Sunday, October 26, 2008
Taking the art to the streets
KYLE GREEN The Roanoke Times
"Urban Trees" Gary Gresko (Oriental, N.C.) On view at Campbell and Third 301 Campbell Ave., S.W. Gary Gresko designed his wood-and-steel sculpture to incorporate benches for a brief conversation or a short rest.
KYLE GREEN The Roanoke Times
"Rainbow Children" (still in progress) Polly Branch (Roanoke) On view outside of Jackson Library 1101 Morningside Ave., S.E. Polly Branch's work-in-progress, "Rainbow Children," gives us a glimpse of the creative process. More than 25 local students — and some adults — have helped to place tiles on the sculpture. The mosaic discs balance on the earth, presenting rainbow designs that endure the test of time.
KYLE GREEN The Roanoke Times
"Recoil" Mark Yale Harris (Santa Fe, N.M.) On view at the Wells Avenue Plaza 110 Wells Ave., N.E. "Recoil" is about sinking into oneself for contemplation.
KYLE GREEN The Roanoke Times
"Second Chances" Eldon Slick (Tucson, Ariz.) On view at the No. 7 Fire Station 1742 Memorial Ave., S.W. "Second Chances" refers to the escaping fish and its second chance at life. The sculpture is made of steel, copper, brass and aluminum.
KYLE GREEN The Roanoke Times
"Astroterra" Nicole Beck (Chicago) On view at the Williamson Road Library 3837 Williamson Road, N.W. The outer panels of "Astroterra" depict the cosmos: stars, nebulae, comets, supernovae and spiral galaxies. The interior panels show a cross-section of the earth's core, mantle and crust. The flame-cut holes let the light pass and create elliptical shadows during the day and mark the passage of hours like a sundial.
KYLE GREEN The Roanoke Times
"Happy Wanderers" Charlie Brouwer (Wirtz) On view at Brown-Robertson Park 1523 10th St., N.W. "Happy Wanderers" was inspired by a hike Brouwer took with his 3-year-old grandson around his yard. They carried walking sticks and on the way started singing "I love to go a-wandering," from a song Brouwer learned in childhood titled "The Happy Wanderer."
KYLE GREEN The Roanoke Times
"Comma" Lee Badger (Hedgesville, W.Va.) On view at Wachovia Plaza 26 Salem Ave., S.E. "Comma," a spiral steel disk, turns on a cylindrical base evoking celestial, nautical and industrial images.
KYLE GREEN The Roanoke Times
"Starlight" Thea Lanzisero Monier-Williams (Huntington, N.Y.) On view at South Roanoke Village 2224 Crystal Spring Ave., S.W. The steel orbs use photovoltaics to collect the sun's energy in the daytime and glow at night. The artist's goal was to combine art and science while making a statement about renewable resources.
STEPHANIE KLEIN-DAVIS The Roanoke Times
"In My Hands" Rodney Carroll (Baltimore) On view at the Roanoke Civic Center 710 Williamson Rd., N.E. The abstract sculpture's curving, interconnected forms reflect the precious things in life that we hold in our hands but sometimes must set free, Rodney Carroll says. "It refers to letting things go." The sculpture is also about spiritual uplift.
In one location, there's a ball of light. In others, it's figures in bronze and wood. They are happy swirls and whimsical benches and, at the Roanoke Civic Center, a 30-foot-tall stainless steel abstraction that is "about letting things go," according to its creator, Baltimore's Rodney Carroll.
But wherever they are and whatever they represent, Roanoke's nine new outdoor sculptures have changed the city's landscape in recent weeks.
{ Details from some of the Art in Roanoke installations }
Only one of them, the civic center sculpture, is a permanent addition, paid for by the city's Percent for Art fund, which sets aside a portion of the city's capital improvement budget for public art. The rest are on loan from the artists for the next 18 months, as part of the city's new "AIR" exhibit of public art. ("AIR" stands for "Art In Roanoke.")
For more information, visit www.artinroanoke.org. You can share your opinions there, too.
Or tell us your thoughts: 981-3323; kevin.kittredge@roanoke.com
Information on artworks and artists from www.artinroanoke.org and Roanoke Times archives
