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The first since the Waterfront's construction along the Arizona Canal January 9, 7 a.m.-noon | FREE to the public Media contact/Info line: Rasheda Smith, 480-874-4645 Flowing Overlapping Gesture by Fausto Fernandez View the video The Art of Maintenance by Pat Shannahan The large scale installation by Fausto Fernandez titled Flowing Overlapping Gesture was removed Friday, January 22nd. Severe weather conditions reduced the duration of the installation on the canal (it floated a day and a half rather than the planned 3 days) This artwork, Hindsight is Always 20/20 and the community activity of the Fish Roundup event, featuring Transfix, a performative intervention by Vessel, have been called a success. We drew positive attention to the canal and created a community conversation where one never existed before.
Temporary art lives on in its documentation-- and this one was documented both professionally and by many who were walking by and wanted to capture one of the most unusual situations for art and canals they have ever seen. A message from Valerie Vadala Homer, Director of Scottsdale Public Art: On Saturday January 9, 2010, the process of drying-up and maintaining the Arizona Canal between Camelback and Goldwater took place for the first time in 15 years. Rather than turn our backs on it, Scottsdale Public Art in cooperation with Salt River Project staged the community’s first Fish Roundup at Scottsdale Waterfront—thus creating a new cultural tradition, where the community gathered to celebrate the maintenance of our canals as an art form with deep meaning. Artworks like Transfix brought people together and helped demystify routine canal maintenance. Between 7:30 and noon, an estimated 700 people flooded (pun intended) the Scottsdale Waterfront traversing the canal between Goldwater and Scottsdale Road. The event truly provided something for everyone:
Public response was overwhelmingly positive and strong, as was media coverage. Many waterfront residents watched from windows and then came down to join the event. When Transfix got to Scottsdale Road, traffic slowed and more visitors were attracted to the site. Joggers, many training for the marathon, stopped to watch and ask questions or returned after their jog. Many in attendance went to area restaurants for breakfast and then returned to walk the canal. Visitors were eager to speak to staff and board members and expressed:
As always it takes a village to make a public art project:
And finally, thanks to all the hardworking artists, their crews, and volunteers—whose creative energy is inspiring and whose art makes Scottsdale a better place. At Scottsdale Public Art we are dedicated to creating meaningful community experiences and signature cultural events. As we enter our 25th anniversary year, we look forward to serving the community in even greater, more creative ways. Your input and feedback helps the program to grow and flourish. If you attended the event and would like to give us your ideas or critique please email or call me at contact listed below. Watch for updates on the installation by Fausto Fernandez, the groundbreaking artwork that will suspend into the canal corridor and float on water. Call the event info line 480.874.4645 or visit www.ScottsdalePublicArt.org
FISH ROUND UP AT SCOTTSDALE WATERFRONT a community gathering The first since the Waterfront’s construction along the Arizona Canal Jan 9, 2010 7 a.m.–noon | FREE to the public Media contact/Info line: Rasheda Smith, 480.874.4645
Today’s canals are critical power and water utility corridors that enable our modern cities to live and grow. For many, the canals are a place for walking and running, but for others the canals are invisible infrastructure—barely noticed and under appreciated. Site-specific artworks like the improvisational art piece Transfix and Flowing Overlapping Gesture, the 100-foot-long site specific installation designed for the canal (descriptions follow), turn our attention toward the act of canal maintenance as a ritual of nurturing our community—for without our canal system, modern life in the Valley’s desert cities would not be possible.
Fish Roundup at Scottsdale Waterfront is a community celebration of the art of maintenance. It is a rare opportunity to shift our focus—to look to the canal as a platform for community dialogue about the measures required to support thriving desert cities. Caught in the gap of environmental and political issues of water rights and expansion of cities across the Valley, the canal channel remains a powerful and urgent lifeline to our ability to inhabit the desert. For Waterfont art schedules, call 480.874.4645 or visit ScottsdalePublicArt.org.
