alk into a hotel. The first thing you'll notice is the eye-catching original oil or the dramatic free-standing sculpture. It's not the carpet, though it probably cost more. Or the chairs in the reception area. Your eyes naturally gravitate to the colorful, striking images at your eye-level. The same thing is true for lobbies in corporate office buildings and the front entrances to hospitals. Artwork is everywhere and the general public is very interested in it. We attend museum shows in record numbers, support the arts in our communities, and expect to encounter environments that consider art in the total design package. To be competitive, specifiers need to be attuned to this interest and reflect an artistic awareness in their site designs.

At ArtSource, one of our goals is to provide information about what's going on in the world of art, so that our clients feel more comfortable specifying pieces for their projects. In this section, we'll share with you terms used in discussing artwork, tips that we've found useful, and a monthly cross-section of news about art happenings and events we hope you'll find interesting.