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With the support of the Scottsdale Mall, 7373 E. 2nd Street, the Scottsdale Public Art program is giving artists an opportunity to alter and enhance a key entry point to the Scottsdale Civic Center Mall. Using a variety of materials the art installations will create unexpected experiences, a reason to linger and to return. Starting a week after Labor Day 2008 and running though June 2010, five artists will engage visitors and residents with their artwork.

Current Installation:

Robots in Flight

Toby Atticus Fraley
December 10, 2008-April 24, 2009

Toby Fraley recycles vintage household items such as coffee thermoses, vacuum cleaners and picnic jugs into art. Fraley proposes to add to previous series of Robots with a new batch of designs. In the bell tower the Robots are riding rockets, gliding, parachuting to safety and sailing on rustic wings , an ecclectic and engaing air show. He aims for a chaotic robotic air show.

Fraley is a full time artist residing in Washington, Pennslyvania. His whimsical eclectic pieces have found homes in the Google headquarters, the residences of Hollywood stuntmen and Grammy Award winning musicians. Fraley loves that they are fun to make, appealing not only to kids but also those who appreciate the design and who find a memory tied into the piece. He often hears exclamations of “that’s dad’s old work thermos” or “there’s my grandmother’s canning strainer.” For more on the artist’s work please go to www.tobyfraley.com

Upcoming Installations:

Bubble Fountain

Melissa McGurgan &
Marco Rosichelli
May 1, 2009-June 30, 2009

When a passerby walks through the bell tower scented bubbles (alternating citrus, mint, salt water) will float down creating a fun and refreshing atmosphere to greet the onset of summer. Mellisa McGurgan and Marco Rosichelli recognize the appeal and fascination of water to the desert dweller. Water cools, cleanses, and entertains. This fountain without flowing water will invoke a universal playground for the senses.

McGurgan and Rosichelli, who both reside in Tempe, AZ, are experienced and active artists within the Valley community. Both have constructed and installed sculptural work in both galleries and museums. McGurgan’s MORE OR LESS CAMPAIGN 2006 was featured in the ASU Art Museum’s New American City exhibition. Rosichelli’s Trojan Bike appeared in the gallery of Jarbas Lopes: Cicloviaérea in November 2007 also at the ASU Art Museum. Both work as art educators at Arizona State University where they involve classes with public art assignments.

Barn Devil

Christopher Fennell
September 1, 2009-February 5, 2010

Christopher Fennell brings together dust devils and the wood of old barns to create a powerful sculpture that activates and defines the space of the bell tower. The installation creates a tension between the bottom rectilinear structure and the upper organic swirl. The lower part of the structure will be four large beams leaning forward, as if into a strong wind, and the upper part will be pulled backward as if the upper part of the structure is caught in a twisting wind. The viewer will not only be able to stand below it and look up into the sculpture like a tree but they will also be able to go up and look down upon the spiral.

Fennell has been building large scale wood installations since he was first inspired by a falling down barn and salvaged the wood for a project. Fennell likes using materials that have a history and that have been cast out. He has degrees in both sculpture and mechanical engineering from the University of Florida and currently resides in Birmingham, AL. For more on the artist’s work go to www.cfennell.org

Photo-Luminescent Sound Garden

Todd Ingalls & Mary Neubauer
February 12, 2010-June 4, 2010

Todd Ingalls and Mary Neubauer focus on the interrelationship of music and visual form. A suspended garden of four to six translucent layered forms will have a photo-luminescent surface to absorb the sunlight and cause the sculptures to glow in various colors into the night. Pedestrians below will activate soft bell-like tones. Both light and sound will respond to the differing rhythms of people and light passing

Both Ingalls and Neubauer are on the faculty at Arizona State University. Media composer Todd Ingalls works in mediums of interactive performance and installations. His work focuses on the interplay between the activity of people and media. He develops computer generated music and models sonic environments. Sculptor Mary Neubauer is currently working on the sculptural seating project that reflects the topography of Black Mountain at Dove Valley. Neubauer has also created animated projections of designs adapted from data information streams in Tempe and in Phoenix in addition to national and international exhibitions of her sculpture. For more on Neubauer’s work go to www.sculpture-digital.net

Previous Installation:

Floating Memories

Béatrice Coron

September 8, 2008 - December 3, 2008

Béatrice Coron’s twenty-four iconic scenes were hand cut on black & white Tyvek, a lightweight waterproof paper. Four scrolls will hung freely from the top of the tower.

Each scroll made two long flaps with three paper-cut images on each side. Each cutout image was a window that invited the passerby to peek through invoking memories and dreams of Scottsdale and the southwest.

Coron was born and raised in France and studied at the University of Lyon III and Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, France. After living in Egypt and Mexico, she found her creative home in New York City. Her work using the cutout method has been featured in numerous exhibitions around the world. Often working in the book arts, Coron’s work can be found in museum collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Art, and the Bibliotheque Nationale of France. Her public art commissions include the Burke Avenue train station, NYC and the Kostner subway station in Chicago, IL. Coron loves that the public realm allows her to reintroduce story telling to a broad audience. She seeks opportunities to turn local characteristics into stories and local imagery into meaningful iconic themes.

For more on the artist’s work please go to www.beatricecoron.com