VAN-go cultural art program is on a roll

Kimberley McGee

Friday, April 20, 2001 | 8:41 a.m.

Joan Lolmaugh, manager of the Clark County cultural division, was stuck in traffic pondering a dilemma when the solution drove past.

As she idled in her car, a Citizens Area Transit bus inched by, covered by a large advertisement.

"We had been struggling with ways we can service the two-dimensional artists, such as painters and photographers, because we don't have a lot of exhibit space for them," she said. "Then it hit me, 'Why not (advertise them)?' "

That fateful moment two years ago created the cultural art program VAN-go, in which images from two selected local artists are prominently displayed, along with their names, on two white county vans. The large digital wraps cost $2,000 per van.

The 12-passenger transportation vans carry seniors and schoolchildren to community events around the county, such as plays in Henderson, jaunts to Laughlin and jazz concerts in Summerlin.

For the second year the county will wrap two of its transportation vans with images from two local artists. More than 100 entries from 30 local artists were received before Monday's deadline, a 20-percent increase from last year's submissions.

The current VAN-go artwork will be retired next month, although you may see the vans throughout the summer as new artwork is being applied to two other vans.

The county might increase the number of vans to be wrapped as the program gathers speed.

"This is a very visual community," Lolmaugh said. "My hope is that we will have more vans promoting more local artists out there for people to see."

Artists had previously relied on galleries and exhibits around the valley to display their art to the public.

The VAN-go program takes the art to the public.

"This way everybody benefits," Lolmaugh said.

As the idea took shape, Lolmaugh said the county was curious as to how the art community would react to the mobile exhibit space.

"We wondered would the artist be upset about seeing their art in such a nontraditional way," she said. "But then we thought the best thing to do was ask."

The response was immediate. The county received more than 100 images from 25 local artists within weeks of its first inquiry in the spring of 2000.

Anthony Bondi and Dottie Burton were the first artists chosen by a jury of their peers to have their work displayed on the vans.

Bondi, a native of Las Vegas, created a piece that he thought would work well with the city's neon backdrop.

"We are bombarded with art every day in ads, billboards, taxis, the lights of the Strip," Bondi said. "(The vans are) something that isn't selling anything. It's just there for its own sake."

It's slightly ironic that his art travels the county each day. His work is inspired by the passing street scenery he glimpses from his car window as he drives to his job as a graphic artist.

"The street is where we see most of our art anyway," Bondi said. "We're simply making a gesture to invite (the public) to a moment of revelry."

The exposure is also a gift to the artist, said Burton, who has lived here for 38 years. Her watercolor work on the van has been recognized, and she has received some response from admirers of the vans.

"The vans have benefitted me as an artist," she said. "It's an honor, and certainly significant to be chosen."

Burton has worked in watercolors for the past 30 years. Last year she attended 17 shows and won the National Water Color Society's Award at the 2000 Georgia National art show.

"I make my living from national (shows) but this is locally an inspiring thing for artists," Burton said.

Photos of the Clark County vans were displayed with her paintings at a recent art show in Antigua. While her paintings were admired, the photos were praised.

"(People) were quite taken with the art on the vans, the (VAN-go) play on words, and the fact that (Clark County) did it at all," Burton said. "It was definitely something they had never thought of."