FISH ROUNDUP AT SCOTTSDALE WATERFRONT PROJECT STATEMENT Margaret Bruning, Associate Director, Scottsdale Public Art 602.369.6887 c
CANAL CULTURE The Valley’s canal culture is rich in history reaching back to the Hohokam civilization of 300 B.C. – A.D. 1400. The ancient inhabitants developed a system of waterways that enabled their ability to farm the desert. Water channels were also a source for community gathering for recreation and respite. Today’s canals are still desert lifelines for human inhabitation. SRP’s 132 miles of water and power utility corridors enable our modern cities to live, thrive, and grow. For many, modern city dwellers the canals are a place for walking and running, but for others the canals are invisible infrastructure—barely noticed and underappreciated. In 1902, the Valley’s canal system was borne from a water resources crisis that turned politically volatile. The Salt River Valley was in a terrible drought and on the risk of collapse, when the National Reclamation Act, signed into law by visionary president Theodore Roosevelt, enabled the purchase of the canal by the federal government (in 1907). Arizona’s multi-purpose water and power reclamation project was the first in the nation bringing new hope to those who had struggled to develop the Valley. (Information from Salt River Project historical timeline at www.SRPnet.com) The 2006 construction of Scottsdale Waterfront was another first for Arizona’s canals—becoming the first development Valleywide that turned the canal into a waterfront destination with commercial, retail, residential, and cultural amenities. This kind of use along waterways is common in other cities across the world but a first for Arizona. Over the years, the web of canals across the Valley have been used informally as neighborhood amenities for recreational purposes—picnicking, jogging, and even—back in the day—canoeing and water skiing. Many canals now have improved sidewalks that run for miles, creating safe and enjoyable pathways for cycling. In 1999, SPA began creating pedestrian bridges and functional amenities on the Crosscut Canal. Other cities across the Valley also created permanent works along the canal banks.
A RARE OPPORTUNITY & A NEW TRADITION In Scottsdale, the Arizona Canal has been transformed into a new downtown destination and a stage for art and community gathering. Since 2006, Scottsdale Public Art and area developers Starwood Capital Group and Golub & Company, Optima LLC, and others have offered permanent art and free arts events that spark a renewed interest in life along our Valley’s canals. During its 25th Anniversary Year, Scottsdale Public Art, funded by percent for art ordinances, has partnered with Salt River Project to create a new community tradition—Fish Roundup at Scottsdale Waterfront.
Commencing with watching SRP crews “herd fish” on day one, the affair features a community gathering, art installations and community performance, and insiders tours. The water is drained from that segment of canal and a temporary installation is built in the waterway. Inspections and maintenance by SRP are an important part of the process, taking up to a few weeks. This year, the process is lengthened by additional work on the Arizona Canal downstream of the Waterfront. Upon waters return, the art installation rises. CULTURAL DISTINCTION Initiating new and innovative works, as well as traditional artworks and events, helps maintain Scottsdale’s reputation as a leading arts and cultural destination. The arts are a key economic driver helping to keep Scottsdale a strong tourist venue. Since 2002, Scottsdale Public Art (SPA) has been studying the Scottsdale Waterfront and its potential as a community gathering place with broad social, historic, and cultural appeal. SPA has worked closely with city departments as well as private developers to commission original works of art and to provide free community events in the heart of downtown. From the earliest phases of developing the Scottsdale Waterfront site, SPA worked to: celebrate the natural qualities of the canalscape, to bring community awareness to the canal waterfront as a unique asset, and to use the air-space over the canal as forum for artistic expression.
By Fall 2008, with growing public support and media attention, SPA launched Night Lights on the Canal, a series of free artwalks along the Waterfront. The culmination of the series was the large-scale spectacle performance Beautiful Light, by Phoenix artist D.A. Therrien. Those projects helped to heighten Scottsdale’s cachet as an important arts destination.
