New Art Piece at Valencia Library Invites Public to Imagine

 A new public art piece by Australian artist Emma Anna has been installed in front of the Valencia Library. Standing three feet tall, six oversized Scrabble tiles are assembled side by side to spell out the word “Imagine”- except the second “I” of the word is missing. As you walk by you may think this was a mistake. Did the artist forget one piece? Not exactly. The gap is intentional.
“The absence of the second “I” operates as a blank canvas, inviting the audience to physically engage with the work to complete the word,” says City of Santa Clarita Arts Commission Chair, Susan Shapiro. The Artist Selection Committee picked the public art piece because of its exciting potential to invite the public to interact with the art. “We imagined how much fun our residents and visitors could have photographing themselves standing in the place of the missing ‘I’,” added Shapiro. The piece also encourages locals and tourists alike to allow a space in their day for imagination – an objective that the Valencia Library aspires to achieve every day with their free and educational community resources and programs.
The concept was originally conceived as a major project to support artist Emma Anna’s work towards a Master’s in Public Art, at RMIT University in Melbourne. What began as a university project, became an internationally acclaimed public sculpture that would travel around the world to places such as Florida and Denmark.
“The capacity to imagine is an inherently human characteristic, shared by all. Its power inspires us to imagine new possibilities, and different ways of looking at the world and each other,” states Emma.
The “Imag_ne” sculpture is just one of many public art pieces installed throughout the City of Santa Clarita. In fact, there are more than 30 public art sculptures scattered around the City. Just down the street at the McBean Regional Transit Center stands “Archways,” a sculpture made of steel hoops designed to enhance life’s daily rhythms and beautify the surrounding space.
If you’re interested in seeing public art paintings and murals, we have plenty of those too. The best way to take a tour of the City’s public art is by using the Public Art Tour app. The free web-based app is available at SantaClaritaArts.com/PublicArt and provides a listing of all public art pieces within the City of Santa Clarita, including photos, artist information, details about each art piece and a map with locations and directions.
So, this spring, get interactive with art! Dare to imagine and interpret. Wedge yourself between the oversized “g” and “n” Scrabble tiles, and become part of a public art piece.

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