Category Archives: Visual Art

Chapel’s THE CENTER sculpture dedicated on Oct. 19, 2012

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On October 19, 2012, the first winner of the Sculpture at the River Market public monument sculpture competition was dedicated.

Selected at the 2011 Sculpture at the River Market Show and Sale, Chapel’s THE CENTER is located to the west of the Junction Bridge in Riverfront Park.  It stands fifteen feet and is composed of glass, stainless steel and bronze.

According to Chapel:

The theme of The Center is a coalescence around a strong core.  Historically the Arkansas River was one of the mainstays of Little Rock’s economy.  Recently, the River has taken on a new life as a cultural and arts center through the various sculpture parks and amphitheater along its banks.

 

All of the disparate themes of life here are represented by the complex structure of gathering arcs.  These highly finished arcs reflect all the colors of the surrounding environment while the transparent central glass column refracts the changing light.  The shape itself will cast a fascinating shadow providing a constantly changing and adapting sculpture.

Artober – Arts After Dark

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October is Arts and Humanities Month nationally and in Little Rock. Americans for the Arts has identified a different arts topic to be posted for each day in the month.  Next up is “Arts after Dark”

This theme, like many of them, could go in many different directions.  I’ve chosen to highlight some cultural institutions lit up at night.

Ballet Arkansas and the Annex of Arkansas Rep on Main Street

Jane DeDecker and Alyson Kinkade’s IN THE WINGS in front of Robinson Center Performance Hall.

Darrell Davis’ Lions Pride in War Memorial Park

 

Lastly, while this photo took place indoors, it is a recreation of what the entrance to the Arkansas Arts Center will look like in 2022 when Henry Moore’s STANDING FIGURE KNIFE’S EDGE is located in front of the 1937 entrance to the AAC, which will once again be the main entrance. This was created for the AAC’s Farewell Party in August 2019.

Once and Future Arkansas Arts Center 9th Street entrance

7th annual AAC Fountain Fest is tonight!

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What better location for the 7th Fountain Fest in the Rock, than at 7th and Rock Streets?

With construction beginning at the Arkansas Arts Center’s MacArthur Park building this fall, the Contemporaries’ 7th Annual Fountain Fest is moving a few blocks down the street. This year’s fundraiser – featuring food, music, art and libations – will be on the lawn of the Terry House at the corner of East 7th and Rock Street in downtown Little Rock on October 17.

“We’re thrilled to be able to host Fountain Fest at the Terry House this year,” Contemporaries President Heather Wardle said. “Funds raised from Fountain Fest will support the Contemporaries continuing efforts to expand the Arkansas Arts Center Collection and provide exceptional arts programming for young professionals in Little Rock.”

The 7th Annual Fountain Fest will feature food from Petit & Keet and the Chenal Country Club, desserts by UA–Pulaski Tech Culinary Arts Institute, beer by Stone’s Throw Brewing and Back Forty Beer Company, and cocktails by Roxor Gin and Tito’s Handmade Vodka. Local duo Brian Nahlen and Jason Lee Hale will provide music. Museum School instructors and students will offer art-making experiences, and the Children’s Theatre will host a shadow-puppet photo booth.

“Fountain Fest is a great opportunity for the community to engage with everything the Arts Center and the Contemporaries have to offer,” Fountain Fest Chair Chris Smith said. “We’re excited to continue hosting this popular event even while the Arts Center’s MacArthur Park building is under construction.”

Fountain Fest will begin at 5:30 p.m. on October 17 on the Terry House lawn. Event tickets are $30 each or $50 for two and can be purchased at arkansasartscenter.org/fountain-fest or by calling (501) 372-4000. Sponsorship opportunities are still available; for more information contact Spencer Jansen at (501) 396-0337.

The event will also feature a chance drawing for a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle 20yr Bourbon. Drawing tickets are $10 each and can be purchased at arkansasartscenter.org/fountain-fest or at the event. The winner does not have to be present to win.

Fountain Fest provides an opportunity for the community to engage with the Contemporaries, an affiliate-membership group of the Arkansas Arts Center made up of art enthusiasts who wish to expand their knowledge and appreciation of the arts. The Contemporaries programs provide young professionals with an opportunity to experience the Arkansas Arts Center and become involved with the local art community. Through exclusive tours of the Arts Center, private homes and local galleries, the Contemporaries develop a more informed appreciation of art. The funds raised at Fountain Fest support acquisitions on behalf of the Arkansas Arts Center Foundation Collection and other programming that supports the Arts Center.

The 7th Annual Fountain Fest is chaired by Chris Smith. Fountain Fest is sponsored by CenterPoint Energy, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Datamax, and Peckham + Smith Architects, Inc. In-kind sponsors are 107 Liquor; Roxor Gin; Stone’s Throw Brewing; Tito’s Handmade Vodka; Back Forty Beer Company; Moon Distributors; O’Connor Distributing; Chenal Country Club; UA–Pulaski Technical College Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management Institute; and Argenta Downtown Council.

It started with seven – a decade of the Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden

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The original seven sculptures. Clockwise from top left: Conversation with Myself; Straight and Narrow; Bateleur Eagle; First Glance; Sizzling Sisters; Cascade; and Full of Himself

After nearly a week of rain, the skies dried up and on Friday, October 16, 2009, the Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden was dedicated.

Designed and created by the staff of the Little Rock Parks and Recreation Department, the Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden started with seven sculptures. These were purchased at the 2007 and 2008 Sculpture at the River Market Show and Sales.

The original seven were: Full of Himself by Jan Woods, Cascade by Chapel, Bateleur Eagle by Pete Zaluzec, Sizzling Sister by Wayne Salge, Conversation With Myself by Lorri Acott, First Glance by Denny Haskew, and Straight and Narrow by Lisa Gordon.

The sculpture garden was named after the Vogel Schwartz Foundation in recognition of its contributions to the project. The garden was dedicated on the afternoon of the preview party for the 2009 Show and Sale.

The Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden did not have seven sculptures for long. New pieces have been added every few months since then.  In 2017, an expansion was dedicated which doubled the size and allowed for larger pieces to be installed.  Today there are over eighty sculptures in the Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden and more than twenty elsewhere in Riverfront Park.

The 2020 Sculpture at the River Market “A Night in the Garden” party will take place on Friday, April 17, 2020, in the Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden.

Artober – I Made This….

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October is Arts and Humanities Month nationally and in Little Rock. Americans for the Arts has identified a different arts topic to be posted for each day in the month.  Today’s feature is “I Made This.”

A few years ago, I took a class at the Arkansas Arts Center Museum School where we splattered paint onto a spinning canvas. My colors were inspired by my love of the New York Yankees and by actor Ben Piazza.  I first painted dark blue pinstripes on the canvas as a nod to the Yankees. Then I washed it with a watered down version of that blue.

For the colors, I chose Lime Green, Khaki, and White.  The white echoes the white and blue of the Yankees. The Lime Green and Khaki came from Little Rock native Ben Piazza’s plays “Lime Green” and “Khaki Blue.”