meet meca : laurie lundquist '84

Laurie Lundquist ’84
Sculpture Major
BFA Maine College of Art
MFA Arizona State University
Eco-Artist
Tempe, Arizona

Connection to place is a powerful elemental relationship that influences our way of being in the world. As an artist I aspire to design places or circumstances that will trigger a sense of connection to a given site.

Public art projects are usually linked to capitol improvement projects such as bicycle paths, park improvements, pedestrian bridges. The cities here in the Southwest are still defining themselves; it is very gratifying to be a part of the process. The project I’m immersed in now is a 6 mile bicycle path along the Western Canal that delivers water to thousands of people…and plants. Valley Metro Rail is another project I am excited about. Once it is built VMR will be a 21-mile light rail system linking Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa, Arizona. I see it as an organizing central nervous system for these sprawling cities. I try to pursue commissions that have some environmental benefit, it makes it easier to sleep at the end of the day.

Most of my projects require a certain amount of research and footwork to find the “toeholds” that will help me create imagery specific to a place. History, the physical environment and community are the factors that most influence my ideas for site works. The concepts that I bring to the table are normally tempered by the reality check that a design team provides. The big trick in public art is finding ways to keep an idea intact through the gauntlet of reviews for safety, accessibility, constructability, the forces of gravity, rust, and budget.

I would encourage artists interested in heading in the public art direction to do as many temporary installations and guerilla pieces in the landscape as possible. I was lucky to get a start in public art right after grad school. My first commission was not at the Taj Mahal, it was at a wastewater treatment plant. My parents were a bit taken aback when I told them, but water treatment lined up well with my environmental interests and I was off and running. I have the ideal life in many ways. Public art is providing a good living and I am able to sustain momentum as an artist and keep my curiosity at work. Before I found my way to art school I had supported myself as a landscaper, carpenter, sailor, cook, and greenhouse worker. I am relieved that I have found a way to make good use of my eclectic set of skills and interests.

I am very glad I went to MECA because of the intensity of the focus. Nothing can replace the rigor of the intensive 2-year foundation training that the school provides. The MECA experience gave me the ability to sustain visual images in my mind. I ended up with an intuitive design sensibility and an appreciation of formal elegance that I can’t seem to shake.

laurie@laurielundquist.com
www.laurielundquist.com