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Description:
This sculpture was one of five small, permanent “Downtown
Mini-Monuments” undertaken in 1993 by the Tempe Municipal Arts
Commission. The outdoor mini-monuments are located along Mill Avenue
and were commissioned to enhance and add sparkle to Tempe’s 120-acre
redeveloped downtown. The artists were invited to select a site for
their work in the downtown area where their mini-monument would be
visible to the public. “Greetings from Tempe” is a picture postcard
stand where people are welcome—and even encouraged—to sit or stand
next to the artwork and have their picture taken, creating a
homemade picture postcard. The postcard can be kept as memorabilia
or stamped and sent away to friends or relatives. The phrase
“greetings from Tempe” is part of the sculpture and is visible in
the picture postcard. The combination of custom-made tiles and
broken tiles was used in a mosaic form to create patterns of color
and images of desert flora on the front and birds on the back.
Funding:
The project was funded through city of Tempe Capital Improvement
Project Percent for Art funds.
Artist biography:
Susan T. Gamble is a ceramic artist who received her BFA from the
University of Arizona and her MFA from California State University
in Long Beach. Major commissions include public art projects in the
Santa Cruz River Park, the Tucson Airport and New York City. She has
exhibited extensively in California, Massachusetts and Arizona. She
has taught and lectured in Arizona and California. Gamble currently
runs a ceramic studio in Tucson.
Artist statement:
The postcard greeting written in tile on a permanent photo-stand is
where I imagine tourists, ASU students and parents, as well as
locals posing individually and in groups for souvenir snapshots
commemorating a special time or event—or maybe just a colorful
greeting to send to loved ones far away. |
