“Good Evening, Everyone,<smile>
My Name is Brian Mita, and I am going to present to you my project for the University City Public Sculpture Project, that I call <Break> “Safety.” <Smile><Break>
“To me, <Next Slide> for a public sculpture to be successful, I believe that it depends on perception. Likewise, for Public Safety to be successful, <Break> depends on perception as well.<break>
“<Next Slide> What I mean by that, is that when you look at a piece of public sculpture, many factors affect your perception of how successful that work is. <small break.>There is the visual quality of the work, <small break> the underlying message or theme, <small break> as well as <emphasis> the assumptions of the viewer of the work. </ emphasis>
“Now, with public safety, there are a number of factors that contribute to how safe a neighborhood is as well. There is how nice the buildings look, the police presence in that neighborhood, the statistical history of that neighborhood, and sometimes… sometimes, how safe a neighborhood is perceived is based on how well lit the neighborhood is.
“So. For my project, I would like to bridge the gap between Public Art and Public Safety, and build a 6 foot tall fiberglass nightlight, that is powered by a low wattage solar powered LED security light. <next slide> I would like to place it next door to where I live, at the Clemens Garden, north of the Delmar Loop. I did speak with Claire Linzee and get my approval from her and the property owner. I chose this location because many of the patrons of the Delmar Loop businesses often park here and I think that those patrons would understand that seeing a big night light would let them know that it is a safe area to park in. Also, because I live in the neighborhood, and I heard that there was mugging in this area over the holiday break, I think that a work like mine would help ease some of the tensions about safety in this area.
“<Next Slide> so in my model….”
That ‘s the part I memorized. I think the U City Council of Arts and Letters was pretty impressed by the presentation. It really feels good to have nurtured this idea over the last 6 years, made a couple of adjustments and have a small indication that it might be successful.
I’m crossing my fingers. 😉
Mita Mita Mita! - Brian Mita's blog 