop up here, the Gorilla a couple blocks up from me that lived on Wilton Drive, or the current Orange Slice Stack that is closer to me, it felt right, I expected it.
I'm not minimizing things, it really does make life in a city much more pleasant. After all, the Soviets never did that sort of thing and it rendered their cities with a very harsh and sterile look.
Lately there is a Theme to some of the art we have had crop up. It at first reminded me of the kind of drawings we would do on the streets in front of our houses as children. We did learn that if it was done with a candle, the pictures would last longer and repel the water.
Why is this important? Because in the Holiday Season, someone was doing a similar thing. Stencils of all sorts of things appeared on the sidewalks, but only when it rained.
"Let It Rain" is the theme. Since we got inundated when everyone up North got feet of snow (Buffalo NY is still digging out from what I hear), it was quite obvious what these things were. Spirals, Flowers, "Be Nice", and feet would crop up in three spots around town.
I am amused because the stencil for feet was two LEFT feet, not a left and right as would be traditional. Or just flip the stencil over and do the right foot?
Anyway, I'm looking forward to more of a shower, but only in the afternoon so I can get my own morning routines in, OK?
Two Left Feet. Kind of like my own dancing. Oh sure, with all the cardio I do, I can dance forever, just not too "complex" or too well.
Well never mind that, do go enjoy the art. It will give you something to do when you are looking at the ground for puddles to avoid!
Got to love a community based event like this!
No comments:
Post a Comment