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THE
BRONZE CAMELS
A
public art sculptural installation for Venice, CA
ARTIST:
ROBIN MUREZ
HISTORY
A festive mode of transportation in Venice Beach at its inception was
the camel. Photographs circa 1906, show camels, dressed in ornate saddles,
carrying up to four passengers, parading along Windward Boulevard and
“The Midway.”
Many
current residents, shop owners and visitors to Venice Beach are unaware
of its’ colorful history: the numerous canals, the roller coasters,
the Venetian colonnade, the artists and poets, and the eclectic spirit
that continues to define its existence.
THE
SPIRIT OF VENICE BEACH
When asked by the Abbot Kinney District Association, to create sculptures
or benches for Venice, I drew upon our history, to create something unexpected
and, thereby, true to the spirit of Venice Beach. The oddity of seeing
sculpted camels today in Venice, relaxing under palm trees and strolling
along the city streets, will raise questions in visitors minds: “Why
camels?” In raising the question, inciting the curiosity, visitors
will not only enjoy the aesthetics of a bronze sculpture or the function
of a sculptural bench, but also, they will sense and explore the distinctions
that make Venice wonderfully unique. A bronze plaque embedded in the ground
will note the historic basis and the eternal spirit embodied in the Camels
in Venice.
FUNCTION
Standing camels, strolling at intersections (beside the seated camels)
will form “gateways,” defining the entries into the commercial
city streets of Venice i.e. at Abbot Kinney and Venice Boulevard and at
Abbot Kinney and Main Street. Housings for special event banners may be
incorporated into the design.
Seated camels will double as benches – creating pocket park destinations
and building a community atmosphere on city streets. Several camels, (and
perhaps bronze camel footprints embedded in crosswalks and sidewalks),
will give a cohesive, and yet unique, identity to the commercial boulevard
of Venice (much as the dinosaurs on 3rd Street Promenade or the Attaway
ceramic elements along Venice Beach).
The precise sites for installation of the Camels is to be determined in
conjunction with Los Angeles City traffic and safety officials, members
of the community, neighborhood arts and planning groups and private donors.
Suggested sites include: corners at the intersections of Abbot Kinney
Boulevard at Main Street and at Venice Boulevard; the lawn in front of
Westminster Elementary School; and the corner of Brooks and Abbot Kinney
Boulevard where a proposed hotel setback will provide a place to congregate.
Footprints would intermittently span the length of Abbot Kinney Boulevard.
COMMUNITY
PARTICIPATION
All work, other than pouring the bronze, (sculpting, mold making,
welding, chasing and patination), will be performed at the artist's studio
at 1632 Abbot Kinney Boulevard, in Venice, by Robin Murez and assistants.
Visitors will be invited to view the works in progress. Neighborhood and
school groups will be invited to participate in related sculpture activities
on site.
DESIGN,
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The camels will be elegant in design and construction: realistic though
handmade, in keeping with Abbot Kinney’s original design of the
buildings and canals and with the traditions of Venice, Italy. However,
being camels, is something of an exotic or unexpected “twist”
on the ancient traditions.
Cast bronze
is the most suitable material for the camels. It is the most elegant and
longest living material: weather resistant in our coastal climate, vandal
resistant, and it becomes more beautifully golden with years of touching.
The design of the “saddle” will make it undesirable for anything
but sitting. Installation of the camels will merely require concrete footings
– a simple and effective method that may be used in conjunction
with new or existing landscaping or hardscape.
Approximate
Dimensions: Seated camels: 7’long x 3’wide x 4’high
(top of head) kneeling to standing camels: 4’to 10’ tall.
Landscaping: native grasses will provide a fall space for taller camels;
seated camels could be located on sidewalks or in planted areas.
Kinetic Options:
If the budget and location permit, camels may have moving eyes, limbs,
or could spout (or spit) water, and be solar/thermal powered.
ESTIMATED
BUDGET
The following budget is an estimate for the design, materials, sculpting,
fabrication, delivery and installation of the bronze Camel sculptures.
As a Venetian, I am offering the Camels at cost, i.e., for one half of
a typical price. The costs may be reduced additionally if, for example,
multiple sculptures can be fabricated from one mold or at one time, and
if installation of several sculptures can be done at one time.
For one (the first) standing
OR seated camel: +/- $50,000
Additional camels from the same mold: +/- $40,000
Additional camels in other poses (kneeling, head turned, spouting water):
+/- $45,000
Camel footprints: $100 per footprint |