Artists & Communities Host Site: Magic Valley Arts Council
P.O. Box 1158
Twin Falls, ID 83303

Millennium Artist:
Ted Clausen
Sculptor
Massachusetts
E-mail: tedclausen@aol.com

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Public art came to town in Twin Falls, Idaho when two major sculptural works by Millennium Artist Ted Clausen were dedicated at a community ceremony in May 2001.

During his six-month Artists & Communities residency with Magic Valley Arts Council, Clausen interviewed over 100 local residents to obtain their ideas about the history and significant events that could serve as symbols for the Twin Falls area.

Ted Clausen's best-known work, Vendome Memorial, is an example of how the artist knits oral histories into his sculptural works. Commemorating the 1992 death of nine Boston firefighters, Vendome incorporates a bronze replica of a firefighter's helmet and coat draped across a stone wall inscribed with quotes from firefighters and brief descriptions of some of the events of that fatal fire.

Deciding in Idaho to focus on the natural environment and agricultural traditions of the region, Clausen worked with community historians to identify quotes to incorporate into his design. Further partnership with the Twin Falls Historical Commission and Twin Falls County Historical Museum enabled the artist to identify and obtain traditional farm implements - a beam plow and associated harness - for reproduction.

Clausen's efforts also included working with teenagers to create decorated tiles during the annual Kids Art in the Park event, as well as challenging local artists to create their own works inspired by the quotes gathered through his research process.

The local Times-News newspaper, while questioning public funding for the arts, the use of local monies to support an artist from out of state, and how the completed artworks might represent the region's growing Hispanic community, local Mormons, and long-time residents, nonetheless took the lead in promoting the Arts Council's fundraising endeavors and Ted's residency activities, regularly featuring many of the stories gathered through the artist's project interviews.

The completed "Millennium Sculpture" features basalt boulders inscribed with quotations from local citizens, past and present, at the base of which rest the bronzed implements. One piece is sited in downtown Twin Falls; the second, incorporating a water feature, is situated a few blocks away in Twin Falls City Park.

The "Millennium Sculpture" was conceived as one sculpture placed in two sites. Rather than creating two different artworks, the goal was to highlight two prominent city locations with one artwork, and offer visitors the time to contemplate and discuss their reactions to the work during the walk from one site to the other. The pieces are reflective of one another because they are made from the same materials and focus on the same concepts. Together they symbolize a community's commitment to realizing a project truly expressive of their tenacity and belief in themselves.

MILLENNIUM ARTIST BIO

Theodore Clausen is a sculptor and public artist whose installations place project-specific and compelling text at the core of each work. Clausen has realized commissions for the Cambridge Arts Council, City of Lake Oswego, City of Boston, and the Massachusetts Highway Department.