Art @ APL (2010)

Dan from our Reference staff went around the building and photographed the the items permanently on display from our public art collection. Then he converted it to a video, complete with soundtrack and put it on YouTube. Much of this was purchased by our Friends group. Some like the big Grade paper sculpture in the entryway was collaborative (school district, Wisconsin Arts grant, plus Friends). Some was donated in memoriam.

We have other pieces that are not displayed or are in staff offices. But I love the eclectic blend of local history, local and state artists and a few other things. Art is another medium through which the library expresses culture, diversity and community. Thanks, Dan!

Creative Journey

For some years now, we've held a weekly adult program called "Creative Journey." The series grew out of a book discussion of Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way: a Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity. Our adult program staff facilitates the series, which is open to the public but has a dedicated group of regular attendees.

Creative Journey participants explore their own creativity through discussions, sharing stories and writings, presentations by speakers, and on occasion, through hands-on art. Yesterday the group did some painting and sent me a few scans of the results. Project costs are fairly low, but purchased with grants from our Library Foundation.

I know that for many participants, Creative Journey fills an important place. It's a chance to meet weekly, be part of a learning community, and explore the ways in we interact with our own creativity and the creations of others. This may not be traditional library service, but it's a good example of how public libraries enrich lives and encourage the heart.

Edna Ferber Returning from Eternity

Robert Heinlein noted that "all ... bureaucracies consist of a Surprise Party Department, a Practical Joke Department, and a Fairy Godmother department." I think all three departments must have been working overtime to generate the item that landed in my mailbox yesterday.

In a large envelope from Italy, I received a poster of original art in crayon and mixed media, a letter and a CD-ROM. The CD-ROM included more artwork, plus what look like vacation photos. All of these come from an Italian artist and poet, Francesco Martin, of the Universalsheets Network (here's an imperfect English version). The letter strains my comprehension. The art, which is a decent and lively piece, is a portrait of an angelic Edna Ferber, and I can only assume we received it since our library has done a lot with our Ferber website.

What can I say but "Grazie, Signor Martin!" ?

Art at the library

Our local chamber of commerce's leadership development class lunched at the library last week as part of their "arts" day, and after lunch had an opportunity to view our public art collections. Or maybe check their email -- but I was asked to give them a quick speech about art at the library.

So why do we have art at the library? We certainly have art materials at the library: books and videos about art history; books and videos about techniques and tools for artists; examples of other arts in our extensive music CD collection and our film DVD collections.

We have art because we communicate the cultural record and we're a community center. If we have books with pictures of sculpture and painting, why wouldn't we have sculpture and painting?

Our art falls into several categories:

1. Donations from our library foundation to enhance the facility. This includes a couple of dozen items selected by staff. Almost all of it is by local artists, and a number of pieces have a local history theme.
2. The Wisconsin Sesquicentennial Print series.
   
3. Paper sculpture at entrance -- a huge work we commissioned, created by local paper artist Tom Grade, working with school children and funded by multiple grant sources
   
4. Publicly donated pieces, including two memorial sculptures as well as other paintings, fabric and paper art.
   
5. Exhibits from local artists in different areas of the building
   
6. Displays, including several display cases around the building -- used for library programs, collector displays, or art and craft displays suitable for the cases. As needed display cases are sometimes used with exhibit panels of hanging art.
   

Of course, all the donations have to be accepted by the Library Board, according to policy. This gives staff an opportunity to work with donors and artists to ensure any proposed pieces are a good fit. But it's great to have public art, reinforce the library's role as a community center and provide an outlet for creativity.

NEWfasa the Lion - community synergy

The library just received our lion -- and immediately he became a center of attention and attraction for all ages. Though not ours to keep, NEWfasa will be living outside our front door for the next few months as part of the "Lions of the Valley" public art project. The project features the work of 65 local artists, 50 lions and 21 lion cubs on display around the Fox Cities, coordinated by by the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center in conjunction with the Lion King musical later this spring.
NEWfasa, designed by Coalesce Marketing, was sponsored by McCarty Law LLP to commemorate the NEW North regional economic development organization. Since libraries are also economic development organizations and promoters of the arts, this is a natural for us. And little children, who will not know or care about law firms, marketing firms or regional economic development, will still love seeing the library's lion.

Terry Dawson and NEWfasa pose with sponsor Alyce Dumke of McCarty Law LLC

photos by Michael Kenney, APL Marketing & Development Coordinator

Bittersweet Winds

Our library is fortunate to partner with our neighbor, the American Indian Center of the Fox Valley, to host the Bittersweet Winds exhibit.

This is another example of a community partnership I find exciting. Not only are we giving their exhibit a lot of exposure, while they are bringing people into the library and providing us with content, they also held their exhibit opening reception in our meeting rooms. In addition, we host the Indian Center's website on the community network (Fox Cities Online) which the library operates. And it didn't take a whole lot of staff time. This one is hitting on all cylinders for me.

Addendum, Feb. 13: we've received a complaint about the display, stating it is offensive because it decries the use of Native American names as sports mascots. I can understand why Native Americans find this practice offensive. I can understand that there is a point of view stating that no offense was intended, therefore no offense should be taken -- though this strikes me as insensitive. It's harder to understand why someone would be offended by thew statement that other people felt offended. Well, at least we're talking. Except that the complaint was anonymous!