Letters From Here

Specifically, vibrancy transforms communities by making them more prosperous. Art- Place says its goal is not merely to promote the arts but to “transform economic development in America,” a project that is straightforward and obvious if you accept the organization’s slogan: “Art creates vibrancy and increases economic opportunity.” And that, presumably, is why everyone is so damn vibrant these days.

Consider Akron, Ohio, which was recently the subject of a conference bearing the thrilling name “Greater Akron: This Is What Vibrant Looks Like.” Or Boise, Idaho, whose citizens, according to the city’s Department of Arts and History, are “fortunate to live in a vibrant community in which creativity flourishes in every season.” Or Cincinnati, which is the home of a nonprofit called “Go Vibrant” as well as the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, which hands out “Cultural Vibrancy” grants, guided by the knowledge that “Cultural Vibrancy is vital to a thriving community.”

Is Rockford, Illinois, vibrant? Oh my god yes: according to a local news outlet, the city’s “Mayor’s Arts Award nominees make Rockford vibrant.” The Quad Cities? Check: As their tourism website explains, the four hamlets are “a vibrant community of cities sharing the Mississippi River in both Iowa and Illinois.” Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania? Need you even ask? Pittsburgh is a sort of Athens of the vibrant; a city where dance parties and rock concerts enjoy the vigorous boosting of an outfit called “Vibrant Pittsburgh”; a place that draws young people from across the nation to frolic in its “numerous hip and vibrant neighborhoods,” according to a blog maintained by a consortium of Pittsburgh business organizations.

I loved this piece.

Public art makes me think of what the Conceptualist Douglas Huebler once said: “The world is full of objects, more or less interesting; I do not wish to add any more.” That may be a funny thing for an artist to say, but if you live in a place as densely packed with objects of all kinds as New York City, you may appreciate its wisdom.

Whether it’s museum alternatives, scenic strolls, or mildly controversial creative expressions you’re seeking, the updated maps will ensure you’re aware of what you pass, wherever it is you happen to be this season. Here now, city by city:

New York · Boston · Cape Cod · Philly · Washington DC · Atlanta · Miami · Chicago · Detroit · Los Angeles · San Francisco · Seattle

· Maps of Must-See Public Art Around the Curbed Universe [Curbed National]

The Guggenheim Museum’s stillspotting nyc:

A two-year multidisciplinary project that takes the museum’s Architecture and Urban Studies programming out into the streets ….

Every three to five months, “stillspots” are identified, created, or transformed by architects, artists, designers, composers, and philosophers into public tours, events, or installations. In conjunction to these site-specific commissions around the city, students from Columbia University and the School of Visual Arts are visualizing, reflecting, and responding to everyday issues of visual noise, anxiety, and stillness through interactive maps and videos that will be presented on an exhibition microsite launching in June.

Together, these works weave an unexpected and cross-disciplinary web of tranquility throughout the city. Stillspotting nyc is organized by David van der Leer, Assistant Curator, Architecture and Urban Studies, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York.

Specific example: Pedro Reyes, Sanatorium, June 2–5 and 9–12, 2011

In his temporary clinic, Sanatorium (installed as the first edition of stillspotting nyc in Brooklyn), artist Pedro Reyes combines the best of New York’s existing therapy landscape with unexpected, short, experimental treatments. In two-hour windows, Sanatorium visitors experience up to three sessions from a roster of sixteen special “urban therapies.” Upon arrival, visitors will meet a receptionist who will assign a series of “therapies” to each person.

On Sundays, special sessions will be offered for children.