WOODLAND HIGH PRINCIPAL John Shoup (left) and Michael Smith (right), Woodland High 2D and 3D art teacher, helped guide the art selection committee for an art installation by internationally-renowned sculptor, Tim Prentice.
EACH OF TIM PRENTICE’S pieces uses different materials to reflect light and are specially-designed for the spaces where they will be located. Pictured here: “Nine Dragons” located in the Zhongshan District in Taipei, Taiwan.
WOODLAND – Woodland Public Schools officials are inviting all members of the community to the unveiling of an art installation by internationally-renowned sculptor, Tim Prentice, on Fri., Oct. 30, from 5-7 p.m. located in the entrance of the high school at 1500 Dike Access Road in Woodland.
As part of the selection process, Woodland Public Schools formed a selection committee of 11 members including school staff, students, Woodland community members, and local artists who reviewed the work of 80 different artists in three stages. The process started during 2014 and took several months to complete.
During the first stage of the selection process, committee members reviewed photographs of artwork from all 80 artists, selecting a total of 16 as finalists for the second stage. During the second stage, the committee read artist statements, reviewed entire portfolios of each artist’s work, and learned about the concepts behind each artist’s approach to finding inspiration and creating art. During the third stage, the selection committee chose Tim Prentice, a sculptor of large installation pieces located all over the world, as the artist to create the piece for Woodland High School.
“I greatly enjoyed the selection process that Washington State walked us through as it was both methodical and user-friendly, bringing together so many different community members from different walks of life,” said John Shoup, principal of Woodland High School. “I’m really pleased that we’re going to have this piece of public art at our school which will make an already-beautiful school even more attractive while also inspiring and motivating our own students and staff each and every day they walk through the doors.”
David Colbert, Tim Prentice’s business partner and co-artist, flew to Woodland in the winter of 2014-2015 to meet the selection committee, learn more about the Woodland area, and determine where the piece would be installed. Colbert walked the school site with the committee, and, together, they decided to mount the piece at the entrance of the high school.
The piece will comprise of three panels measuring eight feet wide by four feet tall made up of hundreds of individual pieces of different materials including reflective aluminum, clear plastic, and frosted plastic which will rotate slowly in the airflow in the building.
“All of our work goes toward helping people see the beauty of light as it’s seen in gently-moving surfaces,” explained Colbert. “We hope the students, staff, and other viewers will see something in the pieces that makes them stop in their tracks, slow down, and just look for a few moments – we try to inspire the viewers to see some of what attracted them to the piece in the world around them.”
Prentice and Colbert worked with the contractors of the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems along with the architect to determine how much airflow would pass through the room. In February 2015, Prentice created a mockup of the final piece and sent it to the selection committee to review. The committee unanimously approved the piece for installation in the new building.
“This will be a piece of art that you would typically see only in large museums throughout America,” said Michael Smith, Woodland High School’s teacher of 2D and 3D art. “I am extremely excited to have this caliber of work located right here in Woodland.”
Smith showed videos of Prentice’s other work to both his middle school and high school art classes.
“At first, the students were dead silent after the video which made me wonder if they were unimpressed,” said Smith. “However, after a second or two, the students in all of my classes enthusiastically started asking questions about how the pieces were created, what Prentice’s inspirations were, and which of his pieces we would get, which made me know the committee had definitely made the right choice.”
Woodland Public Schools invites and encourages any interested member of the community to attend the public unveiling. Light refreshments will also be provided.
The commissioning of this artwork was made possible by a $90,000 grant received by Woodland Public Schools from ArtsWA, the Washington State Arts Commission. The piece located in Woodland High School will be part of the State Art Collection which represents more than 35 years of artwork acquisitions owned, sited, and selected by the public.
To learn more about ArtsWA, you can visit their website at www.arts.wa.gov.
