The former City of Tampa Councilwoman is more or less calling for a re-do of the recent (and somewhat odd) Zack Street facelift. Her "least Favorite" are those geometric things on the crosswalks that look like open books. The geometric forms are monotonous, but they would be great to help lead people to the library.
She dislikes the display for the Susan Gott glass. I do too. It is indicative that very little concern about or knowledge of art was on the mind of the design firm -- or the council people that approved it. The real question is: How did it happen that beauitful glass art was treated as an afterthought? How can we keep that from happening again?
Ms Saul-Sena dislikes the James Oleson sculpture at the Franklin Exchange, one of several of his on Franklin Street. It's not as bad as she makes it out to be, IMO. Is it a decorative piece? No. Is it in an elegant space? Um...not really. It might have been once upon a time, but not in 2013. It is outdated and looking a little scruffy.
What should public art be? At least a lot more than a signifier of "artiness".
[Mr. Fried, if you are reading this, please, a word!]
--- Luis
Thanks for highlighting the article in Creative Loafing. While improving the street scape and creating a linear connection to the waterfront is inherently a good idea in the long term, the execution of this project has been very disappointing and is not indicative of the sophisticated, creative energy of the Tampa region.
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