Utilitarian art
Free speech-themed art installation comes to Colorado Boulevard
By Sara Cardine 09/08/2011
Sometime during the week of Sept. 12, pedestrians along Colorado Boulevard will discover that five utility boxes have been transformed into distinctive works of art designed to remind viewers of the importance of freedom of speech.
The installation “Utility,” commissioned by the Pasadena Playhouse District, is the brainchild of contemporary LA artist Susan Silton, who created the text-based art pieces with this particular site in mind. It pairs an image from the 1964 Free Speech Movement with quotes from five influential Americans, including Eleanor Roosevelt, Frederick Douglass and George Washington. The message and image change as viewers drive or walk past each cube.
“Generally speaking these have a clear functionality in the urban landscape but aesthetically are considered an eyesore and paid little, if any, attention,” Silton said of the boxes. “I was interested in working with the broader definitions of “utility,” beyond its literal context within public infrastructure.
The installation isn’t Silton’s first foray into Pasadena — in 2007, her work appeared at the Pasadena Museum of California Art in
an installation called “Inside Out.” The entire museum was covered with vinyl stripes resembling the pattern of a fumigation tent
as part of a “site-specific architectural intervention.”
The utility box installation is part of a citywide effort to bring more public art into areas frequented by drivers and pedestrians, said Erlinda Romo, executive director of the Playhouse District Association (PDA).
“There were utility boxes on Colorado Boulevard that grew in size and in number.
We saw this as an opportunity to capitalize on a new surface and do something innovative,” Romo said. “We’re very excited about getting our public art projects launched. We hope we can grow and expand the projects
we’ve started.”
The boxes will stay up for at least one year, at which point PDA will have the option to renew its permit. The hope, Romo said, is to rotate between different artists from year to year.
DIGG | del.icio.us | REDDIT