Art Elements

The Placemaking Gems of Greenville's Center City are composed of site-specific art elements in both permanent media (lighting, sculpture and surface treatments) as well as temporary programming (pop-up events and installations, festivals and social practice artworks). These typological art elements are also noted in locations within the Center City that are not part of the Placemaking Gems. These are stand-alone art opportunities that have been identified for particular buildings, landscapes and parking lots. The diverse artwork types compliment each other to create well-rounded art experiences in the Center City. The typological categories are subdivided into opportunity types at different scales, forms and budgets. As artwork and events become more prolific they will act as catalysts for the development of more art experiences, bringing additional energy to the urban core and growing the creative economy.

Sculpture is a broad term that encompasses a vast gamut of artistic approaches, materials and expressive three-dimensional artworks. These place-making pieces can be either permanent or temporary. Permanent sculptures can be built at a variety of scales with forms ranging from more traditional and figurative, to modernist and abstract, to mixed media – all involving any number of a wide array of durable exterior materials. Greenville has a collection of existing sculptures, as does ECU and the Museum of Art. These collections and programs can be built upon and complimented with sculptural public art installations, fostering growth of Greenville's civic identity. Various sites throughout the Center City lend themselves to sculptural approaches. Permanent sculptures can give identity to transitional spaces, such as along sidewalks and trails. They can also help to shape and activate urban spaces like plazas and parks. Sculpture lends gravitas to an urban space, marking entries to important places and setting them apart from their context.

Temporary sculptures can accomplish much of the same things more permanent works can but through different emphases. While permanent sculptures lend a long-lasting identity to a place, temporary works offer bursts of meaning through their scheduled presence. These works need not be built to last as long as other sculptures, increasing the range of materials available to the artist and allowing them to be executed on a smaller budget. By embracing a schedule of rotation, one can maintain interest in an area by cycling through works, further activating a place.

Large permanent sculptures become symbols of their place through scale, location, lighting and interactivity. Their identity will blur with that of the city’s as time passes and meaning accrues. They provide memorable, photo op experiences to residents and visitors and function as destinations. As such, these pieces should be built to last from durable materials. Sculptures that offer utility, such as seating, or create a backdrop for performances, will become part of the urban fabric of Greenville. Interactive sculptures that allow people to alter the appearance of the artwork, such as through kinetic parts, lighting effects and reflectivity, create activity at the places where they are located.

Greenville already makes strong use of rotating sculptures through the Downeast National Juried Sculpture Exhibition, which awards prizes. These works range in scale and materials as well as duration of installation, which furthers the nuance of their meaning. Sites exist all over the city, including the Center City. Some locations are in "gateway" places and can serve as markers welcoming people to town as well as artworks that are part of a larger sculpture walk. Expanding this program to activate more Center City locations will help build the Emerald Arts District’s identity. Footings and lighting should be included at any new locations, to energize the nighttime environment. Effort should be made to include a greater variety of artists in future years.

Surface artwork leverages the many existing architectural facades in Greenville's Center City as opportunities for murals and other art treatments. These works can also integrate into the ground plane. The advantages of surface-applied artworks include their ability to produce a high impact and their costeffectiveness. Surface art provides opportunities for painters, graphic artists, street artists and conceptual artists to work at a large scale. Permanent Murals can make an enormous impact on the perception of a building for a relatively low cost. Through the simple addition of paint, a building and its surrounding context can be transformed. Murals can range in style and subject matter and communicate a plethora of messages. Murals are a great way to incorporate work by artists with less experience at creating public art and can usually be implemented in a short time frame.

Temporary Murals can be accomplished on printed banners hung from structures when painting is not a good option or when there is a desire to refresh the artwork. An existing banner mural mounted to arches in the Starlight Cafe building on E. 5th Street is a wonderful model for this. Smaller banners can also be used on street poles. Many cities are now hosting annual or biennial mural painting events in which artists from around the world gather to repaint a series of walls dedicated to the program. Denver's "Crush Walls" is an example of this type of art festival. These events have been spectacularly successful at drawing both artists and tourists to see the work.

Parking Lot Murals can transform vast, empty hardscape into enormous artworks. Painted parking lots can artfully maintain their necessary functionality while playfully re-conceptualizing the space for relatively little cost. By breaking from the convention of murals bound to walls, cities can breathe life and energy into these asphalt wastelands, making places fundamentally designed for cars more enjoyable for pedestrians and turning them into exciting places for temporary programming to occur. Parking lots are often land holdings for future development. Therefore, the inexpensive and impermanent nature of these artworks makes sense.

Architectural facades directly respond to the buildings for which they are designed. By collaboratively working with an architect, an artist wields the agency to shape the civic character of a building and its urban context. These works can range in their degree of architectural integration. Engaging an artist to work with a design team during the conception of a building is a fantastic way to create a powerful, highly integrated and costeffective artwork, with the artwork replacing standard architectural treatments and structural attachments being part of the original design. However, many art treatments can be added to existing structures.

