Category Archives: Public Art

2014 Sculpture at the River Market this Weekend

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Sculpture at the River MarketHundreds of sculptures and thousands of visitors will again populate the River Market Pavilions when Sculpture at the River Market returns for the seventh year on April 26 and 27.

The sculptures will be on display in the River Market Pavilions and in the adjacent area of Riverfront Park. The works featured will include all types of media, style, subject matter, and size.

Admission to Sculpture at the River Market is free. Sculpture at the River Market Market will run from 9AM to 5PM on Saturday, April 26 and from 10AM to 4PM on Sunday, April 27.

This evening there will be a preview party where patrons will get the first chance to see the artwork, visit with the sculptors, and purchase sculptures. Tickets for the preview party are $100.   The entertainment will be provided by Dizzy 7.  Following the preview party, “Bronze and Brewskis” will take place beginning at 8:30.

On Saturday at 1PM and 3PM and again on Sunday at 2PM, Segway tours of the Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden will be offered.  There will also be food trucks set up in a special Food Truck Plaza next to the River Market pavilions.

The sale and show is sponsored by the City of Little Rock and the National Sculptors’ Guild. Proceeds from the sale of artwork will fund upgrades in Riverfront Park and the River Market.

Among the artists are Lori Acott, Virginia Annett, Terry Bean, Gregory Beck, Hunter Brown, Shelly Buonaiuto, Kathleen Caricof, Tim Cherry, Dee Clements, Merrilee Cleveland, Darrell Davis, Jane DeDecker, Clay Enoch, Steve Frank, Jim Green, Denny Haskew, Damian Jones, Rollin Karg, Ana Lazovsky, Bryan Massey, Ryan Mays, Julie McCraney-Brogdon, Ken Newman, James Paulsen, Ed Pennebaker, Merle Randolph, Kevin Robb, Dale Rogers, Timothy Roundy, Emelene Russell, Wayne Salge, Ted Schaal, Valerie Schafer, Adam Schultz, John Sewell, Stephen Shachtman, Kim Shaklee, Gene Sparling, Pati Stajcar, Charles Strain, Tod Switch, Darl Thomas, Michael Warrick and C.T. Whitehouse.

Easter Bunnys in the River Market

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For those who are around the River Market today, there are two “Easter” bunny sculptures they can visit.

Rabbit Reach 004

Rabbit Reach

In honor of that, today’s Sculpture Vulture features Tim Cherry’s Rabbit Reach.

The sculpture is located at the corner of Sherman Street and President Clinton Avenue across from the Museum of Discovery.

The sculpture is a gift from Whitlow Wyatt and the Carey Cox Wyatt Charitable Foundation. It was given in memory of George Wyatt and Frank Kumpuris.  Those two gentlemen were the fathers of Whitlow Wyatt and Dean & Drew Kumpuris.

Cherry’s sculpture was selected for this spot because of its proximity to children at the Museum and in the River Market district.  The design and size of the sculpture encourages children to climb on it and to play around the rabbit.  While some public art is situated so it cannot be touched, this one is situated to be touched as part of the appreciation experience.

Laurel Peterson Gregory’s Bunny Bump is featured in the Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden.  Two stylized rabbits make for an interesting piece of artwork when they are not only dancing, but also doing the butt bump while dancing. The smooth surface and color of the bronze add to the illusion. This small piece has been placed on a pedestal to elevate more to eye level.

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Bunny Bump

The sculpture was completed in 2009 and installed in 2010.  Gregory has been featured at the Sculpture at the River Market show.  (The photo was taken during a December snow. Hopefully there will be no more of that this year.)

This upcoming Saturday and Sunday (April 26 & 27), the next Sculpture at the River Market will take place in the River Market pavilions. There are preview parties on Friday, April 25. For more information, visit the website.

2 times 13 photos of 2013

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Here are 26 of the Culture Vulture’s favorite photos from 2013.

Mount Holly Cemetery in January 2013.

Mount Holly Cemetery in January 2013.

A former movie theatre at 13th and Pine.

A former movie theatre at 13th and Pine.

Faded advertisement at 12th and Cedar.

Faded advertisement at 12th and Cedar.

A father and daughter enjoying time together at the Arkansas Arts Center.

A father and daughter enjoying time together at the Arkansas Arts Center.

Looking up through the grand staircase at Little Rock City Hall.

Looking up through the grand staircase at Little Rock City Hall.

Peering through a piece of public art in the River Market.

Peering through a piece of public art in the River Market.

Doorways

Doorways

Inside one of the houses on the Quapaw Quarter Spring Tour.

Inside one of the houses on the Quapaw Quarter Spring Tour.

A Superhero and his mother leaving the library after checking out books and games.

A Superhero and his mother leaving the library after checking out books and games.

A duck enjoying the Carrie Remmel Dickinson Fountain at the Arkansas Arts Center.

A duck enjoying the Carrie Remmel Dickinson Fountain at the Arkansas Arts Center.

The stairwell in the Villa Marre.

The stairwell in the Villa Marre.

A downtown streetsign.

A downtown streetsign.

The Broadway Bridge balustrade reflected in a rain puddle.

The Broadway Bridge balustrade reflected in a rain puddle.

The stairwell in the auditorium on the Philander Smith campus.

The stairwell in the auditorium on the Philander Smith campus.

The Tower Building.

The Tower Building.

Geese at dusk over MacArthur Park.

Geese at dusk over MacArthur Park.

