Art In Place

Art In Place is one of the most progressive visual arts programs this little-engine-that-thinks-it-can-of-a-city has successfully produced and executed. Unfortunately, Art In Place gets no press coverage and virtually no notoriety. As a juror for this year’s selections, I thought I would do my part in giving the program the credit it deserves.

Some background first: Art In Place is an eight year old public arts project in Charlottesville created and managed by Elizabeth Breeden. It provides large scale public sculpture placed throughout the city. It is often referred to as "45 mile per hour art" because a majority of the city provided locations for the sculptures are found along roadways and highways (enjoy the art for 1.78 seconds). Bottom line, Art In Place makes art accessible to the public and provides the community a wide range of artistic styles, themes and media. And, for anyone driving through, it helps put Charlottesville on the map as a place where art is welcomed and not just a town made up of car dealerships, restaurants, gas stations, a university and a hospital.

One of the truly inspiring aspects of Art In Place is that it is not stagnant. Every year, new sculptures are selected and installed. This year, Elizabeth Breeden was kind enough to invite me to juror the applications. I jumped at the opportunity to have an active hand in supporting deserving artists and in determining what art people get to see.

As the jurors assembled, I could tell this was not going to be a normal selection process. We were a team of eight diverse people charged with selecting the specific pieces to be exhibited. Some had experience in the arts… some didn’t. Some were civic leaders. A couple were there because of their knowledge of landscaping. And a couple… well…. I’m not sure what they brought to the table. The biggest obstacle during the initial review was giving consideration to each sculpture for its civic "appropriateness". Although wonderful pieces, some had to be disqualified due to their apparent safety risk – too easy to climb on… and fall off of. And, some pieces were tossed out because their inherent fragility would not provide for them to stand up to the daily wear and tear – again, people potentially climbing on them or otherwise physically engaging them. And then there was the issue of those pieces that might possibly "offend" people. This is where I bristled. Come on folks! An exaggerated and stylized image of a nude figure is taken off the list because it might offend someone? Puhleeez.

After two days of contemplating, arguing discussing and judging, the jurors reached a consensus and selected 10 new pieces to be exhibited from October 2008 through September 2009. Here is a list of the artists (and don’t forget to check out their websites):

Hanna Jubran (Grimesland, North Carolina)

Doug Makemson (Commerce, Georgia) http://www.makesculpture.com/

Gary Mitchell (St. Louis, Missouri) http://www.mitchellini.com/

Gert Olson (Jupiter, Florida)

Karl Saliter (Cornwall Bridge, Connecticut) http://www.karlsaliter.com/index.html

Antoinette Prien Schultze (Eliot, Maine)

Kenneth M. Thompson (Blissfield, Michigan) http://www.kenthompsonsculpture.com/

Adam Wells (Pembrooke, North Carolina)

Chris Wubbena (Jackson, Missouri)

Joyce Audy Zarins (Merrimac, Massachusetts) http://www.joyceaudyzarins.com/

Please note where each of the artists come from. The overall pool of applicants represented Virginia and 17 other states. It pleases me to no end to see art created in different parts of this country coming to Charlottesville. Being exposed to what’s going on outside the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains warms my heart. Charlottesville will have the honor of exhibiting the work of some particularly notable sculptors. I’ll post more (and provide more pictures) on these individual artists as their pieces are installed.

The sculptures will be placed in their spots throughout October. So, drive around town and enjoy the work – but try not to take your eyes off the road for too long.

Images include: Top, Gary Mitchell; Middle, Joyce Audy Zarins; Bottom, Chris Wubbena.

Comments

[Barbara]

Rob:

Thanks so much for the alert and judicious commentary about the new sculpture to be displayed as part of Charlottesville's "Art in Place." I'm genuinely impressed and will make certain to share this extraordinary outdoor art exhibit gets encouragement from North Carolina. Please do pass on my enthusiastic congratulations to Ms. Breeden for her stellar efforts. I look forward to more of your posts and photos of the sculpture.

Barbara

[Christine]

I love public art, its too bad the considerations aren't 100% about the art :-)
Still, it seems like a great project.. All I have to do now is find a reason to visit..

[Ken Thompson]

Thanks for allowing me to be included in the 2008-09 ArtInPlace! I think that it is a wonderful program for your beautiful city and I am honored to have been selected. Ken Thompson, Blissfield, Michigan

[Rob Jones]

Ken - Your work got you here on its own merits. It is one of my favorites of the group. I'll be writing on it more specifically soon.
-Rob