Category Archives: Public Art

Art of Architecture – Artists, Architects and Community: The Public Art Equation

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Jack Becker,  who has a long and distinguished career in the field of  public art, is scheduled to speak tonight at the Arkansas Arts Center. His talk, “Artists, Architects and Community: The Public Art Equation”, is the third in the Architecture and Design Network’s Art of Architecture lecture series, now in its ninth season.

Founder and executive  director of Forecast Public Art,  a non-profit headquartered in St. Paul Minnesota, that provides consulting services to artists, communities  and government agencies, Becker is the publisher of Public Art Review, an award-winning journal that covers developments in the field worldwide.
In his talk, Becker will draw on his 35 years of experience as  artist and administrator to convey public art’s role  in meaningful place-making and  economic development. According to Becker,  “Art that engages the public can catalyze and sustain the revitalization of our shared environments, helping to create culturally vibrant and livable communities.”
While public art can be as simple as an object selected for placement in a public space, it can also come about through the collaborative efforts  of artists, design professionals and engineers. Many bridges,  bikeways and  trails, all  important elements of  infrastructure, have been produced by such joint efforts. Increasingly interdisciplinary, the field, according to Becker,  is also growing digital and ephemeral in its accommodation  to developments  in technology.
According to another professional, public art…”is about a city investing in itself. When done well it helps engender pride in place, adding meaning and a sense of history to the public realm.” The role of the community is key to a successful public art program.
Free and open to the public, Becker’s lecture  is sponsored by the Architecture and Design Network with the support of the University of Arkansas’s Fay Jones School of Architecture, the Central Arkansas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects and the Arkansas Arts Center. The 6:00 p.m. lecture is preceded by a reception at 5:30 p.m.
For additional information contact June Freeman at  projects4pi@mac.com

Sculpture Vulture: Standing Red

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As Thanksgiving weekend comes to a close, today’s Sculpture Vulture looks at a sculpture that was placed as a token of thanks.

In 1970, artist Tal Streeter and the Arkansas Arts Center Board of Trustees donated Streeter’s sculpture Standing Red in honor of Jeannette Edris Rockefeller.  Mrs. Rockefeller had been a champion of the Arkansas Arts Center and had served as longtime chair of the Board.  She had also been instrumental in the recruitment and hiring of Townsend Wolfe who would be the longtime director of the Arkansas Arts Center.

Streeter’s sculpture stands 27 feet tall and is 54 feet from one end to another.  It consists of a T-shaped base and a perpendicular pedestal.  It is in the Minimalist style of art.  In creating it, Streeter focused on the placement of a thin red line into a setting.  It was placed near the then-entrance of the Arkansas Arts Center (which still serves as the entrance for the Museum School and Children’s Theatre).

This was one of the earliest pieces of abstract art in Little Rock.  A silkscreen by Streeter is also in the Arkansas Arts Center collection.

Veteran’s Day Sculpture Vulture: Korean War Memorial Plaza

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In honor of Veteran’s Day, 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: SIERRA

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Today’s Sculpture Vulture focuses on one of Little Rock’s newest sculptures. Sierra was installed this past summer. 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.

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Sculpture Vulture: THE CENTER

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One of Little Rock’s two newest sculptures is featured in the Sculpture Vulture today.  Chapel’s THE CENTER was dedicated on Friday, October 19. It is located in Riverfront Park just to the west of the Junction Bridge and north of the Peabody Playground. The piece was commissioned in 2011 at the 5th annual Sculpture at the River Market.

Chapel uses a variety of materials including steel and colored glass to create this tall sculpture. It represents that Little Rock is the center of the state and Riverfront Park (and the nearby “Little Rock”) represent the heart of the City.   The steel evokes the nearby Junction bridge and the blue and green glass echo the nearby grass and water.  (Green and Blue are also Little Rock’s colors, so this was a happy accident by the sculptor as well.)  The textured glass that is in the center of the column is also evocative of the Arkansas River.

Chapel is an award winning sculptor who creates both abstract and figurative pieces working in a variety of media.  Though his work can be seen worldwide, most of his commissions have been in the south and west. He is a member of the National Sculpture Guild and Society of Animal Artists among many other professional associations.

 

 

Sculpture Vulture: Boris

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The Sculpture at the River Market Show and Sale continues today. In keeping with that, today’s Sculpture Vulture features a sculpture of an attendee to each of the shows. Commissioned in 2010 and unveiled last year, Dan Glanz’s “Boris” is a likeness of Boris Kumpuris, the dog and companion of Mary and Dr. Dean Kumpuris.

Glanz captures the friendly and inquisitive nature of Boris in this work, which can be found in the Vogel Schwarz sculpture garden. Most weekends Boris can be seen with Dean as the two walk through Riverfront Park and the River Market. Boris explores and inspects the park along with Dean. Each year during the Sculpture at the River Market show, Boris visits with Dean and meets all the sculptors.

The sculpture was donated by longtime Kumpuris family friend Margaret Clark. She and her late husband Bill were two of the earliest supporters of sculpture along the Arkansas River. They donated another piece in honor of their grandchildren. A sculpture in memory of Bill was unveiled last year and stands in the wetlands park which bears his name.

Sculpture at the River Market Show and Sale this weekend

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Hundreds of sculptures and thousands of visitors will again populate the River Market Pavilions when 2012 Sculpture at the River Market returns for the sixth year on October 19 – 21.

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, October 19 and from 10AM to 4PM on Sunday, October 21.

On Saturday, Sculpture at the River Market will take place in conjunction with the Farmers’ Market.

At 2pm today, there will be a dedication of a new piece of public art.  A one of kind 15 foot sculpture constructed of stainless steel, glass and bronze was the winner of the 2011 Sculpture at the River Market people’s choice award. “The Center” by artist Chapel received the most votes.

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 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 Arkansans Terry and Maritza Cornejo Bean, Shelley Buonaiuto, Bryan Massey Sr., Ed Pennebaker, Ryan T. Schmidt, John Sewell, Margaret Warren and Michael Warrick.

Other artists include Lori Acott, Kevin Box, Kathleen Caricof, Dee Clements, Ron Chapel, Tim Cherry, Merrilee Cleveland, Frederic Crist, Darrell Davis, Jane DeDecker, Clay Enoch, Cassandra Fink, Jim Goshorn, Denny Haskew, Mark Hopkins, Ryan Mays, Bruce Niemi, Nic Noblique, Reza Pishgahi, Don Rambadt, Merle Randolph, Kevin Robb, Karla Runquist, Emelene Russell, Wayne Salge, Sandy Scott, Adam Schultz, Kim Shaklee, James Paulsen Solway, Sam Spiczka, Pati Stajcar, Arabella Tattershall, Kevin Trobaugh and C. T. Whitehouse