Public art in medical building wins national award

August 5, 2010

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — “Collocation 13 (Nature),” an art project in the University of Florida’s Biomedical Sciences Building by Mickey Smith, was selected as one of 40 outstanding public art projects to receive national recognition by the Public Art Network’s Year in Review. This program is the only national award that specifically recognizes public art projects.

“Collocation 13 (Nature)” was commissioned and designed for the building and is a part of a larger cultural and anthropological project by Smith. In this project titled “Volume,” Smith documents bound periodicals and journals found in public libraries. Many of these publications are being replaced by their online counterparts; since being photographed, several of the documented titles have been destroyed. The act of hunting for and photographing these objects is fundamental to the artistic process. The books and words are not touched, lit or manipulated but documented as found in the stacks, created by the librarian, and positioned by the last unknown reader.

Images of the project at UF can be seen online by visiting http://www.arts.ufl.edu/asb/arttour.asp. Smith worked with fabricator Franz Mayer of Munich who specializes in the field of art glass and especially in painting on glass panes in a permanent and lightfast way. “Collocation 13 (Nature)” consists of 14 art glass panels, each 40 by 60 inches with a total area of 235 square feet of tempered float glass panels. To achieve the best photographic quality, the images were printed digitally with transparent ceramic melting colors onto the rear surface of the art glass panel. These colors were fired to the glass at a temperature of approximately 1,150 degrees Fahrenheit, which results in a durable and lightfast piece of art.

The Public Art Network’s Year in Review Award annually recognizes outstanding public art projects through an open call for submissions and selection process. This year, two public art professionals selected as curators reviewed more than 390 project applications. Helen Lessick and Fred Wilson made selections that represent the most compelling work for the year from across the country.

The Biomedical Sciences Building is on Center Drive and occupies the northwest corner of the Health Science Center.