READY, SET, MOSAIC!
North Carolina’s Largest Tile Mural Set to be Bid
The new pedestrian underpass project for UNC Greensboro’s South Campus will soon be released for bids. The plaza and pedestrian tunnel (under the active Norfolk and Southern right-of-way) will provide access for the planned expansion of the campus south of the Lee Street corridor.
Included in the project will be a 140’ long by 20’ wide mosaic tile mural covering the vaulted surface of the tunnel. Three pending concepts, from literal to abstract, all by Wagner Murray’s design team, will be considered. Additionally, the vault will be illuminated by a continuous color changing LED display. The lighting will enhance the mosaic image and brighten and enliven the pedestrian experience.
UNCG Tunnel Mosaic Concept
“Mosaic is an ancient art, precious and distant, it is splendid in its regal and elegant display. Mosaics capture a more poetic and affectionate dimension. They create an almost tactile message of accommodation and agreeability, in order to present a welcoming environment almost at the edge of dream. For young, for old, for everyone.”
~Alessandro Mendini, Italian mosaic artist
UNCG Tunnel Additional Mosaic Concepts
Architect as Artist
Portraits are a way for Dave Wagner to study form and texture.
Architects turn their hands to art pieces
At summer gallery exhibit, they get to show a different side of their creativity.
By Richard Maschal
Special to the Observer
Posted: Thursday, Jul. 08, 2010Much of the talk at the opening of "Art by Architects" focused on two simple questions. "Got any work?" "What are you doing with your time?"
The response from 31 architects slowed by the Great Recession was, "I've been making art." The results fill the walls at Hodges Taylor Gallery uptown, a good summer show (nourishing, but not heavy) that is worth your time.
Gallery owner and art sparkplug Christie Taylor and the American Institute of Architects invited architects to exhibit, and the response included a variety of work - paintings, prints, sculpture, photographs, drawings and crafts.
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In "Bruno," an oil pastel drawing, David Wagner distorts proportion - a huge arm over a massive head.
Additional portraits by Dave Wagner
Restaurant Move Prompts Creative Re-use
Giant fish sculpture to become signage and public art
LaVecchia’s Steak and Seafood, an uptown restaurant, is relocating to the Hearst Tower. Known both for its fine food and fine art, it was hailed as an aquatic wonderland when it first opened in 1998 in the Bank of America Seventh Street parking deck. The new location will not support the extensive gallery of sculptures so, one of the largest sculptures, a centerpiece in the restaurant, will become LaVecchia’s new exterior sign. This nine foot long fish will be tethered to a large curved steel tube, simulating a trophy fish catch on a bent fishing rod. The sculpture will serve a dual purpose: cables from the street structure will also support a canvas awning leading to the restaurant entrance. The double-sided neon sign will be visible up and down 5th Street.
LaVecchias Signage Concept
