About MAC > Programs & Projects > Public Art

Public Art Selection Process 
The Public Art Committee, chaired by Patricia Selden, issues an open call to artists to submit credentials and samples of their work. A selection panel will be formed for each public art project. Each selection panel is composed of arts professionals, community representatives, the architect on the project, and the owners or managers of the buildings. If you are interested in volunteering or learning more about the public art committee's work please contact Chair, Patricia Selden, at pselden@att.net or call her at 973-746-5341. An orientation session for new members will be held in Spring 2007.
 
Crescent Parking Deck 
MAC's first public art project was the mosaic artwork installed in January, 2006 at the Crescent Parking Deck, located between South Park Street and South Fullerton Avenue. The artwork, entitled A Classic Ensemble is 310 square feet of mosaic art created by Montclair resident Anne Oshman, who won the public art bid. The mosaic's 14-foot-wide central panel features vintage cars from the 1920s through the '60s. The side panels are abstract geometric designs of small stained-glass squares. "The combination of the representational and the abstract reflects my interest in contemporary and urban life," explains Oshman.
 
The Siena Building
The building under construction at South Park and Church streets has provided an exceptional opportunity for public art. The Siena will feature two large pictorial mosaic panels titled Tuscan Pastoral by artist Cadence Giersbach, a Rutgers University graduate who has had solo shows in New York and California. Each artwork is approximately 40 square feet and installed 20 feet above the ground on the facade of the building's corner tower. The name Siena and the building's Tuscan aesthetic influenced the artist's choice of subject matter. From a distance, Giersbach's panels are abstract swashes of color; at closer range the landscapes are apparent. The ceramic pieces are glazed in a range of vibrant colors and cut in angular pieces. The artwork and its materials create a different aesthetic from that on the Crescent Parking Deck, thus exemplifying the committee's goal of introducing a variety of media into township art. The artworks were commissioned by the developer, Pinnacle Companies with its partner Kohl Partners, and MAC. An unveiling ceremony and celebration will take place upon completion of the building in May or June of 2007.
 
Orange Road Parking Deck
In March, 2007, Pamela Moore was selected to create artwork for the Orange Road Parking Deck, located on Orange Road between Bloomfiled Avenue and Church Street. Moore, a New York City resident who grew up in Montclair, attended Montclair High School and studied at the Montclair Art Museum. She has a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and has created more than 30 public commissions. Moore titled her work Natural Elements, inspired, she says, by  "the magnificent trees in Montclair." The piece consists of three panels, one foot, eight inches by five feet each, made of copper and decorative glass, with artfully arranged leaves glazed to create various patinas attached to a metal frame. Each panel will be unique, yet intrinsic to the whole. The DCH Montclair Volvo/Jaguar provided the fee for the commission; Edmund Auw, General Manager of DCH Auto Group, was a member of the MAC Public Art Selection Panel. The expected completion date for the installation of the metal sculpture is expected to be installed in June, 2007, on the crossbeam above the deck entrance.

Bay Street Parking Deck
Sculptor and Montclair resident Tom Nussbaum was chosen on March 30, 2007 to create public art for the Bay Street Train Station Parking Deck, located at the intersection of Glenridge Avenue and Pine Street. Nussbaum has had numerous solo exhibitions, most recently at the Hunterdon Museum of Art in Clinton, NJ. He has been selected for many public and private commissions nationwide, including NJ Transit, Princeton Public Library, Neiman Marcus, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. The Bay Street sculpture, entitled Train Time II, will be located in the center of the Kiss and Ride Traffic Island. Its theme reflects images from railroad history and Nussbaum's other public artwork at this same station, Train Time I, a sculptural screen on the platform of the Bay Street Station commissioned by NJ Transit. The artist and the Public Art Committee wanted to reinforce the viewers' associations with these existing images and to unify the station visually and thematically. An explanatory plaque will accompany the sculpture. The circular piece, measuring eight feet in diameter and anchored on a centered base on the island, will be constructed of Cor-Ten steel with a soft naturally oxidized finish; it will be virtually indestructible and maintenance free. Expected completion date is September, 2007.