Robert Lazzarini Robert Lazzarini

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Robert LazzariniARTIST CALL - Coral Gables Public Safety Building

Robert Lazzarini Robert Lazzarini

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Question GroupApplicant Name*

Robert Lazzarini

PROJECT TITLE* First Responder Memorial

PROJECT DESCRIPTION* Please attach a detailed Proposal Description describing the Artist’s design intent including concept development, how it fulfills aspects of a memorial, and the relationship to the site.

Objects have meaning and resonance in our lives. The locker is a symbol for the personal space of the worker. For the firefighter and police officer, it is the intermediary between home and work. The personal belongings that are locked up before the first responders head into harms way are symbolic of the locker protecting the home.

In this sculpture, I wanted to use the archetypal locker as a representation of that personal space. Lockers themselves are normally joined side-by-side, shoulder-to-shoulder. It parallels the idea of the team and unity.

I've created 12 variations of on an archetypal locker. Each locker is a unique shape. The cantilevered compositions are symbolic of the disarray and precarious situations that the first responders head into. It is a controlled chaos that comes together into a single dynamic composition. The mathematical distortions are based on rectangular prisms, each slightly shifted geometry solicits the viewer to consider and reconsider the object. The sculpture becomes something both familiar and unfamiliar.

Consistent with my practice, the lockers are made of painted steel, with no material translation in the work. This allows the transformation to occur in other ways - namely in the space around the objects and between the viewer and the lockers themselves.

composition 1

approximate overall dimensions h- 194 x w- 130 x d-136 inches

The sculpture takes as its basis a modernist composition of rectilinear shapes. Reminiscent of American Minimalism, the active arrangement drives the viewer around the sculpture with representational details of the lockers coming into and out of view. When the sculpture is viewed from a distance, the lockers align in a way revealing the iconic first responder Star of Life.

composition 2

approximate overall dimensions h- 200 x w- 172 x d-126 inches

Robert Lazzarini Robert Lazzarini

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Also based on modernist strategies, this composition of cantilevered prisms makes use of the tension between its legibility as a classic abstract sculpture and the representational details of each of the lockers.

VISUAL REPRESENTATION* Attach drawings/renderings to scale, graphics, or other visual representations of the work together with data, graphic material and elevations as is necessary to portray the work. Include various angles and relationship of artwork to the project site. If providing a maquette, please advise and provide images of the maquette with related information.

Compile materials into one file prior to upload.

visual representation.pdf

MEDIUM* What materials are proposed for the artwork, including materials for attachment, if applicable?

The lockers themselves will be made of stainless steel, which will be painted and clear coated. The lockers will be permanently attached to an internal stainless steel armature, which courses through the sculpture, the base and into the ground. The exact specifications for the armature, connections, and footing will be made once I consult with a structural engineer. The base will be of a neutral and durable material - prospectively rebar reinforced concrete.