Columbus Public Art 2012

Thought-Provoking Public Art
Installed Downtown
 
"The Time and The Temperature," a recently installed work of public art by Pittsburgh artist Jon Rubin is on view at E. Broad and S. Lazelle streets in Downtown Columbus through the spring as part of Finding Time: Columbus Public Art 2012.

Rubin responded directly to the curatorial premise that Finding Time presented to participating artists: “to make the City of Columbus aware of the passing of time, the use of time, measurement of time, the chronology of a life, world time, and the notion of temporary and permanent." A custom-made sign that is similar to those commonly seen in front of businesses, churches, and schools that give the exact time and temperature of the location where they are installed, Rubin’s sign tells the current time and temperature in Tehran, Iran—a city that is geographically distant (and eight and a half hours ahead of Columbus), yet is in our news on a daily basis. "The Time and The Temperature" presents a moment where the space between here and there is collapsed and viewers might temporarily project themselves into a foreign place and circumstance. As Columbus takes stock of its 200-year history and looks to the future, it is natural that we consider our place in the state, the nation, and the world.

Rubin is known for creating interventions into public life that reinvent social and political conditions and create new platforms for agency, participation, and exchange. His projects include starting a radio station in an abandoned steel town that only plays the sound of an extinct bird, developing a hypnotized human robot army, running a barter-based nomadic art school, operating a restaurant that produces a live talk show with its customers, and running a take-out restaurant that sells food from countries in conflict with the U.S. He has exhibited at The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; The Mercosul Biennial, Brazil; The Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver; The Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard, New York; The Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporaneo, Mexico; The Rooseum, Sweden; The ParkingGallery, Tehran, Iran; Nemo Film Festival, Paris; as well as in backyards, living rooms, and street corners.

While "The Time and The Temperature" is on display, public forums will be held at Trinity Episcopal Church, at E. Broad and S. Third streets, with cultural, religious, academic, and political leaders discussing some of the complicated issues at stake in U.S. and Iranian relations. The first forum is scheduled for January 30 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. and will include Rubin as well as Joyce Garver Keller, Executive Director, Ohio Jewish Communities; The Rev. Richard A. Burnett, Rector, Trinity Episcopal Church; and Richard Herrmann, Professor and Chair, Department of Political Science, The Ohio State University. Please see ColumbusPublicArt.com for dates and times of forthcoming public meetings.

“The Time and the Temperature” is one of 12 commissioned art projects comprising Finding Time: Columbus Public Art 2012, which took place in public spaces, plazas, parks, streets, and alleys throughout the downtown during the bicentennial year and beyond. The program is transforming downtown into an open-air gallery with temporary public art projects by more than 50 international, national, and local artists. Reflecting the broad range of contemporary public art in multiple forms and media, projects range from the familiar—sculpture and murals—to unexpected installations, sound works, and performances in non-traditional sites, including COTA buses and church bells. These site-specific artworks explore the physical and philosophical measurement of time, generating questions on the notion of time, passing of time, use of time, measurement of time, world time, and the notion of temporary and permanent.

All sponsors, partners, and collaborators for Finding Time: Columbus Public Art 2012 are available at ColumbusPublicArt.com. Artist information and more details and links are also available on the website.

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/life_and_entertainment/2013/01/24/sign-meant-to-spur-dialogue.html

http://www.columbusunderground.com/the-time-and-the-temperature

Finding Time: Columbus Public Art 2012 will take place throughout the year in public spaces, plazas, parks, streets, and alleys in the downtown core and the riverfront.

Planned in conjunction with 200Columbus the Bicentennial, Finding Time will transform downtown into an open-air gallery with 14 temporary public art projects by more than 50 international, national, and local artists that will create memorable experience for downtown workers, residents, and visitors.

Finding Time is a temporary public art project that explores the physical and philosophical measurement of time. The artworks in the exhibition will investigate and question the notion of time, while making the City of Columbus aware of the passing time, the use of time, measurement of time, the chronology of a life, world time, and the notion of temporary and permanent.

columbuspublicart.com/