High caliber arts offerings are proven economic drivers. In Rhode Island, Providence’s waterfront renaissance is attributed largely to Waterfire Providence, an annual multimedia fire installation by artist Barnaby Evans. That event is on the Top Twenty List of Must See Events in North America and reports an average $45 million annual economic impact. In 2008, Olafur Eliasson’s Waterfalls art installations, contributed an estimated $55 million to the New York City economy over a three month period. SPA is working to create a signature event for Scottsdale that will help sustain our community as a top tourist and arts destination and provide a positive economic impact for the local economy.
INSTALLATION ART Three-dimensional painting was an early 20th century experiment to break the painting out of the confines of the walls of a canvas. One might think of three-dimensional painting as an early precursor to installation art. A three-dimensional painting allows the painter to create in space, constructing physical volume where there was once only implied mass. Paint then functions as a spatial medium, which one can almost enter. Images and motifs are hung across multiple planes, facilitating a multidimensional kinesthetic experience for the viewer. Walk along the canal banks and the bridge to view the artwork from different perspectives, but please do not attempt to enter the canal bed. Also explore the artwork and its urban environs from the top floor of the Nordstrom’s parking garage.
Fausto Fernandez, 2010 Three-dimensional painting Site-specific artwork for Scottsdale Waterfront Commissioned by Scottsdale Public Art Technical design by Shane Henson, Tempe Foam cutting by All Dimensions Foam, Mesa
Project generously supported in part by Erik Reinhard and All Dimensions Foam, Rusty James II and Mesa Plumbing Phoenix painter Fausto Fernandez incorporates stylized motifs of common tools such as pliers, gears, and actual roadmaps and sewing patterns in his complex abstract paintings. An underlayer of stenciled patterns rests beneath, creating visual texture and a rusticated appearance. The grid, often with one off-centered bold line, seems to hold everything together. Fernandez’s work relates to relationships and the tools it takes to make them work. The tools however can never be used without effort—for example, gripping a pair of pliers in one hand to accomplish one’s task, or metaphorically to negotiate an interpersonal challenge.
The primary material in this installation is foam, an insulator used in new home construction, and like the canal system, helps make life in the desert possible for the modern dweller. The use of Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) in Fernandez’s three-dimensional painting directly correlates to the tension between a growing desert city and the environmental considerations of increasing water and power demand. Placement of this artwork at the canal begs the question about what is “right” for a city’s growth: Cities are meant to thrive and evolve, aren’t they? Or do they reach a tipping point and naturally devolve, cycling in and out of plateau and growth? The low points, perhaps could be framed as opportunities to slow and refocus, provide a counterpoint to the highs of expansion. This canal artwork is a touchstone, offering a focal point by which to examine personal and collective expectations about desert city life. The art installation is primarily made of Expanded polystyrene (EPS) painted with latex paint. In addition to building insulation, floating docks are also made of EPS. The material absorbs very little moisture and dries out quickly and completely. It can come in direct contact with earth and water without any degradation over time. Recycling is inherent in EPS product use. All scraps are recycled back into building products. Latex painted EPS is recycled into the sustainable building material called Rastra block, a composite of recycled polystyrene, cement, and concrete. Due to the growing attraction of green living, Rastra has become one of the hottest building materials in the United States. All polystyrene foam used in its production is recycled. And because foam accounts for 85 percent of its volume (air bubbles account for the rest), Rastra is a remarkable insulator, and greatly reduces energy costs. When completed, approximately 50% of the art materials will be recycled or donated. The rest will be retained for reuse in future installations. Be sure to check artwork schedule at 480.874.4645 or ScottsdalePublicArt.org.
