At Third Street and Washington Avenue, bland electrical boxes once stood atop dreary pedestals. Now you'll now find these luminescent hand-crafted covers made of blue mirror waterglass. They appeared last November thanks to local artist Wendy Wischer, one of our 100 Creatives.
The creation is part of Miami Beach's Art in Public Places Program. Established in 1984, it has brought over 15 pieces scattered across the city to "enrich the public environment." We caught up with Wischer to talk more about this particular work.
New Times: Where did you find inspiration for the design?
Wendy
Wisher: It's all about the water. The inspiration really came from the
most important things in South Florida which are the beach, sun and
wind. The blue mirror tiles are hand-cut and laid in a pattern based on
the Golden Mean which is a geometrical form found through nature.
What kind of effect do the mirrors create?
During
the day you see people walking by with the landscape in the background
and at night you see the reflection of city lights. It's not a piece
about itself as much as it is about what surrounds it. My interest in
public art lies in my desire to encourage people to see the environment.
Did you run into any challenges?
There
couldn't be any holes or anything welded to the structure since the
boxes are functional and get opened every single day. I also had to deal
with the pump and sewer. I was left with just an adhesive and that's
where the actual materials came from.
Was this your first time tackling a functional art project like this?
I
have a piece in Ft. Lauderdale that's almost at the end of it's run. It
involves a fleet of 23 buses that circulate from the airport to the
port. I designed a wrap for the buses that depict mangrove trees. As
people come to Florida they find mangroves are a weed but also what is
holding our state together.
I have about seven different projects in the works, including one for the Florence Biennale
this coming December. I am also currently part of an exhibition at the
Ft. Lauderdale Museum of Art that will be up through September.
