Public Art

Percent for Art: the next 25 years


	Joe Kievitt created this composition as a basis for a 7 by 15 foot drawing, which will hang in the south entrance lobby of the new Kennebunk Elementary School. Image courtesty of Joe Kievitt.

Western society often seems to imagine artists in mythic proportions. They are the heroes of history books; their stories are often told in oversized terms. Artists may be held apart, dramatically misunderstood, said to live before their time or said to be agitators and outsiders. Historically, artists have been jailed, branded, deplored, deified and analyzed. How accurate is this identity in contemporary times? Are artists working in Maine today really dramatic and isolated legends lamenting in proverbial garrets?

The spectacular artworks popping up in Maine communities are evidence that the romantic image of artists isolated in garrets is far from the truth. Artists in Maine today seem to be breaking out of this outdated mold, embracing various partnerships in their communities and with agencies such as the Maine Arts Commission. In their resumes, alongside museum exhibits and gallery shows, they are adding main streets, schools, parks and other civic venues as meaningful sites for their work.

As the nature of art continues to evolve, artists' roles are moving beyond those of critics or arbiters of taste who hold themselves apart from their communities. Many artists are becoming actively involved in shaping their communities. They are participating in public dialog and building meaningful connections. Maine's Percent for Art program has become a fertile means for artists to interact with their communities and to bring high-quality contemporary artwork into the everyday lives of Maine citizens.

Maine's Percent for Art law was enacted in 1979. It requires that one percent of the construction budget for newly-constructed or renovated state-funded buildings be set aside for purchase of original artwork for the building. The Maine Arts Commission administers the program and draws together a selection committee made up of community members, the architect, artists and others to select the work for each site. In the past 25 years of the program, more than 400 sites have spent more than seven million dollars to purchase artwork for public buildings in Maine.

As the Percent for Art program moves into its next 25 years, two current projects exemplify the vital way this program impacts the lives of individual artists and the potential for the program to stimulate public dialog. At Kennebunk Elementary School and the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf in Portland, artists and their work are capturing the imaginations of communities.


	This composition is the basis for a tile mosaic that artist Joe Kievitt is installing in the new Kennebunk Elementary School's central lobby. Image courtesy of Joe Kievitt.

Principal Marcia Hamlyn says the design for the new Kennebunk Elementary School grew from the theme of "a village of learning in the woods." The committee that gathered to select the school's artwork included school faculty, the architect, local educators and artists. After numerous meetings and a careful review of material from several artists, the committee unanimously selected the work of Joe Kievitt.

Kievitt is a Maine native and an alumnus of Maine College of Art. He received a masters degree from the Parsons School of Design in 1998 and has exhibited his work around the state and in major art centers including Boston and San Francisco. Kievitt's carefully rendered drawings on paper have earned him much recognition, including the prestigious Purchase Award at the Portland Museum of Art's 2001 Biennial.

The committee was struck by Kievitt's work and felt that his presentation best evoked the environmental and educational intentions of the new school. The Kennebunk project is Kievitt's first public art project.

"This project has made my desire to make more ambitious pieces a reality, including sculpture and drawing that moves more towards installation," says Kievitt. "Time will tell how my career will be impacted but it has certainly revitalized and heightened my goals."

For the new building, Kievitt will create a seven by 15 foot drawing for the school's south entrance and a 500 square foot tile mosaic that will cover the walls of the school's central lobby. The mosaic is a significant departure from Kievitt's past work. His willingness to use new media and techniques to address the building evidences his careful consideration of the building's architecture and the goals of the school community.

"The scale [of the project] changes everything about my work," says Kievitt. "It is thrown into a more contemporary realm; it becomes environmental."

Through this partnership, Kievitt will be creating a legacy for the Kennebunk community. He has also broadened his vision of his work and career. Overall, Kievitt says the project has had a significant impact on him personally and artistically. He anticipates the project will be completed in the winter of 2005.

The selection process for a new Percent for Art project was more complicated at the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf, on Mackworth Island in Portland. That selection committee included the school's principal, one of the new building's architects, a local artist, a local gallery owner and Julie Clark, the art educator at the school. Because the school encompasses a distinct community, the committee discussed the project's vision statement at length before the call for artists' submissions reached its final draft.


	Chuck Baird, a Deaf artist from Texas, will create two painted murals for this lobby area of the new building at Governor Baxter School for the Deaf. Photo by Julie Clark.

"[The committee members] all viewed the Percent for Art project from very different perspectives," says Clark. "Each of us had our own opinions, expectations and agenda about what we felt was important."

In the final call, she says, the committee asked artists to consider five concepts for the project: the Deaf experience and the role of American Sign Language in the lives people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, the importance of empowering students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing with a strong and unique education, an attempt to close the gap between the Deaf and hearing worlds, to honor the history of Governor Baxter School for the Deaf and to honor the unique environment surrounding Mackworth Island.

As the committee met, a debate grew over whether or not the selected artists needed to be a person with hearing loss or hard-of-hearing to understand the experiences of the school's community and the importance of American Sign Language. Clark wanted the artwork to inspire her students about the potential and possibilities for artists with hearing loss.

Other committee members felt the artwork should rise above the distinctions between the hearing and Deaf communities. Clark says an intense dialog developed, which continued for weeks via e-mail. She says she found the discussions stimulating, challenging and enlightening.

"As the only art educator on campus, I am rarely confronted about my philosophies on art," says Clark. "Dialog always fosters learning as long as we keep an open mind and are willing to explore ideas that may not be comfortable to us. Each member was passionate about their beliefs, but more importantly, focused on the goal to select the best artist to create a work of art that would fit into this environment and inspire those who view it."

To help the committee's selection process, members invited an art historian and expert on art by people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing to address the panel. Brenda Schertz presented a slide show and lecture about artists from this community. The committee invited the public and was pleased when many people attended Schertz's presentation.

Clark says the presentation showed that the culture of people with hearing loss is rich in art, language, history and shared experiences. Clark says the experience of that community, which differs substantial from that of the hearing community, is evident in the work of these artists and cannot be adequately expressed or addressed by artists who are not deaf or hard-of-hearing.

Following Schertz's presentation, the committee invited ten artists, all of who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, to submit proposals. Two of these artists were ultimately selected to create artwork for the school. Chuck Baird, an artist from Texas, will create two painted murals in the lobby area of the new building. Randy Garber, from Massachusetts, will create artwork based on American Sign Language, which will functions as signage for the building. The project is expected to be complete by December, 2004.

The projects commissioned for Kennebunk and Portland schools, and the process through which they were developed, exemplify the potential for the Percent for Art program. Projects can encourage dialog about pubic art and community identity, increase the profile of the arts in Maine, allow Maine artists to take on new professional challenges and provide quality public art for communities throughout the state. As the Percent for Art program enters its next 25 years, projects such as these will build Maine communities and the contemporary arts dialog across the state.