Category Archives: Public Art

Labor Day Sculpture Vulture: John Deering’s RICK REDDEN

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ReddenLabor Day celebrates a time to take a break from work and relax.  Today’s Sculpture Vulture showcases John Deering’s sculpture of Rick Redden which depicts the visionary architect doing just that.

As an architect, Rick Redden designed many downtown buildings including several in the River Market District.  He was involved in new projects like the 300 Third Building and River Market Tower, as well as rehab projects such as the Ottenheimer Market Hall and the Museum Center.  One of his last projects was the Arcade Building.

This sculpture, by John Deering, was commissioned by Jimmy Moses, Rett Tucker and the Central Arkansas Library System Endowment to honor Redden’s memory.  It shows him playing his banjo, with architectural drawings rolled up behind him. The piece looks like he had just taken a break from work to relax a little by playing music.

It is appropriate that the sculpture is located in front of the Arcade Building. Not only was the project one of his designs, but the building also contains space for work and for entertainment.  The placement is also a continuation of the commitment of both Moses Tucker Real Estate and the Central Arkansas Library System to include sculpture in their projects.

Sculpture Vulture: RENEWAL RITUAL

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DSC_0650 Another of the new sculptures recently installed in the Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden is Denny Haskew’s Renewal Ritual.

It depicts ten adults sitting in pairings facing each other.  They are made of bronze and are situated atop a stone slab base.

DSC_0654Haskew notes that in creating the piece he wanted “to show the ritual used by a couple to renew their commitment to one another, then using many colors or people and different conversations between different genders it shows society ability to sit down and converse with one another.”

Though the individual men and women appear similar, due to coloration of the bronze, each person is unique. This reinforces Haskew’s tenet of the differences and similarities of people.

The sculpture was purchased by Sculpture at the River Market.

Arts & culture advocate, Dr. Joel Anderson to retire as UALR Chancellor

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jeasmile-444x668University of Arkansas at Little Rock Chancellor Joel E. Anderson announced today that he will retire following a 13-year tenure as chancellor and a 45-year career at the university. His retirement will be effective June 30, 2016.

Anderson became UALR chancellor in 2003, bringing with him more than 30 years of university and community service. He had previously served UALR as provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and as founding dean of the Graduate School.

Chancellor Anderson’s announcement comes on the heels of a 1.2 percent increase in enrollment at UALR, including a 19 percent increase in first-time college students and a 7.1 percent increase in first-time transfer students.

“It has been a tremendous pleasure to see UALR grow and mature into the excellent, comprehensive university that it has become,” said Chancellor Anderson. “The faculty and staff of UALR deserve more credit than they will ever receive for their tireless efforts to help students achieve the dream of a college education that will enable students to adjust to a changing future and support themselves and their families.”

University of Arkansas System President, Donald R. Bobbitt will form a search committee in the coming weeks with the goal to complete the search by July 1, 2016.

One of the achievements he was most passionate about was the founding in 2011 of the Institute on Race and Ethnicity, a center designed to move Arkansas forward on the broad front of racial and ethnic justice through education, research, dialogue, community events, and reconciliation initiatives.

As professor, dean, provost, and chancellor, Anderson always related success of the university to success of the students UALR served. As chancellor, he launched numerous initiatives to recruit and retain more students and to reach out to underserved student populations. His signature is on more than 26,836 diplomas and the university’s fall-to-fall retention rate is the highest it has ever been.

“Joel is a true gentleman who cares about the university more than himself”, said Dr. Dean Kumpuris, chair of the UALR Board Visitors.  “He has no ego and has sought our advice and support more than he probably had to,” “His primary goal has been to shepherd the university to a better place, which he has done. We are lucky to have had him as a leader for so many years.”

Anderson, who grew up on a farm east of Swifton in northeast Arkansas, received a BA degree in political science from Harding University, an MA degree in international relations from American University, and a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Michigan. He also completed the Institute for Educational Management at Harvard University.

“The university has good momentum. I need time to catch up on a backlog of books and also to see my grandchildren more often,” Anderson said.  “All the while I will watch with pride as UALR grows and changes.”

Highlights of his service as chancellor include:

  • The Windgate Charitable Foundation awarded UALR a grant of $20.3 million for a new Visual Arts and Applied Design center.

  • Since 2003, UALR has purchased the University Plaza shopping center which is now home of KUAR-KLRE Public Radio as well as the current home of the applied design center.

  • As part of the Coleman Creek Greenway project, the Trail of Tears Park was completed in 2011 to recognize the historical significance of the location on the south end of campus where the Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes stopped for water along Coleman Creek.

  • Establishment of a Dance major, the only one in the state, within the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance.

