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Art in Courthouses (and/or public buildings) - NRR

bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
edited December 2007 in Strut Central
Dear Strutters, For work, I've been researching art in courthouses for half a year and it looks like things are beginning to happen with one of the newest courthouses that construction has started on. I have some images for Chatsworth County in LA and can't find any images for LA's Clara Shortridge Foltz CJC memorial installation (it may not be completed?), but I'm looking for more examples. Please note that this does not include portraits of judges from yesteryear and ink drawings of courthouse facades and blueprints, but contemporary art, including sculpture, multi-media works and installations that, ideally, speaks to/highlights the building's purpose.If you know of any good examples in your area, please let me know the courthouses names. Then again, I am sure not many of you have had occassion to be in a courthouse or courtroom , so any public buildings with great art would be good to know about.As well, if your area has a unique approach to public art (selection process, works on a rotating basis, etc.) - I would love to hear about those things, too.I really appreciate any suggestions. Thank You.

  Comments

  • G_BalliandoG_Balliando 3,916 Posts
    I don't know if this applies/helps at all, but you should definitely check out the art displayed at the Denver International Airport. There's lots of stories about the artwork - mason/lizard people related even - and some of it is very interesting and/or surprising/shocking. Here are some images:







    It's hard to find good images for some reason.

    And you can try to google DIA Murals and read all the crazy conspiracy theories about the masons and the NWO and the nazis and whatever else. Here's one geocities link with a lot of photos:

    http://www.geocities.com/Baja/5692/murals.html
  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts



    Welcome to Denver!!

    Whoa!

    Thanks very much, it all helps, even if it is not exactly what I asked about, it's good to know about how people react to and want for art in their public-use buldings.

    And again, whoa.
  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    The Bronx Family Court across the street from me has some real weak 70's style shit.
    There finalizing the Bronx Hall of Justice across the street from that, and i have yet to see what will be chosen for the interior spaces. So far they havent installed anything on the exterior.
    The Bronx Supreme Court dont have shit either.


    Supreme......nice Art Deco




    The New Hall Of Justice.....this is from my roof.

    Im sorry bassie, it not what ur lookin 4.
  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts

    There finalizing the Bronx Hall of Justice across the street from that, and i have yet to see what will be chosen for the interior spaces.

    Faux gave me some good info on NY courthouses and I think I'll try to take a quick tour when I come in the new year. I guess the chances of Bronx Justice will being done in January 08 will be pretty slim?
  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    There should be some sort of contact info on the various commishioned artists throughout the State court systems.
  • faux_rillzfaux_rillz 14,343 Posts
    C'mon now--where are all my real SoulStrut thugs with their intimate familiarity with the courthouse interior at?
  • G_BalliandoG_Balliando 3,916 Posts
    Haha. I was at court on Tuesday in Jefferson County Colorado and there wasn't any art at all. They did have some decent furniture though.
  • knewjakknewjak 1,231 Posts



    I saw this while on a trip last year. I noticed that nearly everyone who passed this one had a WTF? moment when seeing it for the first time. It is pretty ill.
  • G_BalliandoG_Balliando 3,916 Posts
    Yeah, I wish there were better pictures. All of the murals are sort of in sequence and they tell some kind of story. Good pictures used to be plentiful online, I'm not sure why they're so difficult to locate these days. They definitely catch your eye and make you wonder why the fuck there's a giant dr. doom nazi looking dude with a scimitar and a gas mask next to a bunch of dead children. Shit's pretty creepy to say the least.
  • SooksSooks 714 Posts
    I feel that courthouse design is often chosen to reflect the building's purpose, but maybe that's just in my head.... the Ottawa courthouse has all these big rocks built into the side of it (and a scultpure of a jury with rocks for heads, incidentally) which I felt was to symbolize the immutability of justice, while the Vancouver courthouse is all windows, which I thought was to highlight transparency... but maybe that's just me?
  • Danno3000Danno3000 2,850 Posts
    That seems like a really fascinating project.

    As I'm sure you know, many of the greater Toronto's provincial courthouses are no more than space in strip malls and scandalously banal spaces at that. The Superior Courts on University vary in appearance, but I don't recall any art of note even in 393. Isn't there a sculpture in front of 393?

