Israeli- trained artist helps start public arts program

ICE sculpture by Smadar Samson inaugurates public arts program at Liberty Station
ICE sculpture by Smadar Samson inaugurates public arts program at Liberty Station

By Toni Robin

Smadar Samson
Smadar Samson has degrees in industrial design and education from Tel Aviv University.

SAN DIEGO — The new skating rink is not the only new ice at Liberty Station. The NTC Foundation recently unveiled its very first art commission, just in time for the holidays. Entitled ICE, the light sculpture is on display in the fountain in front of the Dick Laub NTC Command Center. Created by internationally-renowned La Jolla artist Smadar Samson, the installation aligns with the opening of the Fantasy on Ice rink.

“Our Art in Public Places initiative has been on the radar for quite a while,” explained NTC Foundation Executive Director Alan Ziter. “We have had many works on public display over the past 10 years, including pieces by Inocente, Robert Michael Jones, Jeffery Laundeslager and Bernar Venet, but this is the perfect time to officially launch an Art in Public Places program as we have created a top notch committee and start-up funding in place.”

Smadar Samson was selected after a request for submissions and was granted $3,800 to fabricate and install the temporary sculpture. “We were impressed with the ingenuity of the piece, as well as its relation to issues of global warming and the site chosen. It adds a creative visual arts component to our Fantasy on Ice extravaganza.” It will remain on display through January 17. Samson will be on hand for a “Meet the Artist” talk at the Command Center during the next Friday Night Liberty free art walk on January 8.

Samson is an artist with extensive experience doing art in public places. At the Arts District @ Liberty Station, she has installed a shimmering structure emerging from the bottom of an historic fountain made of nearly 2000 white and red luminous spheres. While the imagery is seemingly associated with traditional Christmas, the installation actually represents the chemical properties of ice and water. The water molecules, made of one oxygen atom (commonly marked red) and two hydrogen atoms (commonly marked white) bonded together, are floating freely in the water, and glow in the dark. When these water modules cluster tightly together, they change their state and become Ice (solid water). The installation is powered by solar panels installed within the framework of the sculpture.

The newly formed Art in Public Places committee will be developing a long term plan and policy for enlivening the 28-acre Arts District with art and providing an opportunity for more San Diego artists to show and sell their work. “Art in the public places is a natural extension of the work being done by artist in our galleries and museums,” said NTC Foundation Board member and committee chair Vicki Reed. “Great cities have great art in unique public spaces that provides viewing and access that is free and nonexclusive. Our goal will be to add meaning, interest and purpose to our already amazing plazas, arcades and buildings at this historic former Navy base.”

The Art in Public Places committee to start consists of NTC Foundation board members and community representatives: Vicki Reed, Community Volunteer; Victoria Hamilton, Arts and Culture Advocate, Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation; Judy McDonald, Community Volunteer; Mary Keough Lyman; Lynda Forsha, Principal, Independent Curator and Principal, Art Advisory Services; and Nathan Cadieux, Vice President, McMillin Companies. Additional members will be added.

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Robin is the principal of TR/PR, which counts the NTC Foundation among its clients.