7. PUBLIC ART IN DOWNTOWN - PART 1, BOISE, ID

Are you looking for more culture?  Would you like to impress people with your knowledge of Boise art?  Do you need something to do on a Saturday afternoon?  Then this blog post is for you!  You may not know this, but there is a ton of public art all over downtown Boise.  I'm going to share some of my favorites in hopes that you will want to go and see them for yourself.

Above is the "Grove Street Illuminated & Boise Canal" by Amy Westover.  It is located on the corner of 9th and Grove in front of Hotel 43.  It depicts "cycles of change on Grove street".  It has fun facts about Grove Street's history and at night it lights up.  I like the combination of steel, glass, and old school pictures. It is beautiful and historic.

This is an actual ad posted in the Idaho Statesman in 1867.  Really?

This is "River Sculpture" by Alison Sky.  It is located on the corner of Front and Capital.  You may have driven by it or walked by it, you might have thought it was a tree, but it is a representation of, well, the river.  There is water and mist and neon lights that react to the air, the light, even the movement of people.  You have to see it at night because a real river doesn't glow like that unless it is filled with with toxic waste.

A close up of one of the glass "bubbles" in the vertical river.

In an attempt to make Boise more colorful and artistic, artists have been commissioned to paint the electrical boxes all around downtown.  I haven't seen all of them yet, but here are 3 of my favorites, so far.  So the next time you are hanging out downtown stop to check them out because you gotta see them up close.

This one is called "Where You Are" by Karen Woods.  It is on the corner of Main and Capital.  Just in case you didn't know where you were, this is in Boise. ;)

This one is called "Meeting of the Minds" by Jeremy "Jerms" Lanningham.  It is on the corner of Capital and Front.  It is awesome.  Owls are so cool now and I think it all started with Jerms and his hypno-eyed owls.

These are the front and side of one titled "Creative Flow Center" by Mike Landa.  It is on Front street by the parking garage.  Do I even have to say why this is incredible?  If I could, I would buy this and put it in my house.

So that concludes part 1 of the public art of downtown.  Check these out for yourself and keep reading the blog for more posts on the art.  Feel free to share your favorites in the comments and maybe we will put them in the next post.

Heather