What's with Calgary's love for rusty art all over the place?

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by octothorp

Something I like about the metal parts of the Poppy Plaza is that it's heavily reminiscent of brutalism. And Calgary's got an awesome history with brutalism, but sadly a lot of those structures (like Centennial Gardens) are reaching the end of their lifespan. I'm going to guess that in general, the people who find Poppy Plaza really ugly also hate Centennial Gardens, the old Planetarium, and other brutalist sites around Calgary.

It's the rust I don't like; the sculptures themselves are great. If I was rich, I would have bought the Planetarium and converted into the coolest house in the world. That was my favourite building of all time.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by rayne008

People assure me once it rusted (or weathered, whatever) it would look fantastic.

I think it looks terrible, totally opposite of what a 3 year old high tech station should look like.

Also a shame that it won't ever turn green.

My biggest design peeve with that station though is the fact that they treated the back side like it faces an alley, when in reality it's the side that is most visible to most people.

[Looch City]

Originally Posted by surferguy

Sure there are great artist here but why do we need every project to be from Calgary first?

Honest question

Because they turk er jerbs.

[RougeUnderoos]

I love the Planetarium building too, and it would be a wicked house. Who didn't want to ride that pendulum?

They are turning it into a contemporary art gallery. Should be open in about a year and a half, according to an article I just read from last October.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by surferguy

Sure there are great artist here but why do we need every project to be from Calgary first?

Honest question

Honestly I think usually the people who say that do so because they really just want to spend as little as possible. These are usually the people who also would like to see things designed by students.

While its important to support local talent, I'm all for allowing outside talent to work here. It raises the bar in terms of quality, and exposes new ideas to Calgarian artists and citizens.

Besides, Calgary artists are free to work outside of Calgary too.

[Leeman4Gilmour]

Originally Posted by rayne008

I remember asking the same question about the use of copper for the west LRT.

People assure me once it rusted (or weathered, whatever) it would look fantastic.

I think it looks terrible, totally opposite of what a 3 year old high tech station should look like.

Spoiler!

It's just at it's worst moment in time at the moment;

[Hack&Lube]

I'm not sure Statue of Liberty/Parliament Hill green would make that station look any better

[octothorp]

Keep in mind that we're a lot dryer than most climates, and it's going to take a lot longer for copper to weather in Calgary than it does in most places. I think I've heard it said that in Calgary it takes about 15 years for copper to start to turn green.

[Regular_John]

Originally Posted by Table 5

Honestly I think usually the people who say that do so because they really just want to spend as little as possible. These are usually the people who also would like to see things designed by students.

While its important to support local talent, I'm all for allowing outside talent to work here. It raises the bar in terms of quality, and exposes new ideas to Calgarian artists and citizens.

Besides, Calgary artists are free to work outside of Calgary too.

It pains me to say this, but I don't Calgary artist/groups put in enough of an effort to win some of the city contracts out there. From the few I've talked to who have actually submitted bids/applications for public arts funding, they seemed caught off guard by the selection process used by the city.

To put it mildly, Calgary artist are submitting proposals/applications with the assumption that their competing against the local market. Where as in reality the city is getting proposals from all over the country/world, with a lot more detail & effort put into the application.

I do think there's some very talented/skilled artist in this city, and I've love to see more local firms competing for these projects, but they need to step up their game if they want to compete. Being local isn't enough of an advantage here.

[Frequitude]

Originally Posted by pylon

Exactly, if it keeps rusting, then eventually it will disintegrate into nothing. So artists, please use full-rust steel, so it eventually reaches it's maximum level of aesthetically pleasing at the very end.

The rust actually forms an impermeable barrier which prevents it from rusting further. Most major refineries or upgraders you go to don't paint their steel beams for exactly this reason. The rust is free paint.

[You Need a Thneed]

I like the look of the Cor-ten steel.

For the west LRT, (and McKnight Westwinds LRT station as well), the copper doesn't look much more than brown painted metal, but it is maintenance free as well.

These materials were used more becasue they were maintenance free, and not because they were supposed to look shiny forever.

Maintenance free steel = Stainless, Galvanized, or Cor-ten.

Cheap, great looking, maintenance free materials don't really exist. When you are building a billion dollar WLRT, and you can only pick 2 of those 3, the one you have to pick are pretty obvious. Although using the copper probably leaned away from cheap, and towards good looking. The copper may not look great, but it will look the same 5 or 10 years from now, we're many other materials would start looking terrible.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Poppy plaza is in general quite nice, but the rusted metal parts of it are indeed puzzling.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by jaydorn

I do think there's some very talented/skilled artist in this city, and I've love to see more local firms competing for these projects, but they need to step up their game if they want to compete. Being local isn't enough of an advantage here.

And that's exactly why it's good to have outside competition. It creates incentive and energy to do your best. I know nothing gets my fire going like being around other good work...even if for the sole reason of not wanting to be embarrassed.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

Poppy plaza is in general quite nice, but the rusted metal parts of it are indeed puzzling.

Yes, the boardwalk is beautiful. So is the river-facing display and inscriptions.

[V]

Calgary's in a spot of trouble because all their old streetlight poles are made of Cor-ten steel. Same theory, that the steel would create a protective rust barrier, but all the poles are falling over because the bolts are disintegrating. Turns out the inside of the poles are holding moisture too well and the bolts (not made of cor-ten) are rusting out.

Not sure this is relevant, but there it is.

[polak]

One art piece I like that I didn't at first is the LED display of the people walking by the 5th Avenue Fly Over.

Dunno why but I like it. Feels optimistic.

[heep223]

Originally Posted by peter12

So if you were skate-boarding through Poppy Plaza, bailed in order to avoid a 40-something woman running with her little white dog, and scraped your arm against the rough steel of the monument, would you need to go get a tetanus shot?

Good lord, these are not only aesthetic disasters, but public health menaces as well!

As a 40-something woman with a little white dog, it's skateboarding that is the public health menace!

[peter12]

Originally Posted by heep223

As a 40-something woman with a little white dog, it's skateboarding that is the public health menace!

Can you get your priorities straight! It's the giant tetanus-covered public monument creating lockjaw in all of our young skateboarding children that is the threat.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by heep223

As a 40-something woman with a little white dog, it's skateboarding that is the public health menace!

Mid 40s woman on CP? You shouldn't have outed yourself, you'll be running your hands through Dion's luxurious hair in no time.

[Hack&Lube]

The problem is who is approving these art pieces? What's the approval/vetting committee?

How did the half-million dollar blue ring of death get passed?