Raindrops rest on the new Patty Cake sculpture in Riverfront Park.

Raindrops rest on the new Patty Cake sculpture in Riverfront Park.

The Capital Hotel.

The Capital Hotel.

A pigeon at City Hall.

A pigeon at City Hall.

Birds alighting on transformer wires.

Birds alighting on transformer wires.

A downtown sidewalk.

A downtown sidewalk.

The Clinton Presidential Bridge during the JCA Walk for CommUNITY.

The Clinton Presidential Bridge during the JCA Walk for CommUNITY.

Gingko leaves in Hillcrest.

Gingko leaves in Hillcrest.

Robinson Auditorium

Robinson Auditorium

Steps along the Broadway Bridge after the December snow.

Steps along the Broadway Bridge after the December snow.

A December sunset in midtown Little Rock.

A December sunset in midtown Little Rock.

Thanksgiving Week Sculpture Vulture: Sierra

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20121104-083039.jpgWith Thanksgiving later this week, today’s Sculpture Vulture focuses on one of sculpture which highlights items from a harvest which might appear in a Thanksgiving meal.  The sculpture, Sierra, was installed in the summer of 2012. Wayne Salge’s piece celebrates the gifts of women.

The sculpture depicts a stylized woman carrying an urn, several bottles and some fruit. It stands 9 feet and three inches tall and is cast in bronze.

The sculpture stands at the southeast corner of the intersection of 2nd Street and River Market Avenue. It was donated by Everett Tucker III in honor of Rebecca Bost Tucker, Michael Hickerson in honor of Meredith Berry Hickerson, Doyle “Rog” Rogers in honor of Carolyn Wilmans Rogers, Mack and Franklin McLarty in honor of Donna Cochran McLarty, and the Dolphin-Laser Swim team in honor of Mary Grace Tucker.

Salge sculpting SIERRA

Salge sculpting SIERRA

When Salge is creating art, he says that he attempts to emphasize both contemporary and classic design elements: line, space, texture and color reflected by intricate patinas. His abstracted human and animal figures are then cast in small limited editions. Bronze is the ideal medium to continue this melding of old and new with his signature style resulting in the expression of attitude or emotion.

Born and raised in San Antonio, he has also lived in Massachusetts, Washington DC and Denver.  He now resides and creates art in Johnstown, CO.  In the late 1960s, he was stationed in Vietnam.  He has studied at San Antonio College, La Villita School of Art and various sculpture workshops.

Over the years, Salge has had a variety of professions including: Television art director, Army illustrator, Advertising agency art director, Freelance graphic designer and illustrator, Painter (oils and acrylics) and Sculptor (stone and bronze).

Sculpture Vulture: Korean War Memorial Plaza

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In honor of Veteran’s Day taking place this month, the Sculpture Vulture today features the Korean War Monument in MacArthur Park.

The Arkansas Korean War Veterans Memorial was dedicated on June 25, 2007, the 57th anniversary date of the beginning of the Korean War.  Located in MacArthur Park, the Memorial Plaza features a 3′ tall black granite pentagon bearing the emblems of the five military branches; a nearly 12′ by 12′ frosted gray granite entryway; and three larger than life-size bronze statues stand in the center of the plaza.

Three larger than life-size bronze statues are the central focus of the Arkansas Korean War Veterans Memorial Plaza.  One statue is a combat soldier representing the fighting that took place in South Korea.  The second statue honors the brave sacrifices that Combat Medics and Navy Corpsmen made to save the lives of others during this conflict.  The third statue features two Korean children representing the suffering of the Korean people during the war and the future generations of Koreans that have rebuilt that nation. The statues were designed and constructed by Light and Time Design Studio and Art Foundry located in Royal, Arkansas.

Encircling the statues are eight 3′ wide x 6′ tall black granite tablets. The tablets, weighing in excess of 3,000 pounds each, are engraved with the names of the 461 Arkansas servicemen and women killed in action, a description of Korean War events and a map of Korea.

The memorial plaza stands to the east of the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History in MacArthur Park.  Though not affiliated with the museum directly, they share a common connection to both Douglas MacArthur and the role Arkansans played in the Korean conflict.

Sculpture Vulture: Kathleen Caricof’s Stars and Stripes

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Sculpture Vulture: Patronus

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Today’s sculpture is passed by tens of thousands of persons each day – and they have no idea.  It is Greer Farris’ 1983 sculpture Patronus which sits on the grounds of the John L. McClellan Memorial Veteran’s Hospital.  Though it faces I-630, it is hidden by highway berm, chain link fencing and the fact that cars on I-630 are driving at high speeds.

Patronus consists of five identical forms which are placed aside each other equidistantly in a slight curve.  It was fabricated at the Arkansas Valley Steel Company and each section was trucked down separately on the back of a flatbed truck.

The simplicity of the design and the clean lines make this a powerful piece of abstract art.  Its design was inspired by battlements used in World War I, very appropriate for a veteran’s hospital.

It was installed in 1984. Since then, there has rarely been a time when the VA and/or UAMS or some other nearby entity has not been in construction mode.  The sculpture was never on a huge plot of land (which would have been more appropriate given its scale) but is now reduced to a small peninsula next to a few picnic tables in the parking lot.

It has been featured on this website before, but in keeping with Veteran’s Day later this month (and the fact that it is a personal favorite), it is being revisited.  Luckily the construction fencing that once surrounded it has been removed so it is easier to see.