ABOUT FAUSTO FERNANDEZ Mexican-American Fausto Fernandez spent his first twenty-five years as a resident of Mexico. He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in graphic design and painting at the University of Texas in El Paso. Painting quickly became his central interest. Fernandez moved to Phoenix in 2002 and has been working at his studio “The Lodge” on Grand Avenue in downtown ever since. His work has been selected for numerous exhibitions including Conexiones: Contemporary Works by Mexican Artists at the Mesa Contemporary Arts museum, the Arizona Biennial ‘07 and ‘09 at the Tucson Museum of Art, and the Arts Biennial 2008 at the Tempe Center for the Arts, and Locals Only—12 Chicano and Latino Artists at the Phoenix Art Museum. In 2007, Fernandez’s work was included in the Heard Museum’s Remix: New Modernities in a Post-Indian World which traveled to the Smithsonian’s George Gustav Heye Center in New York in June 2008 and on to the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto in 2009. Fernandez’s first major solo exhibition was held at The Latin American Art Gallery in Scottsdale.
Fernandez was commissioned to design a terrazzo floor for the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport by the Phoenix Arts Commission to be built in 2012. Currently, Fernandez is featured in the 50/50 exhibition at the Phoenix Arts Museum celebrating gifts to the museum from the past fifty years.
FISH ROUNDUP AT SCOTTSDALE WATERFRONT Art Schedule at a Glance On View January 9th (closing dates vary) Flowing Overlapping Gesture by Phoenix painter Fausto Fernandez Jan 9, beginning 8 a.m. Temporary art installation in and around the canal between Scottsdale Rd. and Goldwater Blvd. Commissioned by Scottsdale Public Art Beginning 8 a.m. on Jan 9 at the Marshall Way Bridge, the artist and crew will spend approximately 3 days installing a more than 100-foot-long artwork designed for the canal. The artwork will be on view as long as the canal is dry, then it will float in the water for 3 days. Tentative float dates Feb 7-10th. Waters return is subject to the completion of waterfront canal maintenance and the schedule is subject to change (check 480.874.4645 or ScottsdalePublicArt.org schedule changes). Transfix ongoing improvisational art piece by Vessel and community volunteers Jan 9, 8–10 a.m. On the canal banks between Scottsdale Rd. and Goldwater Blvd. Commissioned by Scottsdale Public Art Transfix is a collaborative, interactive urban intervention where the passerby, not expecting to see a performance stops in their tracks, transfixed. For two hours only on Jan 9, in an ongoing improvisational art piece 20 performers illuminate the art of maintenance as a brand new experience at the Arizona Canal. Wearing white and weaving in and around the urban architectural spaces of Scottsdale Waterfront, Vessel will transform the canal into a stage, revealing the poetry and beauty of the mundane. Performers break out of the traditional theatre arena into a public space where the audience becomes part of the performance, coming and going as they please and often intermingling with the performers. Transfix is both a processional and an act of curiosity. Through simple movements and gestures, performers draw a conceptual link between us and the maintenance of the canal--turning it into a collective ritual of appreciation and recognition.
ALSO ON VIEW Hindsight is Always 20/20 by Luke Dubois Day and nighttime viewing anytime through March 7, on the canal south bank between Scottsdale Rd. and Marshall Way Supported generously by Bitforms Gallery, NYC Drawn from the annual addresses given by Presidents to Congress, Hindsight consists of a single Snellen-style eye chart for each president who performed this Constitutional act. Instead of the typical eye-chart characters, the piece highlights words from their State of the Union speeches presented in order of most frequently used (top line) to least frequently (bottom line). The result is an engaging snapshot of each presidency, containing a mix of keywords related to events of the day and rhetoric unique to each president and the time period in which they served. Crochet Coral Reef exhibit at ARTscene Gallery Jan 9, noon-4 p.m. 7144 E. Stetson Dr., Suite 210 at Southbridge Exhibit runs through Jan 15 Gallery hours vary Commissioned by Scottsdale Public Art Back by popular demand, the crocheted coral reef exhibit featuring loopy kelps, fringed anemones, spiraling corals, and tendrilled jellyfish has returned to the Valley. Scottsdale’s contribution to the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef Project was hand-crafted by over 250 Valley residents in free workshops. The exhibit celebrates the craft of crochet and also raises awareness of the potential connection between global warming, our everyday choices, and the gradual disappearance of coral reef gardens.
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