It is expected that the work will be installed in the spring of 2016.

Background

This report is an overview of the discussion and decision of the volunteer citizen jury which met at the Lister Building on Tuesday, October 13, 2015. The Jury reviewed the six short-listed artist proposals to determine which artist should be awarded the commission for an installation in the public plaza at the new West Harbour GO Station on James Street North. Jury members evaluated the proposals for artistic merit, response to competition goals and themes, appropriateness for the site and technical feasibility based on their review of the submission information, interviews with the artists and review of over 450 public comments.

Artists were asked to address the following goal and themes.

Goal: Public art at the GO station plaza should be evocative and engage the public imagination, convey a positive message, evoke civic pride, and help animate the plaza.

Themes: The work should consider the rich cultural, physical and historical context of the area and address one or more of the following themes: Migration and mobility

The cultural diversity of immigration to the city

Connections: physical, visual or implied between modes of transportation, communities, landmarks, the past and present

The natural and cultural features of the site and its surroundings

Award

After discussing the various aspects of the short-listed proposals and the competition requirements, the jury assigned the highest score to Bead Maze by Laura Marotta. The commission for the work will therefore be awarded to Laura Marotta.

Jury comments

The James Street North GO Station Jury recognized the efforts of all of the artists that made submissions to the competition, particularly the six short-listed artists. All of the proposals were well considered responses to the competition and that made it a very difficult decision for the Jury. The Jury wishes to congratulate each of the six finalists on their efforts.

Laura Marotta

The jury felt that Marotta had a conceptually strong proposal that met the competition themes of migration, mobility and connections between modes of transportation because the Bead Maze recalls the intersecting lines and movement of a regional transit system. The fact that the piece brings to mind the bead maze toy common in pre-school playrooms was seen very positively by some jurors who thought this makes the artwork relatable to people of all ages; reinforces the plaza as a welcoming gateway; and highlights that the North End is valued as a child and family-friendly neighbourhood. This proposal was well received by the public who liked that it was colourful, playful and positively echoed the current revitalization of James Street North. The work therefore scored very well on Artistic Excellence and Response to Competition Goals.

The remaining Jury comments are listed alphabetically by order of the artist’s last name or artist collective name.

William Frymire

The Jury agreed that this work fulfilled the goal and themes of the competition as it spoke to Hamilton’s rich diversity and cultural imprint. The work spoke to the continual growth of Hamilton by means of people migration and immigration. The Jury was also impressed by the community engagement and environmental stewardship elements of the work (e.g. incorporating images of local residents, marble collection drive, use of recycled materials). They felt these elements would increase Hamiltonian’s sense of ownership of the work and decrease the likelihood of graffiti and other forms of vandalism. The Jury was challenged by the scale of the work. They commented it created a “wall” (30 feet in length, 10 feet in height) that could cut the physical space of the plaza in half. In addition, some jurors were concerned that the ratio of marbles to aluminum was low and that, upon execution, the artwork may not resonate as a face. For these reasons the work was scored lower by the Jury.

Vesna Jocic

The Jury found that Jocic’s work, as a timeline that spoke to the past, present and future of the site, was both accessible and interactive. It scored well on Technical Feasibility. Concerns were raised by the Jury that the proposal did not include the complete timeline text which was seen by all jurors as a critical component in judging the impact of the work. Some jurors felt that the work was overly diagrammatic, explaining rather than representing the competition themes. The work was not as well received as others in public consultation.

Solidoperations Inc.

The Jury was impressed by Solidoperations attractive and organic sculpture design. They liked the monumental scale; that the work was dynamic because the perceived shape would change as a person approached it or walked around it; and that the suggested location allowed for free flow of pedestrian traffic. However, jurors felt that the work did not address the competition themes as well as the other proposals. The proposal was not as well received as others in public consultation. For these reasons the work was scored lower by the Jury.

TH&B

The Jury agreed that TH&B’s work successfully addressed the goal and themes of the competition. They commented that, as an expression of a gateway to Hamilton and transportation in the region, the work made a succinct statement. The Great Lakes are not just bodies of water but are a fundamental transportation route. The steel frame construction with its industrial age look was seen by some jurors as a tribute to Hamilton’s history as a steel town and to others as a work lacking innovation. The jury had concerns that the work may not be as accessible to those walking through the plaza as some of the other works due to its height and that it may not be as impactful due to the number of other vertical elements such as light poles and trees on the site. Although this work was well received in the web-based public consultation, the Jury scored it slightly less than the successful proposal.

Brandon Vickerd

The Jury agreed that Vickerd’s piece was artistically excellent and, being made from bronze, was durable, and would be easy for the City of Hamilton to maintain. They liked the pedestrian scale of the work. However, some jurors found the work disturbing and noted that members of the public may not see the work as welcoming or reflective of their neighbourhood. Some jurors felt that it did not fulfil the goal and themes requirement as strongly as the other short-listed works. The proposal was also not as well received as others in public consultation. The work was therefore scored lower.

The Jury

Melissa Bennett - Curator of Contemporary Art, Art Gallery of Hamilton/ Resident

Dave Gruggen - Local Business Owner

Elana Horowitz - Manager of Hub and Station Planning, Metrolinx

Helen Kirkpatrick - Central Neighbourhood Association Board Member/ Resident

Tim Potocic - Local Business Owner, Sonic Unyon Records/Supercrawl

Josefa Radman - City of Hamilton Arts Advisory Commission/ Factory Media Centre

Stephanie Vegh - Executive Director, Hamilton Arts Council/ Resident

Advisors to the Jury: