Sculpture Walk IV - Downtown Kingsport

-----Forwarded Message-----
From: "Macdonald, Bonnie"
Sent: Jul 19, 2010 5:07 PM
To: macdonald@kingsporttn.gov
Subject: Sculpture Walk IV - Downtown Kingsport

Cultural Arts Division

Kingsport Renaissance Center

1200 East Center Street

Kingsport, TN  37660

 

For Immediate Release:

  Contact:         Bonnie Macdonald

                        Cultural Arts Administrator, City of Kingsport

                        423-392-8416

 

Sculpture Walk IV Installed in Downtown Kingsport, TN

 

 

The Kingsport Public Art Committee is please to present the fourth annual temporary art exhibit in downtown Kingsport.  The exhibit features 13 temporary outdoor sculptures installed along Broad and Main Streets in the downtown area.  The temporary sculptures will be on exhibit through April 2011.  Hank Foreman, served as the curator of the exhibit which includes wide diversity of materials and themes. Brochures are available at downtown merchants and at the Kingsport Convention Visitors Bureau and Kingsport Library.  This year's exhibit includes an option for a guide by cell tour.  To access the tour, the public can dial 423-200-3205 and then enter a sculpture number.  The sculptures are number 1 – 13 for general descriptions and also include access to artist comments as well as the curator's comments.  In addition to the temporary sculptures, Kingsport citizens and the Public Art Fund have acquired 7 sculptures for the permanent collection.   Sculpture Walk IV exhibition is made possible through a grant from the Tennessee Arts Commission, and through the generous donations of our sponsors:  Absolute Communications, Arts Council of Greater Kingsport, Bank of Tennessee, Steve and Mary Banks, Wayne Basler, Delphian Club of Kingsport, Eastman Chemical Company, Eastman Credit Union, Eastman Lifting Services, First Tennessee Bank, GRC Construction, Roy and Liza Harmon, Kingsport Chamber of Commerce, Kingsport Convention Visitors Bureau, Scott and Bonnie Macdonald, Pal's Sudden Service, Kingsport Parks and Recreation, Kingsport Public Works and Engineering, 98.5 Radio Station, Mark Ray – studio hiku, Regional Eye Center, Jeffrey Stoner Photography, Tennessee Arts Commission. 

Tours for groups can be scheduled by calling 423-392-8416.

 

 

Sculpture Walk IV

423-200-3205

Guide by Cell Narrative

To hear a general description for each piece dial the Sculpture Number, then #.

Viewer may leave a comment by pressing 0 then #.

 

 

1#   "Love Bound, with Claws" by Paris Alexander from Raleigh, NC   Paris says that he is a 'direct carver' making it up as he goes.  This piece is part of a series that deals with death and what we leave behind.  Paris sketched directly on the stone and created  a portal of bones, then he began to carve.  The top which began as the ends of two large leaning bones morphed into heads and the flowing lines turned more aggressive as they flowed around to the other sides (claws).

To hear from the Artist please press 101#.  To hear from our curator, Hank Foreman, please press 201#

 

2 #  "Contemporary Sebastian" by Shawn Morin Shawn is from Bowling Green, OH.  Shawn approaches sculpture through the use of multiple materials.  Granite, marble, limestone, steel, stainless steel, bronze, iron, glass and wood can be found in one or more combinations within the majority of his work.  He incorporates colors and textures, as well as a multitude of other associated physical, spiritual and tactile qualities inherent to these materials.  Shawn's pieces are immaculately constructed and might be re-imagined as jewelry if they were on a smaller scale.  Saint Sebastian was a martyr in the early Christian church.  The roman emperor Diocletian ordered Sebastian to be killed and he commanded him to be led to the field and to be bound to a stake to be shot.  The archers shot at him till he was as full of arrows as a hedgehog, leaving him there for dead. Miraculously, the arrows did not kill him.  Since this is a contemporary piece you can imagine the bolts are the arrows.  Notice the finishes on each of the different stones.  The bottom is stippled, the middle is polished and the top stone is in a rough or natural form.  To hear from the Artist please press 102#.  To hear from our curator, Hank Foreman, please press 202#

