Public Art at the BOK Center
Project Description:
The BOK Center is a masterpiece in itself, but it does not stop there. The City of Tulsa Arts Commission has selected five artists and their projects to embellish the BOK Center.
Nearly $1.5 million was allocated to artwork within the building in light of a city ordinance mandating that at least one percent of construction costs for any municipal project be used for public art. Tulsa’s Arts Commission selected five artists out of nearly 300 applicants to decorate the interior of the building with the intention of capturing the spirit of the city and state.
Of their pieces, the largest is a cloud-like cloth sculpture designed by Kendall Buster that weighs 5,000 pounds and hangs above the main concourse. Four 22-foot Native American medallions designed by Bill and Demos Glass decorate the main concourse floor, along with a series of 25
paintings of tallgrass prairie landscapes created by Mark Lewis that adorn a wall on the main lobby’s third level. A 9-by-24-foot black-and-white painting of rearing horses created by Joe Andoe hangs on a wall near a concession stand on the north side of the building, and a light display created by Jenny Holzer is also within the arena.
Text and artist photos courtesy of BOKCenter.com.