Art Port
ART PORT
PUBLIC ART INFRASTRUCTURE
FOR TEMPORARY AND PERMANENT INSTALLATIONS
Reimaging the Foundation
The Art Port solves the infrastructural challenges of temporary public art programs.
Designed to lower the barrier of entry for emerging public artists and creatives, and give Art Committees the tools they need for successful rotating exhibitions, the Art Port provides the structural, mechanical, and electrical necessities required for modern public art projects.
Artist Quotes :
"I like it. Make it simple, make it mainstream. I can think of a bunch of places and organizations that would benefit from this, developers and artists."
- Stephanie Inman : Treasure Valley based, national accredited public artist
"The simpler (connection system) for the artist the better. The fact that the attachment system of the Art Port is simple, means that the City or a contractor can easily install the work. This can be a huge cost savings for the artist, if they can simply ship the work to the location, and don't need to travel there themselves."
- Ken McCall : Treasure Valley based, national accredited public artist
Better for the Budget
The structural foundation of a public artwork is usually the least exciting part of the work (and maybe should be), but at the same time it requires a substantial amount of thought and engineering to ensure the durability and safety of the artwork and the public. By extension, the foundation can soak up a decent amount of the budget, especially for smaller commissions.
Programs utilizing Art Ports can be confident that the money usually used for foundational concerns is going back into the hands of the artists and into the vision of the artwork.
Specific Design Decisions :
Beginning with the dimensions of standard materials, the Art Port is designed to get the most out of small art budgets with grand concepts. The base plate is 46”x46” square intentionally, filling the standard dimensions of half a 4x8 sheet, but slightly under for fabrication tolerance.
The hole pattern is taken from weld table philosophy; ⅝” holes, 2” on center. The simplicity of this pattern allows artists to easily prototype attachment systems at their studio, leading to successful and smooth installations.
The gap between the concrete and base can be covered by a custom façade piece. This gap is 5.5” inches, which is intentionally a standard width of an off the shelf piece of lumber. Each artist may want to create their own custom façade, with specific accreditation, statements or sponsors. This can be done as easily as buying and cutting two 8’ 2x6’s, or as fancy as the artist can imagine.
The maximum artwork dimensions are up to 20’ tall and 3000lbs.
Plans and Specifications :
The build ready plans, structural stamps, and 3D models are available for free upon request.
We offer them under a Creative Commons License (CC-BY SA 4.0). With co-authors of Studio Capacitor, City of Boise Arts & History, Tamarack Grove Engineering PLCC, New American Public Art LLC.
Contact :
Dan Sternof Beyer, Director of Research & Development
dan@studiocapacitor.com
Credits
City of Boise Arts & History commissioned the design and development of the Art Port.
Tamarack Grove Engineering PLLC worked tirelessly on the amazing calc package and stamp.
Special thanks to New American Public Art, for pioneering the concept of ‘dynamic infrastructure’ for years on the East Coast (alas to no avail). May this work partly embody those ideals.