 

3 #  "Intrusion" by Harry McDaniel from  Asheville, NC.  Harry's work is diverse in materials, style, technique and content.  He is drawn to new challenges.  Common themes in his works include humor, a fascination with curves, motion (or implied motion) and an interest in the human condition.  In this piece we can see that the red and yellow pieces are nestled with a third gray piece.  Which is the intruder?  Notice the pattern on the red and yellow pieces.  How are they different than the gray?  What does this piece suggest to you?  To hear from the Artist please press 103#.  To hear from our curator, Hank Foreman, please press 203#

 

4 #  "Red Kinetic"  by Wayne Trapp from Villas, NC.   Wayne has worked in stone and steel for years, creating lavish – even colossal – outdoor pieces for corporate clients and smaller, more particular pieces for his private clientele.   Wayne claims after years of sculpting that his hands and his shoulders are sore and sensitive and that he has the scars of sculpting. But that he cannot give it up any more than he can give up breathing!  Wayne vows that now he sculpts only by commission, but if a fine piece of stone presents itself or a flash of metal catches his eye, he will begin again..  Wayne's piece is kinetic – it moves.  Give it a light push if it is still and you'll see the patterns and rhythm of the blades as they rotate around.  It's all level but looks tilted because of the way it is constructed. To hear from the Artist please press 104#.  To hear from our curator, Hank Foreman, please press 204#

 

5 # "Coke is Fun II" by Marvin Tadlock from  Bristol, TN.  Marvin constructed a piece for Coca-Cola and then came up with this whimsical piece.  The Coke bottle itself is iconic – even without the writing, almost everyone (around the world) can recognize this product by its package.  Good art for sure!  Here the world is rotating around the coke bottles that are incorporated in a pillar.  Marvin carved the oversized bottle out of Victory wax, carving each raised letter out of jeweler's wax.  A latex mold, plaster backed, was made, and a dozen bottles were cast at TN Investment Casting.  To hear from the Artist please press 105#.  To hear from our curator, Hank Foreman, please press 205#

 

 

6 #  "Ender's Enigma" by   Davis Whitfield from Mountain City, TN.   Davis has a BFA in Painting and Sculpture from Delta State University in Cleveland, MS and is an apprentice to Wayne Trapp whose piece "Red Kinetic" is also in the show.  'Ender's Enigma' was inspired by the novel 'Ender's Game' by Orson Scott Card and  examines the tendency for humanity to destroy that which it does not understand.   Davis' father wanted him to study biology and take over the family business and Davis spent several years studying entomology (bugs) especially in cotton fields.  We might see that influence in this piece which certainly has some organic qualities. To hear from the Artist please press 106#.  To hear from our curator, Hank Foreman, please press 206#

 

 

7 #  "Vested" by Kyle Van Lusk from Brevard, NC. This piece looks like it could be found as part of nature, as if rocky formations come together to create a gate.  The sculpture also calls to mind modern construction that has a keystone over the center of the gate or door.  This piece uses a similar material to Ender's Enigma but it has a deeper color because it has weathered more and the artist has applied linseed oil to enhance the patina.  This piece also has a bit of tension as it appears to be just off balance.  To hear from the Artist please press 107#.  To hear from our curator, Hank Foreman, please press 207#

 

 

8 #  "Portal" by Mike Roig of Carrboro, NC.    Mike is also the artist that created "Yo-Yo's Muse" that is now in Kingsport's permanent collection and is located at the circle on Watauga Street.  This is a kinetic sculpture that moves with the wind.  The top part moves very slowly (or not at all) and the middle circle moves more quickly.  The shape of the middle is very interesting and at times it looks wide (and open) and at times is looks flat (and closed).  To hear from the Artist please press 108#.  To hear from our curator, Hank Foreman, please press 208#

