Results tagged “public art” from Real Clear Arts

Just so you know -- a news collection that needs little or no comment (the boldface is mine): 

• The Arkansas Democrat Gazette reported on the construction of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art: "Museum officials on Friday opened a temporary lookout and a 1 1 /2-mile pedestrian and bicycle trail that crosses the museum property...the museum expects people to realize the scope of the building and be more patient for it to open, said Sandy Edwards, the museum's associate director." (more)
• From the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: "Shorewood's Atwater Park will soon be home to a sculpture by one of the world's most respected public artists, Jaume Plensa, best known for his interactive "Crown Fountain" in Chicago's Millennium Park. The purchase and installation of the 8-foot-tall sculpture, in the shape of a human body and crafted from stainless steel letters, is being made possible by an anonymous donor who wants to draw attention to Shorewood's new public art program." (more)
• The Brooklyn Museum reports a record of more than 80,000 people during the past year of its First Saturdays, the free art-and-entertainment evening from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. -- which take place every month but September. That's more than 7,200 per month/night. And it's almost 20% of the entire year's attendance on just 11 nights. Director Arnold Lehman has insisted not only that First Saturdays are critical to attracting new audiences but also (he told me) that the visitors actually do look at the art. (more) 

Photo Credit: Courtesy Jaume Plensa/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

To celebrate the Fourth of July, here's a look at WaterFire, the public art installation in  Providence -- 100 bonfires burning along the city's three rivers. Started in 1994, it's 15 years old now, but locals say it still draws 40,000 to 60,000 people to the city each time it's put on (WaterFire happens more than a dozen times each summer). (Corrected per comment below.)

Artist Barnaby Evans has won several awards for it. In 1997, The Providence Journal called it "the most popular work of art created in the capital  city's...history." 

You can read more about WaterFire here.

Happy Independence Day.