  • Much of the campus’s infrastructure has undergone substantial renovations including the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall. Likewise, there has been an added emphasis on the promotion and maintenance of public art on campus.

  • Chancellor Anderson served as a “Scholar in Residence” in 2010 at the Center on Community Philanthropy at the Clinton School for his work on issues of race and ethnicity.

  • Dr. Anderson launched the Institute on Race and Ethnicity in 2011 to move Arkansas forward on the broad front of racial and ethnic justice through education, research, dialogue, community events, and reconciliation initiatives.  One of their projects has been the annual Civil Rights Heritage Trail installation.

  • In 2015, as part of its 40th anniversary celebration, the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation honored Chancellor Anderson as one of 40 Community Leaders in the categories of community, education, nonprofits, and prosperity.

New Deputy Director for Arkansas Heritage announced

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DAH Dep DirStacy Hurst, director of the Department of Arkansas Heritage (DAH), announced today that she has named Rebecca Burkes as the new deputy director for DAH. Burkes holds an M.S. in operations management from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, and a Juris Doctorate from the Baylor University School of Law.

“I am very happy to bring Rebecca on board to help lead and manage DAH,” said Hurst. “Her skills in managing organizations and people will be a tremendous asset to us. Our seven separate agencies, operating under the larger umbrella of Heritage, will benefit greatly from her skills.”

Burkes most recently was an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School, Madison. Previous to that, she lived in Northwest Arkansas, where she practiced law in Fayetteville (1993-95), was corporate counsel at Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., in Bentonville (1995-98) and was vice president and chief counsel for the Burkes Company, a diversified real estate development, construction and brokerage company (1998-2011).

The Department of Arkansas Heritage, through its seven agencies, seeks to recognize the state’s heritage and to enhance Arkansas’s quality of life through the discovery, preservation and presentation of the state’s cultural, natural and historic resources. The agencies are Arkansas Arts Council, Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, Delta Cultural Center, Historic Arkansas Museum, Mosaic Templars Cultural Center and Old State House Museum.

Sculpture at the River Market accepting applications for 2016 Show and Sale

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Sculpture at the River MarketOn September 1, Sculpture at the River Market began accepting applications from artists for the 2016 Fine Art Sculpture Show & Sale.

The organizers have notified a comprehensive list of sculptors via email, posts on Facebook page, and their website.  However, they are want to cast as wide a net as possible.  If you know of any sculptors who would be interested in applying please forward this application link to them – https://www.zapplication.org/event-info.php?ID=4338

Show Dates – April 22-24, 2016

Application Dates – September 1, 2015 – January 14, 2016

All show details are available for artists through the application portal, and the fee is just $50 – there are no other fees involved for artists so it is a great deal.

Sculpture Vulture: Casey G. Horn’s TRANQUILITY

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DSC_0658One of the newest sculptures in the Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden is Casey G. Horn’s Tranquility.  

Made of bronze and stainless steel, the inspiration for the piece was the Chinese word (character) 安 Ān: peaceful, content, safe.

As Horn says: You can derive a story from the composition of the character. It breaks down into two parts: ornamental roof and woman. Read in this way,  “a woman is at peace in a beautiful home.”

The curved shapes in Tranquility mimic the lines in some other nearby sculptures as well as the foliage in the park.  However, it is unlike any of the other sculptures. It both stands out and blends in with its surroundings.

Tranquility was purchased by the Sculpture at the River Market committee.

Sculpture Vulture: National Bow Tie Day

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DSC_0701Today is National Bow Tie Day.  Though there is not specifically a sculpture in Little Rock with a bow tie, one of the newest sculptures in Riverfront Park mimics the shape of a bow tie.  Valerie Jean Schafer’s Butterfly Banner evokes not only a butterfly but a bow tie.  However, the imagery goes beyond that.

This is drawn from a visual vocabulary inspired by Native American artifacts from prehistory. While a banner was originally a small stone or wood counterweight for the atlatl (a weapon predating the bow and arrow) this enlarged representation speaks of the beauty of Native American culture beyond the usual stereotypes. The sculpture embraces tradition, as it reveals Native Americans as inhabitants of the Americas far longer than most people believe. At the same time, the simplicity of the form evokes a sense of elegance with a decidedly contemporary feel.

Dean Kumpuris 2014It is fitting that it is located in Riverfront Park. The Trail of Tears went through the park as Native Americans were forcibly moved west.  It serves as a reminder of the heritage of Little Rock. Not all of the City’s past was glorious; but in remembering the past, it helps to look forward to a better future.

It is also appropriate to feature this sculpture today for another reason.  A driving force behind the placement of sculptures in Little Rock is bow tie clad City Director Dr. Dean Kumpuris.