Public Art: DIY Field & the Talus Dome

I was reading through the current issue of Border Crossings and came across a short piece about Vancouver-based artist Germaine Koh’s recent public art project for Central Park in downtown Winnipeg. Entitled DIY Field, the work is mediated by viewer participation.

The project consists of 38 steel posts with a 5” diameter which rise up from the ground in a grid pattern, each with an 8” frosted acrylic tube containing blue, red and green LEDs. In addition, each post has 3 buttons that correspond to each LED, thereby allowing people passing through the park to change and combine the colours and illuminate the “field” as they choose. 8 possible colours can be created from the blue, red and green LEDs. “Additively…red plus green makes yellow; green plus blue makes cyan; and blue plus red make magenta…all of them added together make white and, finally, all the lights can also be turned off.”

Because the work exists in a public space (and as stipulated by the Winnipeg Arts Council Public Arts Program guidlines) , it was important to Koh that the work be user-friendly and playful for children as well as adults. As Koh describes in the Border Crossings piece, “I like that it is as inutitive as I hoped it would be. Every time I come along it’s quite different… This is the most crowd-pleasing work I have done in a long time and I’m happy with how it turned out.” (You can find some wonderful images of the project here.)

Beyond public engagement, DIY Field changes with the seasons and the time of day. In the winter, the lit posts will rise out of the snow covered field like beacons, reflecting their colours; and though visible in the day, in the evening the posts will glow and light the dark in brilliantly coloured patterns.

In reading about Koh’s work, I couldn’t help think about our own Talus Dome, which stands beside the newly renovated Quesnell bridge. Both projects were completed in the same year (2011) with similar aims of reflecting and interacting with the specific environmental conditions of their placement. Needless to say, Talus Dome, has been a lightning rod for controversy and not quite as well received as DIY Field.

For me the biggest distinctions lie in how Koh’s project invites viewers to interact with the work in a really dynamic way, and in the placement. Being able to alter the appearance of the work gives viewers to power to shape and respond to the work. Furthermore, its location in an accessible public space facilitates this engagement. The location of the Talus Dome is not accessible in the same way. On their website, The Edmonton Arts Council states that, while “visible from the road, the best way to experience Talus Dome is from the adjacent trail.” While this may be true, I’m not sure that the trails adjacent to the onramp of the Quesnell are not the most conveniently located for most people, unless they’re headed to Fort Edmonton Park (in which case they may still only be driving past). The subject of placement was addressed on this blog, which also contains some really great responses, including one from the Edmonton Arts Council.

As an avid runner, I’m looking forward to being able to run past the work in the summer, instead of just witnessing it from a moving vehicle.

I like that Edmonton is working to create new forms of public art and that this project has sparked some much needed discussion around what exactly that means.