THE SEMIFINALISTS
- Catherine Callahan and Bret LeBleu, landscape designers and architects from South Portland
- Holger Friese, a photographer from Berlin
- Jaime Gili, an abstract painter from London
- Nicole Langille, a sculptor, painter and installation artist from Columbus, Ohio
- Bo Nathan Newsome, a musician from North Carolina, and Sara Lambert Bloom, a musician and author from South Portland
The Sprague Energy Corp. tank farm in South Portland moved one step closer to becoming a colorful palette on Tuesday, as the Maine Center for Creativity unveiled the five semifinalists in its Art All Around design competition.
Artists from as far away as London and Berlin joined those from Maine, Ohio and North Carolina at the Wyndham Portland Airport Hotel in South Portland to present proposals for painting eight oil tanks and eight tank tops at the Sprague complex on the South Portland side of Portland Harbor.
About 250 people attended the presentation, which included brief talks and slide shows by the artists. The program will be repeated at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at University College at Rockland.
Three artists from Maine are among the semifinalists: the husband-and-wife team of landscape designers Catherine Callahan and Bret LeBleu of South Portland; and Sara Lambert Bloom, a musician and author, also from South Portland.
Bloom collaborated with North Carolina musician Bo Nathan Newsome. Their proposal involves adorning the tanks with colorful visual images transferred from a music animation machine.
The machine would create visual images of music that is unique to Maine, including one piece written by South Freeport composer Elliott Schwartz. Those musical notations would then be painted on the tanks.
The Callahan-LeBleu idea involves taking topographical images of the islands of Casco Bay, Portland's urban grid and its waterfront, and adding color to them.
Holger Friese of Berlin suggests painting pixelated images of famous people, including Susan B. Anthony and Martin Luther King Jr., as well as such Mainers as artist Marsden Hartley, outfitter L.L. Bean and writer E.B. White.
Jaime Gili of London would paint abstract designs, using distinct colors, shapes and forms.
Nicole Langille of Columbus, Ohio, proposes painting the tanks with wide blocks of color, broken by lines and dashes. Inspired by navigational charts, she sees the tanks as "visual ships rising from the land."
The Maine Center for Creativity awarded each of the five semifinalists a $7,500 stipend for advancing to this stage. The winning artist, who will be selected by a panel of jurors in September, will receive an additional $20,000, said Phil Harriman, chairman of the Maine Center for Creativity's fundraising campaign.
Painting could begin on the first tank as soon as October, said Jean Maginnis, founder and executive director of the center. The project should be completed by 2011.
More than 500 people submitted proposals for the competition.
The budget for the project is $1.2 million. So far, the Maine Center for Creativity has raised about $200,000 in private donations. With the semifinalists selected, the next phase of the fundraising campaign will begin in earnest, Harriman said.
He praised Maginnis for her conception of the project, and called for continued financial and moral support.
"If you cannot imagine something in your mind, it cannot possibly become reality," he said. "It will take our time, our treasures and our enthusiasm."
Staff Writer Bob Keyes can be contacted at 791-6457 or at:
bkeyes@pressherald.com
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