New Missouri Bank Crossroads Branch to be Awarded Art through Architecture Gold Level "Art Achievement"

Components include renovated billboards featuring commissioned artworks by Kansas City artists Warren Rosser & Jaimie Warren, plus new exterior sculpture by Jesse Small

Missouri Bank's new Crossroads Branch, 125 Southwest Boulevard, will be the first Kansas City area building project to gain "Art Achievement" through Art through Architecture, a new program designed to encourage collecting and commissioning work by Kansas City area artists through architectural practice.

Through AtA, a partnership of American Institute of Architects-Kansas City and Charlotte Street Foundation, new architectural projects may earn Gold, Silver or Bronze levels of Art Achievement by dedicating a percentage of the total construction budget to collecting artworks, commissioning temporary or permanent artworks, and/or including artists on design teams. The Missouri Bank Crossroads project, designed by Helix Architecture, will be awarded Gold-level Art Achievement by Art through Architecture. The project is also tracking for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver-certification for its "greenness."

Local artists have long been an important part of our customer base, and we are thrilled to include their work as an integral part of our Crossroads Branch," said Grant Burcham, President of Missouri Bank. "The Art through Architecture program has helped us to do exactly what we wanted to do, without re-inventing the wheel."

Among the building's integrated art components is "Golden Hedges," a multi-part, site-specific sculptural installation by Jesse Small. Wrapping around passages of the building's exterior and main entrance, Small has created a series of steel elements intricately plasma-cut by hand with patterns inspired by tree branches, water, and raindrops in water. Using industrial materials typically conceived as heavy, solid, and linear, Small upends these associations as his work conveys a sense of delicacy, transience, and organic beauty.

In addition, the building's existing pair of double-sided billboards are being transformed into "The Artboards," a highly visible new site for commissioned images by Kansas City area artists. Debuting with works by Kansas City based artists Warren Rosser and Jaimie Warren, these renovated and repurposed billboards will present newly commissioned artworks by Kansas City area artists every four months, produced as digital prints on ECO-flex, a new, "green" billboard material.

Warren Rosser's two images for the Artboards, which will be displayed side-by-side, are based on an existing painting of Rosser's titled Constellation. "I chose an image (motif) that could rotate (sequence) across the billboard space -- it's like mapping a new territory in a public space," he said. "This sequence of rotations is much like a LED sign transmitting information... How fast does it move and what does it say? I hope the public brings its own readings and understandings to the image."

Reflecting "the community and environment in which I live and work," Kansas City-based artist Jaimie Warren presents two photo-based diptychs for the Artboards that she describes as both humorous and awkward. "I think it is interesting to exhibit my work in billboard form, as I am a photographer who generally shoots with a snapshot style and aesthetic, producing hundreds of photographs a week," said Warren. "To put a select few on a pedestal is a fascinating endeavor, as the enlarging of the photograph greatly skews the meaning from what you would think or feel when looking at a 'mere' snapshot."

The Missouri Bank Crossroads Branch is slated to celebrate its grand opening on Friday, October 3, with the artworks in place.

"It's been great that Missouri Bank has embraced this opportunity to showcase local artists and connect with Kansas City's creative community, said Bryan Gross, architect, Helix Architecture and Design, and a member of the AtA Steering Committee. "The opportunity to collaborate with artists is invigorating, and brings great insights and energy to the design process."

Future artists for the Artboards will be selected by Missouri Bank representatives from Art through Architecture's artist database, soon to be accessible on-line at www.ArtArch.org. For more information about the Art through Architecture program, contact Josh Shelton, Chair of AtA's Steering Committee, at 816.474.3838 or jshelton@eldoradoarchitects.com. For more information about the artists and artwork, contact Kate Hackman, Administrator, Art through Architecture Art Committee/Associate Director, Charlotte Street Foundation, at 816.994.7731 or kate@charlottestreet.org.

For more about the AtA partner organizations, visit www.aiakc.org and www.charlottestreet.org.

About the artists:
Jesse Small received his BFA from Kansas City Art Institute in 1997 and his MFA from Alfred University in 2005. Known for both steel and ceramic sculpture, Small has presented solo exhibitions at venues including BOKA-Powell Architects, Kansas City; Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York; and I Art Bank, Shenzen, China, and has completed public art commissions in Staten Island, NY; McAllen, TX; Sedalia, MO, and Kansas City. Small received a Charlotte Street Award for Visual Artists in 2000, and a Lighton International Art Exchange Program grant in 2005.

Warren Rosser is William T. Kemper Distinguished Professor of Painting and Chairman of Painting at Kansas City Art Institute. Represented by Jan Weiner Gallery in Kansas City and an artist in residence at Review Studios, Rosser has completed recent solo exhibitions at venues including the Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, Sedalia, MO; South Dakota Art Museum, Brookings, SD; Forum for Contemporary Art, St. Louis, MO; Kansas City Jewish Museum Epsten Gallery at Village Shalom; and Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, Omaha, NE. A 2000 Charlotte Street Award for Visual Artists recipient, Rosser's work is featured in public collections including the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, South Wales; Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Des Moines Art Center, Albrecht-Kemper Museum, and the Edwin A. Urlich Museum, Wichita State University.

Jaimie Warren is a 2002 graduate of Kansas City Art Institute. Her photographs have been published widely, including in a new solo book, "Don't You Feel Better," published by Aperture Press and to be released this fall. Solo and two-person exhibitions of her work have been presented at venues including Higher Picture, New York; White Flag Projects, St. Louis; and telephonebooth contemporary art, Kansas City. She is also creator/director of "Whoop Dee Doo," an internationally travelling faux public access television show melding visual art, live performance, and community participation. Warren received a Lighton International Art Exchange Program grant in 2005.

Missouri Bank press release.pdf