On October 11, students, faculty and administrators were invited to discuss a future public art installation for Lee III located in the College of Art, Architecture, and Humanities (AAH) at Clemson University. Attendees engaged in an inclusive and democratic process to determine the proposal that would be the best fit in the space known as the Lee III Wedge. The event was hosted by the Creative Inquiry public art student team called Atelier Insite.
The ongoing pursuit of selecting and installing public art on campus is guided by Atelier InSite’s six fundamental principles which are considered a necessary process of inclusivity and a forthright decree of “by students, for students.” The specific project for Lee III began in the spring 2016, with 276 artist submissions. The students were charged with filtering down the artists with relevancy of material and medium, likelihood of space considerations, and evidence of experience with previous public art installations. Of the artists who submitted a Requests for Qualifications (RFQ), four were invited to submit a total of six site specific proposals. Potential artists were encouraged to consider the occupants utilizing the Lee III building as instigators of discourse which is one of the six guiding principles used to examine future and existing public art proposals. The specific principles are:
Attendees were asked to evaluate the six proposals presented on a 1-to-5 scale making sure to consider the six guiding principles with the participant’s overall enthusiasm for the proposed public art. The evaluations sheets revealed a close to unanimous choice. This exciting alignment of ideals as to which installation will be the best choice for the space builds the anticipation for the reveal of the winning proposal. The chosen artist will receive a $60,000 budget for the public art project. This budget includes the installation as well as maintenance of the public art. Stay tuned for the announcement of the winning proposal coming soon.
To find out more information regarding this public art proposal, visit http://www.clemson.edu/centers-institutes/cva/public-art/Lee%20III.html
About Atelier InSite
Atelier Insite is a unique classroom collaboration where Clemson University students from any major are invited to engage with art faculty and contribute to the on campus public art conversation. All five colleges at Clemson University have been represented in this public art initiative since its inception.