Liz LaManche

Liz LaManche (born Elizabeth Manicatide, December 29, 1967) is an American artist based in Somerville, Massachusetts,[1] known for creating large scale, public installations and street art in the Boston and Washington, DC, areas.

Liz LaManche
Liz LaManche in studio
Born
Elizabeth Manicatide

(1967-12-29) December 29, 1967
Known forPublic Art
Street art
Graphic Design
Websiteearthsign.com

Education

LaManche received a B.A. in Architecture at Yale University studying graphic design under Inge Druckrey, and did a thesis project in architectural ornament/site specific urban installations advised by sculptor Kent Bloomer.[2]

Career

LaManche spent most of her professional career in software user interface design, web development and graphic design, always painting in her spare time.[2][3] In 2005, LaManche began experimenting with large-scale murals at Burning Man, illuminated with programmed color-changing LED lighting,[4] which later became known as "art for kinetic light." These were some of the first experiments in this genre of LED art as architectural LED lighting was first becoming available to makers and artists.[5] These murals appeared for several years at the Burning Man festival in Black Rock City, NV,[4] and at the Boston and New York Decompression events.[6]

Work

LaManche is noted for large-scale murals and installations in the Boston and Washington D.C. areas. Her work is often characterized by bright color and playful figures[7][8][9] or a layered use of symbolic & iconographic detail.[10] Her stated goal is to use universals of human experience to humanize the urban environment, and create a more inclusive, progressive vision of human society. "I'd like to provide ways for people to engage with each other and break down barriers," says La Manche, "contributing to greater understanding, peace and justice in our society. Literally, I believe we need this to be sustainable as a species."[3]

"After Dark, Hyattsville"

In 2011 LaManche was commissioned to create a 40x14-foot mural for kinetic light on the Franklin's Brewery building, facing Route 1 in Hyattsville, Maryland, part of the designated Arts District.[11][12] This was the first permanent outdoor mural for kinetic light.[7][13] The piece features colorful characters and dreamlike imagery alluding to aspects of the neighborhood, including the local college's mascot[14] and a humorous reference to another piece of public art in a nearby park. Programmed light shows projected on the piece via architectural lighting are designed to make the colors in the painting appear to swap and move.[15]

"Connected By Sea"

"Connected by Sea" or the "Dock Tattoo Project", also dubbed "The 1000-foot tattoo" is located in a sculpture park in a working shipyard in East Boston that is part of the Boston Harborwalk. A series of 19 large tattoo-themed designs, stained into the cement surface of a 1000-foot long pier, forms a walking path to its end and a view of Boston Harbor. The designs give homage to the different cultures that Boston had contact with during its clipper-ship trade era and its growth as a city.[16] It is an attempt to tell a more inclusive and multicultural story of Boston history.[17][18][19] It was ranked as one of the "50 best pieces of Boston public art" by WBUR's ARTery in 2016[20]

"Stairs of Fabulousness"

This 2014 installation in the Boston City Hall building by was the product of a New Urbanism design competition run by Mayor Walsh's Office of New Urban Mechanics, aimed at improving public spaces in Boston with temporary, low-budget installations designed to "surprise and delight."[21] One of the 9 winners of this Public Space Invitational,[22][23][24] the "Stairs of Fabulousness" placed 1,200 linear feet of safety non-skid tape on the large central brick staircase in the City Hall main atrium. The tape, in an array of fluorescent colors, created a large rainbow gradient over the whole height of the staircase,[25] which served "to essentially transform the concrete milieu into something colorful and inviting."[26]

"Stairs of Fabulousness" was popular both for its whimsical name and as a statement about the brutalist architecture of City Hall itself, long a subject of public debate.[27] "The art installation brought shades of color to the Boston City Hall stairs, and anyone who can successfully spice up the facade of Government Center through creativity is on fire in our books." wrote Hilary Milnes of BostInno.[28] "I found the atrium staircase dark and treacherous, it needed safety tape, and that comes in colors! ...Why not be fabulous?" wrote LaManche.[29]

"Salem's Connected World"

A sister project to "Connected By Sea", this temporary installation made up a walking path that covered three city blocks of the Downtown Salem District in Salem, Massachusetts. It consisted of painted tattoo-themed symbols and designs from the different cultures specifically connected to Salem's maritime history.[30] Installed in the spring of 2015, it was the first project funded by the new Salem Public Art Commission.[31] Some of the designs are still visible along the cement walk of Artists Row.