 

 

9 # "Pathos, Sweet, Lost and Found" by Aaron Alderman of  Brevard, North Carolina.  Aaron is fascinated by the fact that a very physical process such as working as a sculptor can create delicate structures.  Sometimes the idea might be the delicate creation.  Here's how Aaron expresses this idea: "Highly physical processes create delicate structures (delicate in idea or form but not necessarily presence)…raw strength meets tender emotion."  These are very definitely human forms.  They express emotion.  Can you tell which is which?  One recent viewer thought that these pieces expressed drama.  Do you see drama?  To hear from the Artist please press 109#.  To hear from our curator, Hank Foreman, please press 209#

 

10 #  "Balance" by  Patti Lawrence of Kingsport, TN.  Patti has an ability to visualize, three-dimensionally, the form of music, emotion and life itself, with color, shape and texture.  By juxtaposing opposing materials, she creates balance and tension between them through the dynamic interaction of positive and negative space. Sometimes we think of things being balanced if they are symmetrical.  Symmetry has the same image on one side as the other.  Think of a valentine out of paper.  You draw half of the heart on the fold and when you open a Valentine Heart.  That is symmetry.  This piece is not symmetric but the artist balances the materials to create a unified whole.To hear from the Artist please press 110#.  To hear from our curator, Hank Foreman, please press 210#

 

11 #  "The Rooster" and "The Racing Horse" by Noelio Gonzalez from Orlando, FL.  Yes, these pieces finally look like something we recognize immediately.  But if you have viewed the rest of the Sculpture Walk you are a trained art observer, so what do you see?  Noelio has drawn feathers of a rooster and muscles of a horse, in steel tubes.  The feathers are fluttering and the horse is racing.  What about the sculpture leads you to that conclusion?  What other 'movement' do you see in the pieces? To hear from the Artist please press 111#.  To hear from our curator, Hank Foreman, please press 211#

 

 

12 #  "Voyager" by Glenn Zweygardt from Alfred Station, NY.   This stone is called 'Verde Antique'  it is beautiful in its polished and rough states and you can find both on this piece.  You can also find bronze on either edge.  The glass pieces are especially beautiful as the sun shines through and this piece is oriented to gain the full face of the sun in the morning and afternoon.  Glenn says 'Finding ones place in a relationship with nature is the theme of my sculpture.  While working with materials such as metal and stone, a relationship between nature and myself is formed.  Further, I want to tell stores and comment on my collective life experience."  Glenn is the artist of 'SkyWedge' one of Kingsport's permanent pieces located at the Kingsport Renaissance Center.  To hear from the Artist please press 112#.  To hear from our curator, Hank Foreman, please press 212#

 

 

13 #  "The Fifth Element" by artist  Hanna Jubran is the gateway piece located at the intersection of Sullivan and Main Streets.     Kingsport has in its permanent collection another of Hanna's pieces  "the Four Elements" on the circle at Broad and New Streets.  The four elements are earth, wind, fire, and water.  So what do you think the fifth element might be?  Hanna suggested 'space'.  Other viewers have suggested 'spirit' or 'wisdom'.  What suggestions do you have?  One of Hanna's most recent activities was the creation or a site specific sculpture entitled "A Monument to a Century of Flight" in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.  To hear from the Artist please press 113#.  To hear from our curator, Hank Foreman, please press 213#

 

 

Photos of all Sculpture Walk IV sculptures can be found at www.PublicArt.KingsportTN.gov along with other initiatives of the Kingsport Public Art Program.      For more information, please call 423-392-8416.

 

 

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Bonnie Macdonald

Kingsport Renaissance Center  Cultural Arts Division 

1200 E. Center St.   Kingsport, TN  37660

423-392-8416

www.KingsportARTS.org  www.KingsportParksandRecreation.org

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