More on Lift Off

by KimFromTheK

The Lift Off sculpture installation is nearing completion despite being surrounded by caution tape. The lighting at the end of each of the horizontal beams appears to be the major outstanding item remaining.

Responses to this new artwork have been mixed. Fellow K at City Vista residents have comically started calling it "Big Bird" with one individual saying "if we don't feed it maybe it will fly away." Perhaps it will become landmark in DC like The Big Chicken is a point of reference for driving directions in the Atlanta area.

My condo listserv has been flooded with comments and jokes about the sculpture. And despite some negative feedback, someone pointed out that the new artwork is a great distraction from the strip club and parking lot at the 5th and K intersection.


Personally, I'm not a fan of the color (especially with a similar-colored building in the background), but overall I'm happy with the artwork and thrilled that the Master Plan is being implemented. I'd like to remind our readers that public art displays are part of the Mount Vernon Triangle Master Plan, which also includes the decorative grate artwork scheduled for installation in the coming months. While many of us were not yet residents of The Triangle in the spring of 2007, there was a two day community panel during which the artwork was selected.

What are your thoughts?

Image Credit: DCMud

Editor's note: The MVT CID has published a press release on the sculpture.

Lift off installation underway **UPDATED**

by KimFromTheK

The installation of David Black's Lift Off sculpture is underway this morning at the 5th and K plaza space in front of Busboys.



UPDATE (11/9/2009 1:22PM): City Vista resident Sean Smith has sent in photos of the installation progress.

SFSU student designs public art for City Vista

Updated [4/15/2009 11AM]: This piece of public art is not for the 5th and K corner - but rather a decorative grate to beautify the large fresh air intake grate adjacent to Busboys' 5th Street entrance.

From the San Francisco State website:

Student's public art to spruce up downtown D.C.

April 14, 2009 -- Ethan Kerber hunches over a giant metal frame, illuminating his SOMA warehouse with pulses of light from a blow torch as he bonds metal to metal.

For nearly two years, Kerber, a graduate student in Design and Industry, has worked to design and create a metal public art piece that will be on permanent display 10 blocks from the White House.

After finishing, Kerber removes his welding mask and admires the work in progress, titled, "Inspiration." Made of five panels, it will measure 25 ft. by 25 ft. and weigh nearly 3,500 pounds when it is installed this summer.

"I'm only about three months away from install, and it's still hard to imagine what it will look like, but it will be big, that's for sure," Kerber said of the piece commissioned by the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities in conjunction with Lowe Enterprises.

The two-year process has been a learning experience for Kerber. Finishing a public art piece requires constant communication between the artist, the client and engineers who ensure that the art meets building codes. Kerber's work will adorn the side of a mixed-use retail/residential building as part of revitalization efforts in the Mount Vernon Triangle neighborhood.

Assistant Professor of Design and Industry Hsiao-Yun Chu said the process of producing public art can be overwhelming, particularly for an individual facing their first big commission. "He's not a big architectural firm," Chu said. "Ethan is communicating long distance with fabricators and engineers and adjusting his designs accordingly. For a student, it's not something he's doing for his schoolwork. It's a highly professional product."

To create the piece, Kerber used computer-aided design technology. He then took the design to a CNC machine, which turns the design into X-Y coordinates and then makes the cuts in the metal. He then took those pieces and welded them to five metal frames.

The 3-D piece is inspired by art in the Queens, N.Y. neighborhood where Kerber grew up. "Inspiration" has a distinctly "modern, urban" feel, and the differing depths of the metal pieces mirror Kerber's interest in emphasizing space. He envisioned an urban-style version of the exhaled breath on a cold winter morning when designing the piece.

Before it's unveiling, scheduled for the middle of this summer, the piece will be fit into a packing frame, and lifted with a crane onto a truck for its cross country journey. "I've always dreamed of building things for a public space," Kerber said. "public art can transform a space and create a unique experience."

Neon is not a dirty word

The DC DNA launched their new blog yesterday with a posting that calls for "signage legislation that addresses the entire downtown area and a moratorium on any new advertising signage until we have it." The genesis of this call for signage legislation was spurred by Western Development's recent interest in expanding their signage at Gallery Place according to allowances specified in the condo documents.

The proposal for new signage at Gallery Place is a special case as it is multi-media signage (video, no sound) that spans 6+ stories. I won't take a side on that debate one way or another as I don't feel I fully grasp the logistics of the proposed signage or how it would impact the condo residents. I couldn't follow the presentation fully but it may be only feet from the residents windows.

It's hyperbole to suggest Gallery Place is on the brink of becoming Times Square

However, I do want to say that 1) I love what great signs do for a street and the public realm 2) I don't think "neon" is a dirty word and 3) I think downtown DC has a deficit of quality signage. I will also add that I find the Gallery Place is becoming Times Square claims a little silly and akin to every DC neighborhood that worries about about becoming the next Adams Morgan because two bars opened up =)

A few D.C. neon signs:

Central Liquor, Penn Quarter

Studio Theatre, Logan Circle

Lincoln Theatre, U Street

Waffle Shop, formerly Penn Quarter

Signs from other cities: with special emphasis on Belltown which has Seattle's highest population density (~20,000/sqmi) proving neon and residents can co-exist.

Colony Hotel, South Beach

Cyclops Cafe and Lounge, Belltown/Seattle

Elephant Car Wash, Belltown/Seattle

Top Pot Doughnuts, Belltown/Seattle

If downtown signage legislation is needed I hope that it does not close the door to interesting and dynamic signage. Steering signage towards the path of being small and discreet to appease the most objectionable of residents diminishes the ability to create a vibrant place. Let's keep the door open to some forms of colorful signage. Ideally for local businesses like boutique hotels, theatres or restaurants rather than McDonalds or CVS...

Photo credits: M.V. Jantzen, ThomasHawk, ghengis connie, Mr. T in DC, Patrick Saccoccia