The downtown Bend Deschutes Public Library will have proposed sculpture models on display for public viewing and voting from September 10 to September 23.
The public is invited to view and vote on their preference of the three works of art selected by the Art in Public Places committee. The roundabout is currently under construction and will be completed by October. The sculpture selected will be included in the public art collection for the City of Bend. Voting may also take place via Facebook by “liking” the Art in Public Places Facebook page at http:///www.facebook.com/artinpublicplacesbend.
The three finalists were selected from a call to artists that attracted over 80 submissions. The three artists are: Riis Burwell from Santa Rosa, California whose sculpture is titled Klastos; John Fleming from Seattle, Washington, whose sculpture is titled High Desert Spiral; and Erik Nelson from Bozeman, Montana, whose sculpture is titled Elemental Spirit.
Installation of the public art sculpture that is selected is anticipated to be in the spring or early summer of 2013. “There were a number of qualified and talented artists throughout the West who submitted images for our review. We narrowed it down to these three extremely talented artists and we are excited to share the models with the public,” says Sue Hollern, President of Art in Public Places.
Funding for the public art is coming from Art in Public Places, a non-profit organization that provides art to various locations throughout the city of Bend. The Bend Foundation, a non-profit founded and funded by Brooks Scanlon and Brooks Resources Corporation, recently awarded a $500,000 matching grant to Art In Public Places for the purchase and installation of public art in the Bend city limits by the end of December, 2013. Generous donations from the public raised over $500,000, resulting in the matching grant which will provide over $1 million for public art by the end of 2013. For more information on Art in Public Places, please visit www.artinpublicplaces.org.
