|
|||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Active ProjectsTopanga LibraryThe Spirit Is Like The Wind, A Great Tale, Horse and Rider, Topanga View (with locals), and First LightArtist:
Norman Grochowski, Megan Rice, James Sullivan and Topanga Art Tile and Design (Matt and Paul Doolin)
Date:
2012
Region:
Coastal/Catalina
District:
Third
Location:
Topanga Library
122 Topanga Canyon Drive Topanga, CA 90290 Architect:
GKKworks
Department:
Public Library
Project DescriptionThe 11,000 square foot, LEED Silver-certified new Topanga Library will serve as the centerpiece of the Topanga community. The library is designed to reflect the town’s rich intellectual, literary and artistic traditions and provide an inspirational showcase for Topanga’s passionate commitment to lifelong learning. Topanga Canyon has been a long standing magnet for artists to live and work. It was important for this project to select artists from the community to create low maintenance and durable civic artwork for the library. Approximately 30 local artists submitted their ideas for the project. In response to the high quality of the applications, Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky’s office committed additional funds for the project, awarding commissions to four Topanga artists. Matt and Paul Doolin, Norman Grochowski, Megan Rice and Jim Sullivan were commissioned in 2006 to create original works of civic art for library patrons. The artists were chosen because of their shared interest in the environment and the Canyon’s singular color palette. See Topanga Art Tile and Design (Matt and Paul Doolin), George W. Carver Park Pool About the ArtistThe title of Norman Grochowski’s (http://artmasterwork.com/) The Spirit is Like the Wind comes from the mantra that has defined the artist’s professional career: “The spirit is like the wind, you hear it blowing, but you cannot say from where it comes or where it will go.” Grochowski’s three monumental, 9 foot painted steel flowers, whose petals are open books, and two larger than life dragonflies greet visitors of the library on the outdoor terrace. The flowers, a hefty 350-400 pounds each, are constructed of steel with inlaid pieces of broken ceramic tile. The two dragonflies, each weighing 300 pounds, have wings made of broken chinaware. Six light sconces shaped like creatures found in Topanga Canyon - beetles, turtles and dragonflies - are sprinkled along the interior walls of the building. The sculptures were completed with the assistance of Norman’s daughter, Chelsea Grochowski. Other works by Grochowski, a member of the International Sculpture Center, are in notable collections across the country such as the Eli Broad Collection, Whitney Museum of American Art, High Art Museum and the Toledo Museum of Art. Jim Sullivan’s 5 x 8-foot tile rug, titled First Light, sits just inside of the library’s main entrance and is composed of handmade, unglazed tiles arranged in the pattern of a flame. Sullivan began creating broken tile mosaics years ago after his daughter discovered during a field trip to the Adamson House in Malibu that a broken mosaic threshold at the foot of a doorway presents an obstacle to evil spirits. The artist chose the flame, which historically signifies knowledge and passion, to symbolize the new library’s collected intellect that illuminates the world in which we live. Sullivan was the co-founder of Malibu Ceramic Works, a Topanga tile company which replicates the Spanish cuerda seca and cuenca techniques used by the famed Malibu Potteries in the 1920s. Currently he operates a full ceramics studio specializing in custom tile, pottery, restoration and glaze matching, sculpture and table mosaics. Megan Rice (http://meganrice.net/index.html) has resided in Topanga Canyon since the age of five. Her two colorful sculptures for the children’s section of the Topanga Library - A Great Tale and Horse and Reader – are rooted in her childhood experiences. Rice recalls, “… my most cherished memories consist of running barefoot on the rough earth, wading the creeks, witnessing the wild animals, birds, reptiles and insects that populated Topanga Canyon in the 1950s and 60s. Additionally, my family kept a large menagerie of domestic animals.” A Great Tale features a boy sitting on a stump and reading to his dog; the stump was recycled from one of the oak trees lost to the construction of the library. Horse and Reader, which sits on an oak pedestal, portrays a young girl reading a book while lying on her pony’s back; the artist’s niece modeled for this sculpture. Both sculptures are made of wire mesh coated in papier maché, reinforced with fiberglass cloth and casting resin and painted in bright acrylic colors. Rice holds a B.A. from Mills College and her work has been included in many group exhibitions throughout California. Topanga View (with locals), set into the wall high above the foyer, captures the feeling of being in Topanga Canyon. The ceramic tile mural depicts a detailed nature scene filled with Topanga’s wildlife icons. Can you spot all of the plants and wildlife creatures in the mural? Look for a creek flowing by an oak tree, yucca plants, coyote, raccoon, squirrel, lizard, frog, tortoise, blue jay and a hawk. Artists and brothers, Matt and Paul Doolin (http://topangaarttile.com/) have been working with clay since childhood. The team is renowned for their studio, Topanga Art Tile, which focuses on murals and sculptured architectural ceramics. They specialize in a variety of techniques to create highly detailed scenes brought to life with a wide range of colors and textures. Their work can also be seen in hotels, restaurants, universities, churches and theme-parks. The Topanga Library mural was completed with the assistance of Leslie Doolin, mother of Matt and Paul and founder of Topanga Art Tile. High-Resolution PhotosThe Spirit Is Like The Wind, Norman Grochowski Topanga View (with locals), Matt and Paul Doolin of Topanga Art Tile |
|||||||||
.JPG)
