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LS: I don’t with landscape architects. They are very open. Architects, because they think they are all designers, are much more resistant. I really like integrated public art so it becomes part of the building and the landscape. None of the architects I have worked with in Vancouver are interested in doing integrated art in buildings, whereas in the US there is all kinds of stuff that’s integrated.
JH: Perhaps one of the reasons for that is the percent for art policies that they have where they can include that as an aspect of their building and that can fulfill some of the percent for art requirements? And some of the municipalities in Canada don’t have that. LS: Right – they don’t have the private sector guidelines. If you go to the fairly new public library in Seattle, there were all kinds of artists who contributed to the development of that building: because Seattle has a 1 percent program for everything that they do, but not private sector guidelines.
JH: So what would your interface with municipalities be with your company? LS: Well, I wrote the public art program for the City and District of North Vancouver many years ago and the policy I wrote was adopted right away by the City, but not the District. So then I went on the Board of the City of North Vancouver on a part- time basis, helping them to implement the program. That’s when we wrote the policies and guidelines – everything they needed to move forward.
That’s when they also adopted the private sector guidelines. The District followed shortly after that. So I worked for the City and the District. I also sat on a committee to help Surrey develop a public art program – and I sat on the City of Richmond public art committee – and I also helped the City of White Rock develop their program. So it’s basically helping them to develop their program or helping them to implement the calls.
JH: I’m interested – looking at your website you say you can assess contextual constraints in potential public art sites. What did you mean by that? LS: There is always a context with any site. So what is surrounding the site? What happens? Is there a highway? Is there a sky-train system? Those kinds of things are really important. I think it’s important for the artists to recognize those things, and does the art itself reference those things? It informs how calls are structured – all those kinds of things.
JH: What about cultural constraints? LS: Cultural constraints for me means reflecting the community that lives there –what is important to be recognized – maybe there is a large East Indian community, or large Asian community – or whatever happens in those areas that needs to be reflected in some way in the artwork.
JH: What would you say to young artists who have little public art experience? How can they get their foot in the door?
LS: When I was working for North Vancouver, I ran a call specifically for artists who had never submitted to a public art project and I think that needs to be done by the community – by the municipal public art programs. I can’t do that because I work mostly with developers and they won’t hire someone with no experience. But the municipalities can do that. So I ran a call for artists that had never applied, and we had some wonderful people respond, and we selected someone who had never done public art. I think that’s the only way they can do it. What they really need to do is pressure the municipalities to put out a call for people who have never applied – new and emerging artists.
JH: One of the difficulties for young artists is that people who are putting a call out – we’re talking developers or even municipalities – are looking for very specific sites with large budgets. It’s difficult for young and aspiring artists to get into that market. How do you think they should approach this in terms of a portfolio?
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