2021 Directory

33 Photo Credit: Matthew Millman Town Enclosure by CLB Architects BY LAUREN GALLOW W hat began as a rough-and-ready study model crafted from cut-up pieces of a furniture catalog has transformed into an evocative public artwork in Jackson, which is now getting a second life in Montana. Town Enclosure by CLB Architects is an open- air, circular array of 22, 14-foot-tall cross-laminated timber panels that spent three years installed on the Center for the Arts’ front lawn. Now, the artwork has been relocated to Bozeman, where it will begin a new chapter in its unexpectedly dynamic life of community engagement. Town Enclosure was originally commissioned in 2018 by Jackson Hole Public Art with support from the Center for the Arts. “We raised funds, announced a blind call for proposals, and worked with a selection panel to identify the best proposal for the site,” recalls Carrie Geraci, Director of JH Public Art. The goal was to activate the under-utilized public green space fronting The Center. CLB’s proposal struck a chord with the jury for its duality as both a free-standing sculpture and a public gathering place. “We wanted to create a locator in this sea of grass,” says Eric Logan, Principal at CLB Architects, who led the project team. “It was partly about creating a boundary, but also about playing with the planar quality of the installation. As you move around it, things appear and disappear. It has an ethereal quality.” Softly weaving together views of landscape and architecture as one moves through and around it, Town Enclosure embodied JH Public Art’s goal of activating the space to bring people together. “This was a community-built artwork,” says Geraci. “Many donated their time, Town Enclosure was originally commissioned in 2018 by Jackson Hole Public Art with support from the Center for the Arts. “We raised funds, announced a blind call for proposals, and worked with a selection panel to identify the best proposal for the site,” recalls Carrie Geraci, Director of JH Public Art. CONTINUED ON PAGE 34