|
Description:
The first phase of Cheng’s work is located on a 40 square-foot
section of land encircled by the passenger drop-off driveway in
front of the library. The design features a gently up-sloping
water-filled trough, whose surface gradually tips up and out of the
water, emerging as an up-thrusting topographic map of the City of
Tempe. A natural barrier of trees and bushes borders the reflecting
pool portion. In 2001, the artwork suffered a major leak and no
longer contains water. The artwork now contains rocks and cacti
where the water once flowed.
The second part of Cheng’s design scheme features several art walls,
artifact rocks and imbedded pavers in the courtyard. It originates
at the existing fountain west of the Edna Vihel Center for the Arts
and meanders south toward the parking lot through a loosely
landscaped streambed strewn with rocks and boulders. It is bordered
by colorful cross-sections of laminated cut concrete. Similar walls
are located south of the Tempe Historical Museum at the east and
west ends of the sidewalk.
Funding:
The
project was funded through City of Tempe Capital Improvement Project
Percent for Art funds.
Artist biography:
Carl Cheng was born in San Francisco and raised in Los Angeles. He
received his BA and MA degrees from UCLA and currently lives and
works in Santa Monica, Calif. His artworks, which attempt to
demystify the human/nature relationship, have been exhibited
throughout the United States and abroad. Cheng's numerous other
public commissions include Santa Monica Art Tool, which imprints the
map of L.A. on the sand along Santa Monica Beach, a sheriff's
facility in San Francisco, as well as projects in New York City,
Tempe and Seattle.
Artist statement:
Upon
reading the Tempe 2000 General Plan and visiting the Municipal
Complex underground garden, I began thinking of the possibility of
Tempe as a city of Subterranean Gardens . . . What if the City of
Tempe could link up its many water ponds, gardens, streams and
rivers into one continuous system that meandered in and out of
municipal buildings and parks? With these ideas swimming in my head,
I decided to contribute to this concept by proposing (this)
comprehensive project for the library site. |
