News Release

Date:      October 12, 2022

District: 12 - Orange County

Contact: Christianne Smith

Phone:  (424) 413-1104

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Two Local Artists Selected to Create Large-Scale Public Art in the

City of Placentia

Installations include the City’s new gateway monument and street art murals.

ORANGE COUNTY— Two southern California-based artists have been selected to design large-scale public art in the City of Placentia. The art projects are funded by the Clean California initiative—a $1.1 billion, multi-year, statewide effort led by Caltrans to cleanup and beautify roadsides and public spaces.

Sculptor Cliff Garten has been chosen to design the City’s new gateway monument to be located at State Route (SR) 57 southbound on- and off-ramps on Orangethorpe Avenue.

Artist Alejandro Poli, Jr., also known as Man One, has been chosen to produce murals for SR-57 underpass abutment at West Crowther Avenue at a gateway to the City’s Transit Oriented Development/Packinghouse District.

“These art projects will be a huge benefit to the City as they will beautify this very busy freeway exchange and create an attractive entry into the City’s Transit-Oriented Development district with modern art murals beneath the freeway bridge,” said City of Placentia Mayor Rhonda Shader. “I’m grateful to Caltrans for their continued partnership with the City and to Arts Orange County for their help and expertise in selecting these talented artists. I look forward to seeing these pieces in Placentia.”

The search for artists and selection process were administered by Arts Orange County, the nonprofit countywide arts council and county-designated local arts agency.

More than 55 qualified entries were reviewed by a panel of three judges: Virginia Arce, arts administrator for the City of Irvine; Jenn Colacion, specialist for the City of Brea’s Art in Public Spaces; and Mark Steven Greenfield, teacher at Los Angeles City College and board member of Side Street Projects, The Harpo Foundation and Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions.

Garten and Man One were chosen from a group of six artist finalists, which includes Stephen Glassman, Brian Peterson, Bret Price and Timothy Smith.

“Our region is home to an abundance of world-class artists, and this project attracted many outstanding submissions,” said Richard Stein, president and CEO of Arts Orange County. “The two artists whose proposals were selected truly embraced in unique and imaginative ways the challenge of creating artworks that are future-focused while also paying homage to Placentia’s heritage. These will be works that will engage residents and visitors alike for many years to come.” 

Artwork installations will begin in spring 2023 and are expected to be completed with ribbon-cutting ceremonies by summer 2023.

About the winning artists

Cliff Garten, sculptor

Cliff Garten is an internationally recognized sculptor, whose work focuses on infrastructure and public places. He is the founder of the Cliff Garten Studio (CGS) in Venice, CA, which has previously worked with the Los Angeles County Public Works, Department of Bridges to renovate an existing bridge creating the entry to the Baldwin Hills Conservancy over La Cienega Blvd. In 2020, Garten worked with the Los Angeles County Public Art on an illuminated façade titled ‘Water to Wishes’ for the Behavioral Health Center at the Martin Luther King Hospital. CGS is currently working on bridge enhancement projects in Maryland, Oregon, Ohio and Virginia.

Garten earned a Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture from the Rhode Island School of Design and a Master of Landscape Architecture with Distinction from the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

The sculptor envisions the Placentia gateway monument as an uplifting image that spirals to the sky. The 20-foot by 20-foot three-dimensional design uses social, historic and artistic references surrounding Placentia and the California highway environment. The artist intends to create a dynamic image which continually changes from the point of view of each road user.

Garten's design proposal

“The image of the water tower that appears in the Placentia City logo gave reason to think about something with upward movement on the site,” said Garten. “The polychromed sculpture uses color and structural references as diverse early 20th century orange crate labels, water and oil tower infrastructure from Placentia’s history, constructivist sculpture, light and space art in California and California hot rod culture. The sculpture gathers all of these references into a piece which can be read from the Orange freeway above as well as the on- and off-ramps for SR-57.”

Man One, artist

Man One’s artwork has been exhibited in museums worldwide, including at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, The Getty, Parco Museum in Tokyo and the Smithsonian Institute. As an international artist-speaker, Man One has worked with government and private organizations, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, The Mexican Consulate in the U.S. and the U.S. Embassy in Panama, to promote art therapy for the benefits of building personal and societal peace. Man One earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Loyola Marymount University and is the founder of Crewest Gallery in Los Angeles, CA which professionally showcases graffiti art as a valuable and collectible art form.

Man One’s design, The Good People Under Our Sun and Moon, is based on native and indigenous mythology of the sun and the moon, drawing inspiration from the diverse residents of Placentia and his visit to the highway underpass. “I felt small among all this concrete yet protected by the cement structure overhead,” said Man One. “I thought about the idea of sheltering under a bridge and how that could provide for a great metaphor for this mural. Many of us take the experience of having a roof over our heads for granted. We forget how it protects us from the basic things like the elements and offers us peace of mind.”

Man One’s design proposal for north side of underpass

Man One’s design proposal for south side of underpass

On the north side of the underpass, a stylized male image in a unique stance is depicted to be using the cement roof to protect himself from the sun while also honoring the sun and life itself. The sun symbolizes life, energy, empowerment, light, wisdom, warmth and knowledge.

On the south side of the underpass, a female figure is peacefully at rest under the bridge. She is protected from the rain and the wind while surrounded by stars and the glow of the moon. The moon represents all things calm, cooling, instinctual, mysterious, emotional, and the dream world.

Visit dot.ca.gov/D12CleanCA to learn more about how Clean California is transforming Orange County communities and how you can get involved.

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