Boise City Hall Plaza Public Art Proposals

Posted on 5/13/13 by Ricardo

In conjunction with structural renovations to the Boise City Hall plaza, Boise City is commissioning a significant new work of public art. Boise City released a national Request for Qualifications in November 2012. Fifty-four artists applied. A selection panel made up of representatives from the City Council, Mayor’s Office, CCDC, the Arts Community, and Boise City Arts & History Commission selected three finalists. The three proposals are on display, online and in the lobby of City Hall, for public comment until May 28.

ACTUAL SIZE ARTWORKS (Stoughton, WI)
Brilliant
View: Proposal | PowerPoint Presentation
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VOLKAN ALKANOGLU DESIGN LLC (Atlanta, GA)
Boise Globe
View: Proposal | Video Animation
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RE:SITE AND METALAB (Houston, TX)
Eyrie
View: Proposal | Presentation Board
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Boise City’s public art collection of over ninety works can be found on downtown plazas and streets and in public facilities such as City Hall, Boise Airport, parks and Public Library branches. 1.4% of all eligible Boise City capital projects are set aside to invest in site-specific artwork, with all artworks chosen through a democratic selection process. Public art invigorates residential and commercial zones, developing new places of beauty and interest and adding to civic vitality.

For Questions on this and other public artworks in Boise, Idaho please contact Karen Bubb (kbubb@cityofboise.org).

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Airport Mural Public Art Proposals

Posted on 5/6/13 by Ricardo

The City of Boise is commissioning a mural to commemorate BOISE 150 for Boise Airport’s ticketing lobby. The public is invited to comment on proposals by three Idaho artists, who were chosen through a national public process by a selection panel of stakeholders. The panel will take public comment into account prior to making their final decision regarding which project to commission. Comments will be collected from May 6th – May 20th.

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BELINDA ISLEY
Are We There Yet?
View proposal

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ANNE PETERSON KLAHR
Along the River’s Edge
View proposal

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SUZANNE LEE CHETWOOD
A.) Idaho, Enduring Spirit
B.) Ascend
View proposal

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Boise City’s public art collection of over ninety works can be found on downtown plazas and streets and in public facilities such as City Hall, Boise Airport, parks and Public Library branches. 1.4% of all eligible Boise City capital projects are set aside to invest in site-specific artwork, with all artworks chosen through a democratic selection process. Public art invigorates residential and commercial zones, developing new places of beauty and interest and adding to civic vitality.

For Questions on this and other public artworks in Boise, Idaho please contact Karen Bubb, kbubb@cityofboise.org)

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Peices of History: Quilting as Material Culture

Posted on 5/20/13 by ADavis

Studies in material culture arose in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as practitioners of human history began looking at the relationship between the products of a society and the social and moral values they embodied.   Through this approach we can view certain products as unique expressions of a community, and as physical representations of cultural values and even individual attitudes of a particular time and space.  Quilts have been recognized as having the ability to “trigger a tremendous range of reminiscence and emotional response, and carry a great load of cultural meaning.”[1] They serve a dual role as both a utilitarian product of the domestic sphere, relegated to the work women, and simultaneously they provided the practitioners with the opportunity to express ideas and meaning through a display of their artistic ability.

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Boise, Idaho: The Birthplace of Air Mail

Posted on 5/14/13 by ADavis

In 1926 Boise became the home of the first privately contracted air mail service in the United States.  On April 6, Walter Varney, of Varney Airlines, and a crowd of spectators welcomed the small Swallow’s pilot Leon “Lee” Cuddleback and his prized cargo to the Boise Municipal Airport, located just south of the Boise River where the Boise State campus is today.[1] By 1927 Varney Airlines merged with William Boeing’s, Boeing Air Transport, and formed a conglomeration that would later become United Airlines, Inc.

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Did you remember May Day? The Battle Over May 1st

Posted on 5/6/13 by ADavis

For centuries May Day has been a tradition celebrated by ancient agricultural communities just after the last weeks of the winter chill subsided and just before the long planting season began.  The Romans made offerings of milk and honey to Flora, the Goddess of Flowers, during the last week of April and the first week of May, to celebrate the coming of summer with flower wreaths, ribbons, and dances.  There was a general loosening of moral license that allowed all folks to participate in what might have otherwise been seen as lascivious activities, as part of the general splendor of spring.[1]

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Remnants of Boise: 150 Years

Posted on 4/29/13 by ADavis

For most of April the Boise City Department of Arts and History Sesqui-Shop hosted Remnants of Boise, an exhibit by Boise historian Brandi Burns, celebrating 150 years of Boise history through the themes of Environment, Community, and Enterprise.  The exhibit showcased a selection of over 300 historic photographs, street maps, and artifacts from historic buildings and homes in Boise that have been lost to time and new growth.  Highlighted are 25 distinct districts that explore specific areas of interest in the city, each helps to tell the larger story of Boise through the evolution of each location.  Remnants of Boise closed the last weekend of April, but don’t worry if you missed the exhibit downtown, Burns has also created a digital tour of Boise’s Remnants, available online and self-guided so you can enjoy Old Boise at your own convenience.

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John Collias Boise Artist

Posted on 4/24/13 by ADavis

If you have spent any amount of time in and around Boise or in any of its institutions, it’s likely you have seen the work of local artist John Collias.  For the better part of a century he has become something of an institution himself.  In 2010 Nick Collias published a book that put his grandfather’s life’s work into a historical context, he said “looking at the art work, I could see immediately that this is an incredible visual historical record of Idaho.”[1] Indeed, in 2007 a collection of Collias’ work was put on display at the Idaho History Museum as they represent more than seven decades of living and working in the Boise Valley.

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Basque Boarding Houses

Posted on 4/13/13 by ADavis

Political tension in the homeland encouraged Basque migration to the United States, and to Boise, in the 19th century.  Young, single Basque men immigrated in the thousands, finding work in Idaho as sheepherders and sheep men.  The peak of Basque migration came in 1920 when Congress passed an anti-immigration act that meant to protect American jobs.  But by then the Basque people were pretty well established in Boise and in the American north west.  At the turn of the century successful Basque laborers began investing their earnings in ways that met their fellow countryman’s needs in an unfamiliar place.  Boarding homes and Inns are part of the history of the American West, and for nearly one hundred years the Basque operated well more than a dozen successful hotels in Boise.

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The Horse Economy in Boise

Posted on 4/8/13 by ADavis

The nineteenth century has been called the “golden age of the horse” which aptly recognizes the historic importance of the animal as a primary means of industry before the mechanization of the industrial era.[1] The ‘horse economy’ certainly has a rich presence in Boise history, where the horse was viewed as “man’s most valuable and intelligent servant.”[2] The horse was indispensable in the foundation and progression of Boise City, and as an integral element to human enterprise here, the horse can be viewed both as a commodity and as a consumer in their own right.

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The Drive of a Sheepherder

Posted on 4/2/13 by ADavis

Not all successful western settlers arrived here with a trade or craft, often it took a willingness to do whatever it took to survive and make a living.  Boise history is imbued with the inspirational story of the Basque immigrants who took advantage of the expansion of an industry that relied on those who were willing to do the labor.  Despite obstacles placed in the way of sheep herding in Idaho, migrant Basque sheepherders defined what it was to live out the American Dream; by working hard to become business owners, ranchers, and entrepreneurs they were able to create a ‘home away from home’ for others to follow.

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