"What suggested itself here was a paintbrush because a paintbrush is a symbol of a type of art that has kind of gone out of fashion," Oldenburg told about 30 reporters and officials gathered on the second floor of the Hamilton Building. He contended that no one paints anymore, that artists perform or make objects and installations instead.
But fortunately, he added, there are art schools and museums where the idea of the paintbrush remains "something in the minds of many."
The academy is preparing to transform the block of Cherry Street west of Broad into a $3 million space called Lenfest Plaza, after H.F. "Gerry" Lenfest and his wife, Marguerite, donors of two-thirds of the necessary funds.
The plaza is scheduled for completion by next spring, which roughly coincides with the planned completion date for the Pennsylvania Convention Center extension, directly across Broad Street.
Academy president David R. Brigham and other officials at the art school and museum said they believed the plaza would unify the academy's buildings - fanciful Furness and no-nonsense Hamilton - and also serve to draw conventioneers across the street, funneling them out into the city toward the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, where the new Barnes Foundation gallery and museum is slated to open in 2012.
The Oldenburg sculpture - which will have two parts, the second being a large dollop of paint that ostensibly has dripped from the brush onto the plaza below - will rise directly in front of the Convention Center's entrance.
Mayor Nutter, on hand for Thursday's announcement, emphasized the significance of the project from the city's perspective.
