Christopher McMahan: Public art and the State of Rhode Island

01:00 AM EDT on Friday, May 22, 2009

DEDICATING 1 percent of state construction budgets to the acquisition and display of public art means that Rhode Island's investment in its official buildings not only contributes to our economy, but also helps us maintain our reputation as a vibrant and stimulating place that attracts visitors and business.

Think of how passing through T.F. Green is a more memorable experience because of the art installed at key junctures. The first impressions many visitors have of the Ocean State are of works created specifically for this critical entry sequence arriving here. And coming soon, passengers will walk by two wonderful and optimistic new works that will activate the long, tunnel-like march along the new ramps leading to the baggage carousels. At the Rhode Island Convention Center, visitors take away memorable experiences which differentiates our meeting hall from myriad others nationally and sets us apart. These are but two examples of the ways in which site-specific art contributes to our important state buildings and aids in creating a competitive brand image for Rhode Island, in addition to the perceptual benefits art contributes to defining place.

At URI a new monumental bronze work by Peter Diepenbrock of Jamestown will mark the revitalized entry to historic Lippitt Hall and invigorate that space on the end of the campus commons to become a touchstone for future graduates. In front of the refurbished Dunkin' Donuts Center, a new urban landscape and sculpture installation by RISD professor Mikyoung Kim will create an iconic landmark for the Sabin Street so-called power block as visitors arrive downtown from the west side. These and many other pieces in Rhode Island's art collection should be recognized as gems among the state's considerable natural and cultural attractions which make this a very distinct place.

The Rhode Island State Council on the Arts is well attuned to the competing interests of supporting new works balanced with a sense of appropriateness in our town squares. If the very act of building new buildings to house government and civic functions is a heroic testimony to our belief in the benefits of government to common enterprise, then we should brand these structures with cultural expressions to convey this purpose. Imagine the State House without its carvings and paintings, for example.

And then there is the more concrete argument for smart economic-development policies: tourism, reputation, quality of life and, not least, support for small business and artists in Rhode Island. Take for example the work of Precision Laser in Pawtucket, which fabricates elements created by local artists; or Teknicote in Cumberland who apply industrial finishes to them; or the Paul King Foundry in Johnston that casts bronze for recognized artists; or the local engineers and sub-contractors who formed the foundations and landscape for the Ursula Von Rydingsvard piece you pass on the way into the Bruce Sundlun Terminal; or the companies who fabricated Providence artist

Kenn Speiser's piece at the URI Bay Campus Coastal Institute Visitor's Center; or the local riggers who hoisted the internationally recognized RISD graduate James Carpenter's breathtaking glass sculptures into place at the Convention Center and T.F. Green. By supporting artists in the public art program, many of them local, we also support local small businesses in the process -- in the very same way these public works support the electricians and plumbers and trades people who build our state-supported construction. Funding this aspect of public work is about jobs for artists, too, in addition to the construction trades.

Finally, investment in public art is about economic competitiveness. Will Rhode Island be prepared for the recovery? What contributions will the arts make in the eventual economic upswing, and will Rhode Island set itself apart in the creative economy? Will we attract firms seeking an employment workforce that congregate in stimulating places with creative synergies, marked by a civic government proud of those contributions?

As we have argued before and reiterate in light of the kind of workforce Rhode Island will need to compete in future, nationally and globally: It's time to acknowledge the true value of our creative businesses, and make it an economic priority to help young arts entrepreneurs start new businesses, to help established artists and companies discover new markets and to support projects that create jobs and income, revitalize downtowns and draw visitors to our communities.

The public-art program sponsored by the State of Rhode Island plays an integral part in that strategy.

We also believe that the competitive innovations that will define the next American epoch will be aided by the insights and instincts the arts contribute in our schools and in our marketplaces. In Rhode Island, the artistic disciplines will be central to the innovative learning, thinking and doing we need for educational, social and economic progress.

To this end, and especially when we are reviewing the effectiveness of economic development hereabouts, let us renew our commitment to the role of public art in setting Rhode Island apart form its peers. Let us add the voices and recommendations of our partners in the creative communities across the state to the conferences and initiatives discussing renewed economic development policies. And let us trust in the arts to show us the way in resolving our problems creatively, and with the lively spirit by which we were founded.

Christopher McMahan, an architect, is chairman of the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts.

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