"Lowell: Water and Work"

A commissioned piece for the City of Lowell, Massachusetts, the entire installation included a 16-foot mural, and 2 blocks of sidewalk and other wall art along a new pedestrian walkway, and "rain art" using hydrophobic coating on the pavement to make art that appears when it rains.[32][33] The entire project, called the Decatur WAY Green Alley, created a pedestrian walkway from a disused back alley in a program to use green technology to deal with storm water runoff.[34] The mural depicts the Lowell mills and canals with a portrait of a young Harriet Hanson Robinson, a mill worker who became a labor leader and suffragette.[35][36]

Smaller public art and street art
  • Wraparound building exterior in Bartlett Yard, Boston.[37][38]
  • Cambridge Brewing Company mural, 2014.[39][40]
  • "The Goddess of Winter Hill", Somerville, MA 2014: 8x10-foot panels on the rear of Somerville post office. Client: City of Somerville.[41]
  • "Safety Dance" crosswalk, 2016: 96-foot long crosswalk depicting pedestrian safety figures dancing.[42][43]
  • "The Tattoo Heart", a Boston street piano, 2016.[44][45][46][47]
  • "The Soul's Journey As A Series of Weird Old Cars" Somerville, MA 2016.[48][49]

See also

Writing
  • "Connected By Sea" The Artists Working: Theory and Practice, Vol. 1 No. 1, pp. 59–72. May 2016 ISBN 978-0-692-72809-3

Sources
  1. Art in Public Places, Boston Globe Big Picture (November 7, 2014)
  2. Connected By Sea, Documentary video by Patrick Torphy, News Director of WERS, October 2014
  3. Artist's Dock Tattoo Connects Boston To Its History As An International Trade Port. Amy Gorel, WBUR ARTery. (October 14, 2016)
  4. https://soundcloud.com/889-wers/sets/you-are-here-performance-art Performance Art: Exclusive Interview with Artist Liz LaManche. You Are Here, WERS 88.9fm (November 23, 2014)
  5. Salem's Connected World, The Salem (MA) News. Video by Cheryl Richardson (May 20, 2015)
  6. Artistry Documentary entry in Now You See Me Festival by Laura Sweet (November 29, 2014)
  7. ‘A Series of Weird Old Cars’ honors community work by late Al Riskalla by Manna Parker, The Somerville Times (November 30, 2016)
  8. Art For All by Eliza Rosenberry, SCOUT Somerville, The Arts Issue, (February 28, 2017)
  9. ‘Stairs of Fabulousness’ At City Hall Are Pretty Fabulous by Megan Turchi, Boston.com (September 17, 2014)

