NEWS: “Cloud” Recognized as One of Top 50 U.S. Public Art Projects

“Cloud” Recognized as One of Top 50 U.S. Public Art Projects

Americans for the Arts Releases Annual List

SALT LAKE CITY — “Cloud,” a public artwork commissioned by Utah Arts & Museums, has been named as one of the 50 best public art projects by the 2013 Public Art Network Year in Review by Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts. The annual Year in Review program recognizes the most exemplary and innovative, permanent or temporary public artworks created or debuted in the previous year. The 2013 Year in Review awardees were chosen from more than 350 submissions from across the United States.

Three independent public art experts—John Carson, artist and Head of Carnegie Mellon University School of Fine Art; Norie Sato, artist; and Justine Topfer, Project Manager, San Francisco Arts Commission and private curator—juried the 2013 Year in Review. Their selections were announced on June 13, at the Americans for the Arts Public Art Preconference in Pittsburgh. The artists and commissioning organizations involved in creating and supporting these public artworks received letters of congratulations and certificates from Americans for the Arts.

Installed at Dixie State University’s Commons Building, Christian Moeller’s “Cloud” is a large bookcase in which the books’ spines form the pixels of an image of a desert cloud. Moeller’s proposal was selected from 223 preliminary applications from artists nationwide and then from four finalists’ presentations. The installation process started in August 2010 and was completed in May 2012.

“Our Public Art Program has been honored to commission three works in the last nine years that have received this recognition from Americans for the Arts Public Art Network,” noted Utah Arts & Museums Director Lynnette Hiskey. “This year’s recognition of ‘Cloud’ follows last year’s recognition of Susan Narduli's work ‘Land and Time,’ installed at the Utah Museum of Natural History. This series of honors started in 1994 with the recognition of Robert Perless' work ‘Sun Dagger’ at Utah Valley University Wasatch in Heber City. We’re thrilled to support public art that is garnering this kind of acclaim.”

The selection committee for the Dixie State University project was: Stephen D. Nadauld, Dixie State University – President; Kathy Cieslewicz, Dixie State University - Sears Gallery Director; Donna Dillingham-Evans, Dixie State University - Vice President of Academic Services; Lyman Hafen, Utah Arts Council Board; Dr. Don Hinton, Dixie State University - Dean of Arts and Letters; Frank Loijko, Dixie State University - Vice President of Student Services; Matthias Mueller, Utah Division of Facilities Construction and Management - Project Manager; Derek Payne, VCBO Architecture; Stan Plewe, Dixie State University - Vice President of Administration Services; Sherry Ruesch, Dixie State University - Campus Services; and Daphne Selbert, Dixie State University - Library Dean.

“By creating a sense of identity of places we inhabit, public art makes an enduring impact on our lives,” said Robert L. Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts. “We congratulate the artists and commissioning groups of the 13th annual Public Art Year in Review and look forward to honoring more great works in the coming years.”

Since 2000, the Public Art Network Year in Review has annually recognized outstanding public art projects through an open call submission and juror selection process. The Year in Review program is the only national award that specifically recognizes public art projects.