-

Gallery
tackles
public art
By t'llCH0LE L' REBER
CORRESPONDENT
Dressed as Batman, Chris Bo-
hanritz iumps out of a van at a
Sh"ll e"sttation on the corner of
Or. ir,iartin Luther King )r. WaY
and North Tamiami Trail and
plugs his electric guitar into an
amplifier.
David Curran, also costumed,
climbs behind a set of drums in-
side the van. Together, theY
form the band known as
Awesome, and theY seeminglY
spontaneouslY rockout for a sin-
gle song, entertarnrng Passers-
and customers'
bv'Children
whose mother is fu-
eline up set out of the familY
sUfT to ain.e. College students
eather and film the event. A
ilerk working at the gas station
stands on a curb to listen'
And within minutes, Mount
Awesome finishes their song'
hurriedly packs uP and drives
away with a wave to the crorvd'-
The above scene \4'as one ot
many unfolding around Saraso-
ta retentlY as Part of the Mack B
Gallery's opening exhibition'
"What Is Public Art?" The gal-
lerv. which oPened in October,
wiil'close its lxhibition tonight
with a panel discussion of artists
encour-agingthe embrace of Pub-
Iic art.
"'We've got a lot of Public art
around Sarasota, and this is just
ouestioning different schools of
tiroueht (ab-out it)," said Toby Al-
brieft, curator for Mack B and a
the"atrical artist who conducts
public performances.
^ nohityritz is a sales rePresen-
tative for the gallery. "It's all
December 9, 2005 / Herald-Tribune 33 Thehts
Gallery tackles Public art
PUBTIC FROM 32
around town, both coritrover-
sial to the Sarasota drts commu--
nity, are "iust a fraction" of
about sPontaneitY' It's work- wtiat puUlic art reallY is, said
ite ut obttruction of sPace"' fufutgit"t Barnes, owner of
"; adding that his band
frJt"ia,
MackB.
will indePendentlY continue to
While the gallery Perma-
offer sPontaneous Pertormanc- nentlv featurei convenlioqal
es aftei the exhibition closes' art forms such as Paintings'
DougLoewen, an art instruc- t.ototot" and furniture, it will
tor ani Sarasota resident, has
Mount .orriinr" to offer random Per-
i"if"*"a g"ide Put out bY the formances and Public video ex-
gallery to"v-iew some of the re- hibitions in the future'
cent Pertormances' The Performances are an ex-
"T'he most fun asPect is see- t"*ion of Barnes' and Al-
ing them drive awaY' Iot
something bright's hoPes to encourage di-
k r"o* you iust saw ulogu" about Public art'
-r.a,'*a
i'It't
then it's gone," he
""We hoPe PeoPle will use
t"*PorarY, but I'll re-
E"id. (the panel discussion) as an oP-
.**U"t it much like an obiect pottuttity to share their oPin-
somewhere else"'
Giant sculPtures currently i"* *hat's haPPeningin
"Uo"tright now," Albrtgnt
Sarasota
on disPIaY along Sarasota's BaY-
said.
i.ont' Part and - fiberglass
.ioi*rrt proPosed for disPlaY

PLEASE SEE PUBLIC ON 33

frrat h PutflGtutt
Paneldiscussion
presented 6:50 to 9:30
p.m, tod4y at Mack B
Gallery, 711 South OsPneY
Ave., Sarasota. Admission
is free. Gallery hours are
'1'1a.m.
to 5 p.m.