    Osgoode is spectacular, but I don't know that is has much in terms of the public art you're interested in.
  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    Not even a year later and a small but meaningful step - there is a provision for both built-in art and installed art after completion in a draft budget for one of the new buildings. Fingers-crossed and a small, hopeful hurrah!!
  • kitchenknightkitchenknight 4,922 Posts
    There is a boston federal building/courthouse that has an Ellsworth Kelly installation...b,121b,121a href="http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/03/24/courthouses_bold_art_draws_a_mixed_verdict/" target="_blank"1http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/03/24/courthouses_bold_art_draws_a_mixed_verdict//a1b,121b,121article on people not loving it...
  • goodwill_huntinggoodwill_hunting 324 Posts
    the ramsey county courthouse in downtown st paul has a huge statue called the god of peace or something similar in it's lobby
  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    I think it is a guarantee that not everyone will agree on this kind of thing - be it its beauty, utility or tenability. I think if people actually see it, think about it, talk about it and see their public buildings as more than shells, the art has achieved more than half its purpose. Public art doesn't have to be loved by all, ideally it engages them though.b,121(can you tell I had to make an argument for this - lol?)
  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    /font1
    font class="small"1Quote:
    /font1
    h,121
    b,121Not even a year later and a small but meaningful step - there is a provision for both built-in art and installed art after completion in a draft budget for one of the new buildings. Fingers-crossed and a small, hopeful hurrah!!
    b,121
    b,121
    h,121
    font class="post"1b,121b,121Oregon law requires that 1% of public work projects goes to art. b,121b,121This assures that there will always be art in any new project. b,121b,121I wish I could point to all kinds of great public art it has inspired/created, but alas, I can not. b,121b,121Well I suppose I could if I tried.
  • kitchenknightkitchenknight 4,922 Posts
    /font1
    font class="small"1Quote:
    /font1
    h,121
    b,121I think it is a guarantee that not everyone will agree on this kind of thing - be it its beauty, utility or tenability. I think if people actually see it, think about it, talk about it and see their public buildings as more than shells, the art has achieved more than half its purpose. Public art doesn't have to be loved by all, ideally it engages them though.
    b,121(can you tell I had to make an argument for this - lol?)
    b,121
    b,121
    h,121
    font class="post"1b,121b,121I don't disagree. And, wasn't opining necessarily- just saying the point of the article.b,121b,121 Mostly, I just want public art so that, like you, people will be aware of art's existence. The state of public art awreness is pretty sad- it isn't something that should be reserved for an elite few, but open to all to engage and enjoy.
  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    Absolutely. If the Conservatives win, we are going to see some huge cuts to the arts in Canada and it is justified as the same old thing; that it is a luxury, as something for the elite, frivolous, etc. It shows a complete lack of imagination and understanding of what the f*ck art is, what kind of place Canada is and the role it plays in everyone's lives. Even something as practical as all the jobs created around theatre, visual art, films, music Ahhhhhgggg, I am getting too angry to write and I am going to just say what is obvious in a fairly inarticulate manner. FACK. I am going to lose it if they win a majority gov't.
  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    img src="http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb131/046664/1794863636_886c939452.jpg"1 b,121b,121b,121There's an impressive Alison Saar Harriet Tubman Memorial in Harlem right near the Harlem Vintage wineshop. I just noticed it last weekend.b,121b,121Its not in a public building though.
  • dollar_bindollar_bin I heartily endorse this product and/or event 2,326 Posts
    The campus where I work has lots of public art on display. Not too surprising, as many colleges have a lot of art, but it's a brand new campus and they've got shitloads of money and have a pretty good website listing the pieces:b,121b,121a href="http://chancellor.ucsf.edu/MBA/index.php" target="_blank"1http://chancellor.ucsf.edu/MBA/index.phpb,121a href="http://chancellor.ucsf.edu/MBA/acquisitions.php" target="_blank"1http://chancellor.ucsf.edu/MBA/acquisitions.phpb,121b,121One of my co-workers schmoozed her way onto the selection committee and I'm insanely jealous.
  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    img src="http://chancellor.ucsf.edu/MBA/artwork/larner3.jpg"1 b,121b,121I really like these - the chandeliers are amazing!b,121b,121 img src="http://chancellor.ucsf.edu/MBA/artwork/isermann6.jpg"1
  • james1skijames1ski 22 Posts
    This is a sculpture out the front of the Brisbane Magistrates Court. For me and some others I know in the profession it reminds us of the ribbon that a barrister's brief was traditionally tied with.b,121b,121 img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/137/325983515_98e5938c61.jpg"1
  • SaracenusSaracenus 671 Posts
    I haven't been in an Oregon court since jury duty. A quick search on the internets produced this: b,121b,121OREGON SUPREME COURTb,121http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:ORSCcourtroomstainedglass.JPGb,121b,121Wayne L. Morse Courthouse in Eugene, OR b,121http://www.portlandart.net/archives/2006/11/doing_a_lot_of.htmlb,121b,121Oregon Public Broadcasting - Think Out Load series on Public Artb,121http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/opb/posts/list/1079213.pageb,121Note: The host of this show, Emily Harris, was a classmate of mine in High School.b,121b,121If I have some time I will try and take a camera to the county courthouse downtown. I have to go pay a parking ticket anyway.b,121b,121And of course, no discussion of Public Art in Oregon can pass without a special tribute to Ryerson's famous photo of ex-Portland Mayor Bud Clark...b,121b,121img src="http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn252/Saracenus/Misc/m-ryerson-expose-yourself-to-art.jpg"1b,121b,121"A man shows a statue his private collection in M. Ryerson???s hilarious ???Expose Yourself to Art.??? Future Portland Mayor Bud Clark and Ryerson came up with the idea of Clark flashing the statue over a beer then held a caption-writing contest for the title. Scrounging up money to print the poster???s initial run, they sold 800 copies the first day and 250,000 copies over the next five years."
  • mrmatthewmrmatthew 1,575 Posts
    PBS American Masters just showed this dude:b,121b,121http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Clemente_Orozcob,121b,121Last night.b,121His stuff is all over courthouses in Mexico.
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