The call for artists began in March but the overall project began three or four years ago when the sites were selected, said Michelle Hawkins, administrator of arts, culture and heritage for the city of Plano.
The violin piece will be one of many pieces build by Joshua Wiener for the Downtown Plano Portal Art Project.[/caption]The selection panel received 195 submissions from a variety of artists and selected Wiener to complete the project, Hawkins said. The selection panel consist of Hawkins, Special Projects Director for the city of Plano Peter Braster, Historic Downtown Plano Associations members Mona Crider and Jeff Bergus, ArtCentre of Plano Executive Director Suzy Jones, Soheyla Rashidya with the ArtCentre of Plano and Kathleen Brooks with the Haggard Neighborhood Association.
"We really thought [Joshua's] pieces had a lot of life in them," she said. "It led us in the direction we want to go with for the Downtown Arts District."
In August, Wiener completed an art instillation called "Cloudscape" in Frisco. He has experience working in stone, aluminum, steel, earth, bronze and experimental materials and his work has been showcased in India and Japan, along with a variety of states, including Michigan, Colorado, Florida, Oregon, Washington, Wisconsin, Utah, Virginia, Arizona, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Wyoming.
Before submitting his final proposal, Wiener was able to visit Plano, Hawkins said.
"[Visiting] helped me understand the vision of the place," Wiener said. "I could also feel the anticipation of what’s to come… It's a town in flux and that enthusiasm really helped inspire the artwork I generated.”
Each art piece allows viewers to engage with it, Wiener said. From the side, the work is abstract, but as people move closer to the piece, the art and artist depicted emerges.
"The renderings give you a basic story of what's to come," Wiener said. "I do feel like these are going to be massively better than the drawings... It's going to go way beyond what the renderings are. I think it's going to be a much stronger piece."
The $300,000 project is included in the city of Plano's 2016-17 Community Investment Program budget under the Street Enhancement Projects fund, according to a letter from Hawkins to Parks & Recreation Director Robin Reeves. It is expected to be installed by the spring or summer of 2017, Hawkins said.