References
  1. Mills, Alexa (September 28, 2015). "The Displaced Artists of Somerville". CoLab Radio. CoLab Radio. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
  2. "Liz LaManche". Earthsign.com.
  3. Parker, Manna (August 31, 2016). "The Art of the Outdoor Piano". Retrieved September 11, 2016.
  4. Broaddus, Will (May 20, 2015). "Artist's Sidewalk Paintings in Salem Influenced By Local History". Salem News. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  5. LaManche, Liz. "Kinetic Light Paintings". Earthsign.com.
  6. Verona, Zilya (November 5, 2007) "LED Mural from NYC Decom 2007" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zr_kjQxWHvs
  7. Spivack, Miranda (April 19, 2013). "For Mike Franklin, the art's the thing in Hyattsville". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  8. Currie, Susie (April 7, 2013). "Franklins Facelift". Hyattsville Life & Times. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
  9. "Mike Franklin's Latest Venture Lights Up Hyattsville- 'After Dark, Hyattsville' by Liz Manicatide". Gateway Arts District. Hyattsville Community Development Corporation. April 9, 2013. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
  10. LaManche, Liz (August 23, 2016). "Boston Street Piano 2016: The Tattoo Heart"". Earthsign.com. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  11. Alexander, Jonathan (October 1, 2013). "Franklins Mural". HCTV. Chandler, Jim (producer), Sandel, Abby (producer. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
  12. Simmons, Holley (October 23, 2014). "How to Spend $40 in Hyattsville". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 15, 2016. In the swath that passes through Hyattsville, notable works include 'After Dark, Hyattsville,' a 40-by-14 mural by Liz Manicatide on the side of Franklins
  13. "First Permanent Outdoor Mural with Color-Changing LED Lights". Creative Visual Art. July 3, 2013. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
  14. Tuck, Tammy (February 20, 2014). "Check Out the Murals at Local Breweries". Washington City Paper. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
  15. "After Dark, Hyattsville". Earthsign.com. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  16. Tucker, Lindsay (November 25, 2014). "20 Reasons We Loved Boston in 2014". Boston Magazine. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  17. Shao, Yiqing (August 12, 2014). "East Boston Pier Is Getting Public Art 'Tattoos'". Boston Magazine. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
  18. "Rustic Marlin and Harbor Arts". WCVB Chronicle. WCVB. September 26, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  19. Mills, Alexa (September 20, 2014). "Artist's 'tattoo' project will cover pier". The Boston Globe. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  20. Cook, Greg (August 29, 2016). "The 50 Best Works Of Public Art In Greater Boston, Ranked". WBUR ARTery. WBUR. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  21. Farrell, Michael B. (June 5, 2014). "Contest Aims to Enliven Public Spaces in Boston". The Boston Globe. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  22. NEW URBAN MECHANICS. "STAIRS OF FABULOUSNESS". Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  23. "Mayor Walsh Announces Winners of Boston's First Public Space Invitational". CityOfBoston.gov. City of Boston. June 5, 2014.
  24. Shao, Yiqing (June 5, 2014). "Boston's Public Space Invitational Winners Announced". Boston Magazine. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  25. "Temporary Public Art in Boston". Boston Art Commission. Boston Art Commission. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  26. DeLuca, Nick (September 19, 2014). "The Stairs of Fabulousness Inject an Inviting Vibrancy in Concrete City Hall". BostInno. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
  27. Naughton, Michael (June 5, 2014). "Public Space Invitational: Boston's public spaces to get facelift". Boston Metro. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
  28. Milnes, Hillary (October 28, 2014). "Announcing the 50 on Fire Finalists in Arts & Entertainment". BostInno. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
  29. LaManche, Liz (April 5, 2014). "Proposal for Boston City Hall". Earthsign.com. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  30. Broaddus, Will (May 20, 2015). "Artist's sidewalk paintings in Salem influenced by local history". The Salem News. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  31. Keith, Spencer (June 11, 2015). "Thousands Visit the Salem Arts Festival and Connect with Swath of Creatives". NoBo Magazine. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
  32. Malakie, Julia (June 3, 2016). "Opening of Decatur Way Water, Art & You art walk". The Lowell Sun. Retrieved November 27, 2016. One of the amphibian designs embedded in the pavement, that only shows up when wet.
  33. LaManche, Liz (May 31, 2016). "Rain Art & Paintings in Decatur Way Green Path, Lowell, MA". Earthsign.com. Earthsign Studios. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  34. Cicco, Nancy (May 31, 2016). "Transformed Decatur Way to Open as an Art Space in Lowell". Umass Lowell. UMass Lowell. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  35. Welker, Grant (June 3, 2016). "Water, Art and You brighten formerly blighted Acre alley in Lowell". The Lowell Sun. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  36. LaManche, Liz. "Lowell: Water and work. Harriet Hanson Robinson". Earthsign.com. Earthsign Studios. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  37. Guerra, Kristela (June 3, 2015). "A final look at the art created at Bartlett Yard". The Boston Globe. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  38. LaManche, Liz. "Bartlett Yard". Earthsign.com. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
  39. "New CBC Mural!". Cambridge Brewing Company. Cambridge Brewing Company. November 30, 2014. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  40. LaManche, Liz. "Cambridge Brewing Company". Earthsign.com. Earthsign Studios. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  41. LaManche, Liz. "Goddess of Winter Hill". Earthsign.com. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  42. Ruppenthal, Alex (September 7, 2016). "WalkMedford completes 96-foot crosswalk art project at Medford High School". Medford Transcript. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  43. Evangelista, Lisa (August 30, 2016). "Walk Medford Completes First Ever Decorated Crosswalk at MHS!". Medford Public Schools. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  44. "Somerville residents chosen as artists for Street Pianos Boston". The Somerville News Weekly. August 5, 2016. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  45. Parker, Manna (August 31, 2016). "The Art of the Outdoor Piano". The Somerville Times. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  46. "Greenway - Dewey Square Park, Downtown". Street Pianos. August 31, 2016. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  47. LaManche, Liz. "Boston Street Piano 2016: The Tattoo Heart". Earthsign.com. Earthsign Studios. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  48. Cook, Greg (October 14, 2016). "New Mural In Somerville Honors Beloved Auto Mechanic". WBUR ARTery. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  49. "Weird Old Cars Staircase in memory of Al Riskalla". Indiegogo. Indiegogo. October 5, 2016. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.