Busycle
Matthew Mazzotta
Jamaica Plain, MA (and traveling)
Grant Amount: $5,000
The Busycle was a 15 person, 100% human-powered vehicle constructed from an 11 passenger Dodge van stripped to its chassis. The engine was removed and replaced by 14 customized recumbent bicycles, one driver, and an elegant gearing system. The Busycle was a traveling public art project that began in Summer 2005; it was built from predominantly re-purposed materials and could be pedaled by anyone who was willing.
Test rides through the greater Boston area initially elicited hundreds of surprised, delighted and engaged responses. The Busycle then embarked on a series of rides, called the ‘U.S. Story Collecting Tour,’ cross-country from Boston, MA to San Francisco, CA. The general public was invited to pedal and stories were collected after each ride. With a maximum speed of 10 miles an hour the Busycle was not intended to replace cars or public transit, but rather to stir the imagination.
Visit the project’s website for more information on the Busycle and to see their cross-country adventure.
Quadrapass (Triple Bypass)
Paul Jorgenson, Charlie Smith, and Jamie Ladet
South Africa
Grant Amount: $6,700
Quadrapass (which was later renamed Triple Bypass) is a 12 to 16 foot tall fire vessel constructed from a steel armature, and skinned with pieces of steel that have been scribed with symbols created by participants. This project was intended to be built by the community, for the community. Workshops led by artists Charlie Smith and Jamie Ladet provided participants with hands-on, collaborative learning experiences in both sculptural volume and form. Quadrapass provided a vehicle through which artists in South Africa could collaborate and host workshops within local communities to create an Art Sculpture that would resonate with the people.
Quadrapass was lit at the 3-day festival, Africa Burns, on July 20-22, 2007, after which it was installed on a semi-permanent basis in a public location in South Africa. Quadrapass was created in much the same vein as Synapses – a collaborative fire vessel whose elements were built through hands-on workshops led by Charlie Smith and Jamie Ladet in New York, Georgia, Texas, California and Washington states. All of these elements came together to form one fire sculpture that graced the playa throughout the 2005 Burning Man event. For more information on the Synapses Project and Quadrapass, its vision and creative process, visit: www.howhowhow.com or this page.
Kay Morrisson of Ignition NW
Seattle, WA
Grant Amount: $3,300
Central Park at Rainier Vista Housing Community was slated by the Seattle Housing Authority (SHA) to become the focal point of this newly renovated and diverse neighborhood. Due to unavoidable increases in infrastructure and construction, as well as an initial cost delay, SHA was unable to dedicate sufficient funds to complete the project. The fiscally abandoned Central Park, now wrapped in hurricane fencing, has been taken under the wing of Neighborhood House, which has joined with the landowner, SHA, and over 15 community and neighborhood groups to work to complete this project.
Ignition NW, a non-profit that was created to foster the Burning Man culture of radical self-expression, participatory art and sustainable community in the Pacific Northwest, worked with Neighborhood House to gather input, design and create public art for Central Park by engaging members of the Rainier Vista Community.
For more about burner ongoings in the Pacific Northwest:
www.ignitionnw.org
For more on the Rainer Vista Central Park (and for a updated
photo of the renovated park): http://ignitionnw.org/programs/rainier-vista-central-park/
Urban Art Garden
Angela Willetts
San Francisco, CA
Grant Amount: $5,000
The Urban Art Garden is a 250’ x 20’ art wall that incorporates 14 murals – 13 created by local artists, and one painted by local community members and children. Each mural is painted in an arched alcove. Surrounding the murals is a self-sustaining “living wall” of grasses and various plants. The final wall was intended to serve as a communal outdoor gathering space, and additional programming was aimed to educate children, local businesses and residents about environmental art and living architecture though hands-on workshops and presentations.
Through the creation of this living art wall Urban Art Garden showcases the talents of the local area and emerging artists, raises awareness of the social and spiritual benefits of creating art, and encourages communities to consider radical alternatives to artistic and urban conventions. The murals are located on Berwick Place south of Market Street in San Francisco. Some of the original murals are still visible, despite graffiti accumulation in the years since the original Urban Art Garden project.
To see images of several of the original murals before they were tagged: flickr.com/photos/factoryjoe/tags/urbanartgarden