Caribbean Museum Center for the Arts is pleased to announce the following upcoming events that will take place from February 23 – March 5 in at CMCA in St. Croix. Former Crucian resident, Kendal Henry from New York City will be making his second visit to St. Croix to follow up on a public artwork which was initiated a year ago. This project may focus on a theme of “Common Ground” and may reference the history and cultural use of the towns of Frederiksted and Christiansted. The project will be site specific and will be created during his ten-day residency. Artists and non-artists wishing to participate or just learn more about Public Art are invited to attend. It is Mr. Henry’s intention is to meet Virgin Islands artists and get to know their work. This Blog has been set up for this purpose.

Common Ground public art project and this residency is being sponsored by Caribbean Museum Center for the Arts, Virgin Islands Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Virgin Island Artists who wish to post to the blog should request an invitation from Kendal at Kendal11101@hotmail.com.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

QUESTION: Can I Participate Even Though I Am Not An Artist

ANSWER: Yes

Right now we do not know what we are going to do in terms of a project(s). That will slowly (or quickly) materialize once a topic, site and audience is discussed. As always, the public is very important in creating public art and very often can be part of the art itself. Below is a video of Frozen Grand Central. About 200 ordinary people responded to a call over the web and invited to meet at a particular place at a particular time for instructions. The mission was to freeze in place for 5 minutes in the Main Concourse in Grand Central Terminal. The artwork was conceived by Charlie Todd and executed by non artists. The entire process from planning to execution tool less than an hour.

Monday, December 28, 2009

Where Do We Begin?

In preparing for this project, one way to begin is to start thinking about an issue that you want to communicate to the general public through an artwork. It could be something simple like the weather or something more in dept like a political opinion. It is important for each individual artist to select what he/she is passionate about. Start with the statement, "I want people to know________". Once that's determined, selecting a site and targeted audience along with factors such as time and budget will start to shape the public art project.


Michael Rakowitz's Para(sites) were created as a way to tackle one of the many issues faced by the homeless ; a warm place to sleep. He designed these shelters with each individual. The structures are made of plastic and are attached to the exhaust of buildings. The air from the exhausts provide warmth and a means of inflating the structures.


An artist collective in Berlin also responded to the homeless by providing these St. Michael Cathedrals in areas frequented by the homeless. St. Micheal is the patron Saint of the Homeless.

A homeless person can stick his head into the cardboard structure...

And be transformed to another place if only for a moment.

You might ask why bother? Why work this way?

Fact is there are about 400+ public art programs that commission artworks in the US that artists from Virgin Island are eligible for. Each of these agencies commission an average of 15 projects a year and project budgets range from $30,000 to $1 Million with most averaging at about $100,000. Public art commissions have provided many artist with an alternative to getting their work out there in lieu of pursuing gallery representation. The workshops, discussions, and conversations on this blog and the days in St. Criox will give artists the tools to help them compete for these commissions and in the process have new insight in their own art practices.

Getting Started: Public Art vs Art in Public Places


Lawrence Argent's I See What You Mean was created specifically for the Denver Convention Center. The artwork interaction with the architecture, it's scale and the reference to the local fauna makes it a great example of site-specific public art.


The Virgin Mother by Damien Hirst is a large provocative sculpture seen here in the Lever House exterior courtyard in NYC. This artwork was not created for that courtyard and is as appropriate in a gallery or museum as it is outside. This is a great example of Art in Public Spaces.

When most people thing about public art, they think of murals on exterior walls or sculptures in courtyards and street corners. Although these can be forms of public art, the truth of the matter is public art can take many forms. Even non-traditional art forms. But before I continue, I want to make a distinction between Public Art and Art in Public Places. Merely placing a sculpture outside to be enjoyed by the public does not necessarily make it public art. It becomes public art when that sculpture is created specifically for that space and takes into account the unique aspects of the surrounding environment (history, location, architecture, audience, to mention a few). In other words the difference between Public Art and Art in Public Places is site-specificity. It is not to say that one is more important than the other, I just wanted to be clear what I meant when I use the words public art.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

DAILY STRIFE: Commemorating Virgin Islands-Puerto Rican Friendship

This show will be on view Jan. 15th at the reception for Kendal Henry at CMCA from 6 to 8 PM - at 7 PM we will introduce Mr. Henry and have him give a brief talk about public art in general and the Common Ground project which will begin with the Sat. 10 AM meeting also at CMCA.


Gerville Larsen



Diego Conde



Norma Vila Rivero



Lisa Ladner



Carmen Mojica

Nine artists from Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands present works that raise questions about complex issues facing us today in the Caribbean. Among the investigations being presented by the artists are Monica Marin's political piece, which focuses on the proposed Fox Woods Casino and the irony involved in the Indian development on what many view as Sacred Indian grounds. Norma Vila Rivero presents a poetic array of photos and an installation that deals with the migration of Puerto Ricans to the USA and migration in general in search of the “daily bread” of every day life. Donald Diddams' digitally painted photographs reference both the commonplace and the strange land we find ourselves in as we go about daily life. Diego Conde has and continues to document the lives of people who have migrated from Puerto Rico to the Virgin Islands. Lisa Ladner captured the charm of so-called "Third Places" in order to raise awareness about the loss of these spaces and places that are vital for healthy communities. Carmen Mojica has kept a visual diary of the daily life viewed through her car window as she travels to and from work while also paying homage to a great photographer who inspired her work. William Stelzer shows black and white images of a different side of carnival, the subtle tension and work involved in the grand celebration intended to remove us from the concerns of daily life and strife. Gerville Larsen presents an installation that raises issues related to the vanishing architectural landscape and it's relationship to the way we view Virgin Islands culture, history and ourselves. Janet Cook-Rutnik presents a slideshow of digital photographs of a dazzling array of cast off dolls that alludes to the loss of Eden and its inherent innocence.

Janet Cook-Rutnik and Lisa Ladner, co-curators

Monday, December 7, 2009


Don Diddams



Janet Cook-Rutnik



Monica Marin



William Stelzer