December 2024 Monthly Adventure
In my final addition to the Monthly Adventures Series in 2024, I wanted to feature another free activity in Austin that anyone can enjoy solo or with family and friends. The Landmarks Public Art program at The University of Texas at Austin is something I have had on my Austin bucket list for a few years and I decided to finally take some time to go after seeing an ad on Facebook for their December Public Art Tour.
Background
If there's one thing I've learned in the past year, it's that UT Austin has so many free events and activities for the public to enjoy! I wrote about one of the free activities earlier this year for the Monthly Adventures Series when I spent a Friday night checking out a free telescope viewing on campus. The Landmarks Public Art program is another free activity held on the first Sunday of each month to view the public art on display around the campus. The December tour was more traditional with a docent leading the way, but they also occasionally have tours with themes during the year such as a bike tour or a tour with your four-legged companions!
December Landmarks Public Art Tour
The December tour was on the first of the month and met at 11:00 AM in front of the Gates-Dell Complex on the UT Austin campus. This one-hour walking tour drew a crowd of roughly twenty people. The Landmarks collection has more than 50 pieces, so we did not see anywhere close to all of them in the single hour. Instead, we looked at four installations at that were a short distance from each other. We looked at the two Sol LeWitt pieces at the Gates-Dell Complex followed by the two Nancy Rubins pieces at the Norman Hackerman Building at the end of the block.
Featured Artwork:
Circle with Towers, Sol LeWitt
Wall Drawing # 520, Sol LeWitt
Monochrome for Austin, Nancy Rubins
Drawing, Nancy Rubins
We spent 30 minutes at each art installation starting with a brief introduction of the artwork and a timed two minutes to quietly observe and inspect the art. After our two minutes of observation concluded, our docent called us back to gather around her. At each art installation, our docent spent about 20 minutes posing questions to our group to get a sense of our initial thoughts after observing the work and learn more about how the art made us feel and if we generally liked it or not. We were asked to consider the materials, the colors, the relationship of the art to their respective buildings. My hope is that you join one of the Landmarks Public Art Tours in the future, so I won't give away too many details in this blog post. However, those that cannot make it to the UT Austin campus for a tour can still learn about the collection online.
Wrap-Up
I really appreciated the perspective that I was able to gain from the Landmarks Public Art Tour! I went to UT Austin for undergrad and even gave campus tours as a student where I discussed the (then new) Monochrome for Austin. However, hearing the same information relayed to me as a member of a captive audience helped me see this particular art piece through a different lens, and the other artwork we viewed that day were ones I either didn't notice as art installations or was not fully aware of their existence.
If you're looking for a family-friendly, outdoor activity to do for free in Austin, the Landmarks Public Art Tour is a great option! They even do night tours and the next one scheduled for January 12 which is actually the second Sunday rather than the first Sunday. I might check it out if my schedule is free that evening because it will feature a piece of art that is intended to be experienced specifically at dusk or dawn.
On to the next adventure!
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