County of Alameda’s Acute Tower Replacement Project’s Public Art Program Hung Liu Artist’s Proposal

Based on historical photographs, blueprints, and maps found in the Oakland History Room of the Oakland Public Library, Hung Liu’s series of four/six mixed- media mono prints will refer to the history of community service for which Highland Hospital is well known. As an artist, Hung Liu is known for the layering of meaning, metaphor, and memory in her works. Working with Paulson-Bott Press in Berkeley, she will overlay archival images of nurses from the 1930s, architectural drawings from the 1920s (the hospital was built in 1927), and design elements from the hospital’s past. To these compositions Liu will add images of birds and flowers from the works of Chen Hongshou, a renowned Chinese painter from the Ming Dynasty. This overlay of modern documentary and ancient sources – which is a signature of Liu’s painting style – creates a space in which histories and memories coalesce. The birds and flowers from an ancient tradition, which induce a sense of both flight and rootedness, may also oversee and comfort the people and place that is Highland Hospital.

The Project: In a special collaboration, Hung Liu and Paulson Bott Press will create a suite of unique mono-prints for the Highland Hospital Public Art Project. The suite will consist of four to six large (42”x 50”) vibrant color compositions created in the Paulson Bott Press studio.

Paulson Bott Press specializes in intaglio printmaking. Their expertise in facilitating printmaking projects with artists is widely admired. Working with a team of Master Printers each artist is guided through the printmaking process.

Techniques include traditional intaglio, mono-print, gold leaf and archival gluing (chine colle). The press has collaborated with Liu since 1999 and has published 23 editions of her work.

Each mono-print will be comprised of: • Digitally printed linear backgrounds from historical maps of Highland Hospital • A watercolor-like “veil” made using spit-bite (an etching technique), printed in etching ink • Drawing and painting over the background layers of the composition with both ink and acrylic paint rendered by Hung Liu’s expert hand. • Chine collé elements: Color flowers and birds from historic Chinese paintings which have been digitally printed on archival paper. (See examples) • Gold Leaf

Project Costs: Liu’s beautifully lyrical paintings of iconic historical Chinese images have earned her extensive recognition. The retail value for her large scale paintings range from $60,000.00 - $75,000.00. Paulson Bott Press’ large scale edition prints retail for $7,000.00. The value of each mono print will be between $15,000.00 to $17,000.00.

Examples of Past Artwork All artists were asked to refer to examples of their past artwork that are similar to the new artwork they are proposing to create for Acute Care Tower. Refer to the artist’s written proposal for a description of how the new artwork relates to the images below.

Cherry Cherry Variation Hung Liu with in-progress painting.

Reference Images The following images are examples of reference images that will be used by the artist. Refer to the artist’s written proposal for a description of how these images are related to the new artwork proposed. Historic Blue Print For Detail from Chen Hongshou, Nurses, Highland Hospital, Detail: Historic Map of Highland Hospital Gate Ming Dynasty 1930s Highland Hospital

Proposal concept and artwork copyright Hung Liu. This information may not be used or reproduced without permission from the artist and the Alameda County Arts Commission. For more information about the County of Alameda’s Acute Tower Replacement Project’s Public Art Program, contact the office of the Alameda County Arts Commission at (510) 208-9646 or [email protected].