“Fear No Public Art”
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“Fear No Public Art”

Nonprofit Quarterly

(10/17/12)

A couple observes "OPEN AIR" on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway
A couple observes “OPEN AIR” on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Photo James Ewing © 2012 for Association for Public Art

The aPA’s Penny Balkin Bach is quoted in a recent article from Nonprofit Quarterly’s Newswire that promotes the role public art plays in community revitalization:

According to Penny Balkin Bach of the Fairmount Park Art Association, public art is often “under appreciated,” but she points out its attractiveness to everyone: “It’s free. There are no tickets. People don’t have to dress up. You can view it alone or in groups. It’s open to everyone.”

And it is often very creative and edgy. For example, in Philadelphia, a new piece by Mexican artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer called “Open Air” recently opened. The piece is “a set of 24 high-powered search lights coursing through the night… activated by the voice and GPS location of the crowd, who leave message(s) via a Web site…[that] are converted into light arrays every night from 8-11.”

Read the article here

Related Artworks

Artwork

OPEN AIR

(2012)

by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer (b. 1967)

Benjamin Franklin Parkway between 21st and 24th Streets

Inspired by Philadelphia’s rich tradition of democracy and respect for free speech, “OPEN AIR” transformed Philadelphia’s night sky with 24 powerful robotic searchlights that were directed by participants’ voices and GPS locations.

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