by Robin McCloskey
My proposal for public art would involve rickety house-shaped structures erected in the water and marshes of the Baylands Nature Preserve in Palo Alto.
Hanging from the structures would be large-scale dresses or other articles of clothing with personal significance. The oversized pieces would be constructed of material similar in look and feel to the original clothing. After a brief installation, the piece would be dismantled to prevent permanent alteration of the wildlife habitat.
The works temporary nature seems in keeping with its content, which alludes to the absence of those we know.
Robin McCloskey is a Bay Area printmaker and digital artist.
She teaches drawing at City College of San Francisco and is a workshop manager at Kala Institute in Berkeley.
Public ArtWhose Art?