In early 2009, there was a call for artists from Emeryville to submit work for a public arts project based on the theme of Flora & Fauna. Artists, including Kevin Twomey, were awarded grants from the city to create imagery for Emeryville’s Art in Public Places. The idea of this project was to display imagery of the artist’s work in bus shelters, normally reserved for commercial advertisements, bringing the exhibition space to the public. The exhibition started in October 2009 and runs through September 2012, giving each of the 9 artists four months to display their work individually in the bus shelters around the city. Kevin’s photographs are now exhibiting through January 2012.
The following is a list of the additional artists involved in the project: Nora Pauwels, Catherine Courtenaye, David D’Andrea, Robert Ortbal, Lenore McDonald, Dean Hunsaker, Laura Anderson, Exhibiting Feb-May 2012, Shawna Peterson, Exhibiting June-September 2012.
When I asked Kevin to share with us what inspired his submission, here is what he had to say.
“I had collected specimens for this project during my many weekend hikes in Marin, covering the beloved Dipsea trail, the trail from Muir Beach to the Marin Headlands and the trails from Muir Woods up to Mt Tamalpais. My first attempt to bring a dandelion back to the studio was somewhat a naive and comical experience; trying to protect the fragile flower in its post blossomed state from the wind while attempting to hike a couple of miles back to the car. I think I barely made it 100 yards before I lost the flower head. The dandelion problem was easily resolved by modifying a small cardboard box that kept the dandelions standing straight up, safely during the hike.
Given the luxury of 6 months to create the images for this project, it allowed plenty of time for the flora to cycle through to the right stage for the photograph. Such a contrast to the timelines we are given for commercial projects. Thank you to the City of Emeryville for their great support of the art community.”