Watch your step!

Coming soon to Reston: More hilarious outdoor statuary.

An already-vibrant arts community that counts the Greater Reston Arts Center and the League of Reston Artists as its leaders will welcome the Initiative for Public Art in Reston, a nonprofit that has been formed thanks to a large gift from an anonymous donor and the pledged support of several community organizations.

A collaborative effort among RCC, Reston Association, Reston Town Center Association, Arts Council of Fairfax County, GRACE and LRA will work on creating a master plan for the initiative, which may serve as a national model for other communities, according arts council President Ann Rodriguez. The effort has even attracted the attention of the national organization, Americans for the Arts.

“They have indicated they're going to be watching the process in Reston with wide eyes,” Rodriguez said.

That's good, because if they don't, they might trip over pieces like the one near Lake Anne Plaza pictured above. Assuming, that is, that they don't think it's a heat exchanger for some vast subterranean complex populated by poured-concrete golems.

But we digress. The consortium expects to wrangle funds from developers to include such art in their projects, plus incorporate existing statuary into an awesome master plan. Their first big project?

One of IPAR's first projects to oversee and guide will be the two Metro stations in Reston. Rodriguez said both stops will feature public art.

The group will seek public input for such projects, so here's our suggestion for appropriate art for the Metro stations: A terra cotta mural depicting the heroic moment the Tysons developers slapped a lawsuit on the project, lots of statues of people clapping loudly, plus, in a tribute to this historic photo, a large picture depicting the moment that the last track is laid near a Boxter-filled kiss-n-ride lot in Loudoun County.