Jacque Liu – Public Art Consultant

Permanent Public Artwork: Carl Sturgis. Home Range. 2015. Site: Sturgis Playground, Philadelphia, PA. Project Budget: $30,000. Funded through Percent for Art.

Partners: Philadelphia Parks & Recreation

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In 2015, the City of Philadelphia completed the major renovation and new construction of Sturgis Playground in North Philadelphia. This renovation project replaced the existing recreation center building with a new, 5,090 square foot building, added a new playground, rebuilt the volleyball court with porous pavement at a location, transformed the baseball field into a soccer/football field with outdoor lighting, and added new pavement and landscaping.

Carl Marin’s Home Range is a site-specific permanent public artwork located at Sturgis Playground in North Philadelphia. The artwork consists of a 190-foot-long fence depicting grazing deer. The imagery alludes to the area’s heritage as a former hunting ground, literally animating the urban environment with wildlife. Using an animation technique from the early 19th century, the deer appear to move their heads up and down, grazing in the field, as passersby move alongside the piece.

Mr. Marin states that, “Growing up, my father and mother made a game out of spotting deer in the fields whenever we would drive somewhere. And even though deer were often abundant, it still felt special whenever we sighted them. I hope that this piece makes people think of their own relationship to nature.”

I served as the Percent for Art Project Manager on this project.