Maine Arts Commission seeks design for UM plaza

ORONO – The Maine Arts Commission is calling on professional artists to submit proposals to design, execute and install artwork at the University of Maine’s Cloke Plaza.

The Dean Paul Cloke Plaza and associated walkway will be bordered by Crosby Lab, East Annex, Neville Hall and the new engineering and science wing at Barrows Hall.

The university has concept drawings of the plaza, and work at the site might begin as soon as this summer, UM spokesman Joe Carr said Monday.

The total project budget is about $169,000, and is funded by Maine’s Percent for Art law, which reserves 1 percent of construction funds for all state-funded projects to provide artwork for the public areas, according to a recent press release from the Maine Arts Commission. The deadline for submissions is April 11.

Paul Cloke served as dean of the university’s engineering department from 1926 through 1950 – longer than any other UM engineering dean. For most of the 20th century, the dean’s offices were in Wingate Hall, which was partially destroyed in a 1943 fire.

The loss included a tower with a bell and clock that served as a campus landmark and had a special significance to students and faculty. The bell disappeared for many years, but was discovered in April 2006 in a cupola on top of UM’s Fogler Library.

A 38-foot tower, planned to go near the middle of the plaza, is designed to resemble the tower that used to top Wingate Hall. The plaza also will include a plaque or some type of memorial for Cloke that could be integrated into the proposed artwork.

Interested artists should contact the selection committee for more information describing the sense of place they hope to create, but envision the artwork serving as a magnet to draw students and faculty to the area. It will play host to a variety of programmed activities, ranging from barbecues to displays of engineering works.

Although all forms of three-dimensional art will be considered, the committee is particularly interested in work that responds to the site conditions, Maine’s harsh winters, and is integrated into the site and relates to the desired use and function of the area, according to the commission’s press release.

Site drawings are available by contacting Gregory Havens at Sasaki Associates Inc., 64 Pleasant St. Watertown, Mass. 02472, or call 617-926-3300. A site analysis describing pedestrian corridors, wind direction and shadows studies from throughout the year also is available. It is strongly suggested that artists discuss their ideas with the committee to get a better understanding of the needs of the community.

All professional artists may apply for consideration for the Cloke Plaza project, and a complete list of application guidelines is available in a press release at www.MaineArts.com.