A series of blank walls in Greenville's Center City has been identified as suitable for mural artworks. Permanent murals should use the most durable of exterior paints and graffiti-resistant sealants to retain color under the bleaching effects of the sun’s UV rays. Mineral paints specifically designed to not fade are available but can be expensive and offer only a limited palette of colors. Weathering over time will depend greatly on the type of surface substrate and level of sun exposure. Most long lasting paints will need refreshing every decade or so, which provides opportunities for new artworks to replace old ones. .

Tau Ceti by Josef Kristofoletti, Austin, TX

Greenville’s existing temporary mural program should be continued and expanded upon to further enliven the Center City. New and existing buildings can incorporate places for rotating murals. Printed banners can be hung from surfaces that may not be available for more permanent paintings. When a facade includes openings, such as on a parking garage deck, mesh banners can be used to allow air to flow through them, preventing sail-like behavior without compromising the image printed on it. Paint can also be used to create temporary murals, with periodic updates to these artworks bringing excitement to the city.

Given the wear and tear that the ground plane receives from traffic and weather, ground plane murals should use durable materials when possible. There are several options used for street marking such as MMA paint, paint with embedded colored glass cullet, cut thermoplastic heat-adhered to asphalt and stamped asphalt for new surfaces. Longevity depends on use and site conditions. Another option is the use of stone or concrete pavers, suitable for permanent plazas as well as parking lots. Transient transformations can be achieved using chalk or environmentally safe washable paints - great options for pop-up installations and events.

Exhibits, installations, performances and other pop-up events can bolster the creative economy by making use of physical spaces, both interior and exterior, that are currently under-utilized. Empty retail spaces can host a variety of art events and installations, both small and large. Storefront windows can be a great venue for art displays when retail spaces are empty between tenants. Artist support services, artist studio spaces, and temporary stages and galleries may be possible in units that will otherwise be empty for a longer term. These uses not only support artists by giving them venues to show their work but also enhance the aesthetic experience of the Center City and makes the space appear more appealing for prospective tenants.

Short-run, or even one-day (or night) events – like musical performances, DJ sets, dance parties, poetry slams, dinners, art sales, comic and zine fairs, and others – can bring vitality and spontaneity to Downtown Greenville. Surface parking lots in the Center City are often under-utilized on weekends and provide opportunities for larger pop-up art installations and events such as outdoor movies, markets, and festivals.

Programming to support artists can be added to existing cultural infrastructure. This will lead to a larger creative class in Greenville. Programs such as a revolving studio, museum or gallery, as well as services providing artists with legal advice or information about insurance, housing and studio space can make an enormous difference for emerging artists. Services like this may benefit from partnerships with existing agencies, such as Uptown Greenville, Emerge Gallery or the GreenvillePitt County Chamber of Commerce. This type of programming can also support art-making by the community at large, helping to increase visitation to shops, restaurants and galleries.

Social practice is an intentionally broad term referring to art that engages people and communities in discourse, collaboration or social interaction. The participatory element of social practice is key, with the art "product" often being of equal or less importance to the collaborative act of its creation. Many socialpractice artists directly engage with placemaking strategies to create locations for their work to happen. Others well-versed in event planning leverage participant turnout to change the meaning of a place through community participation, without expending large resources on brick and mortar elements. Though fundamentally performative and temporal, socialpractice art adds value to a place by providing critical centers for conversation as well as often long-lasting memories. A community meal on the restored WWI bridge could kick-off Emerald Loop implementation and fundraising.

The Community Meal by Seitu Jones, St. Paul, MN

Inspired by a program that was based in Seattle, the Art Lending Library concept can lend local, original artwork to the public for free or a small rental fee. The Seattle program’s mission was inspired by the idea of art equity: to support underserved artists and patrons by fostering relationships between the two. The goal is to make art available to more people and support local artists who are not served by the traditional art establishment. A program like this can foster art appreciation as well as build connections between the art community and the greater Greenville population. Housing this program at Sheppard Memorial Library will bring crossover audiences to help activate this space and its programs.

Pop-up movies and performances can temporarily create novel experiences in places that may or may not have been designed for those activities. The scale of these events can range dramatically from individual street performances to movies in parking lots to temporary road closures for large festivals. Greenville has some highly used outdoor event spaces which can be built upon to generate a network of outdoor activation spaces running through the Emerald Loop. Performers from ECU and the larger community can be engaged to provide programming.

Similar to outdoor movies and music performances, pop-up art installations and community events can bring fresh life to unusual spaces such as parking lots, parking spaces, vacant retail spaces and storefront windows merely through their presence. This type of use can bring attention and interest to under-utilized areas as well as benefit the participants by offering space for artistic work, enabling artist exposure and sales and facilitating community engagement and interaction.

A recent trend in public art is the production of festivals that invite participants out into the night to experience light installations from a broad range of creatives, often coupled with performances. These events typically include a theme and are held over several days during the winter to invigorate the dark months and take advantage of long nighttime hours. Light art can respond to environmental stimuli or user experience by integrating technology. A light festival in Greenville could include one or two "feature" traveling light installations coupled with building projections and smaller installations by local artists and students. Buildings already incorporating fixtures as part of the Emerald Lighting Concept could run special programs tying to the theme.

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