http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040404/NEWS/404040484/1039
"Tribute to the Spirit of Volunteerism" was assembled at Albert Paley's studio in Rochester, N.Y. The sculpture by Paley, widely considered one of the country's top sculptors, will be unveiled April 16 at Lake Mirror Park.
Enlarge this photo
FEATURED ARTICLES
Sculptor: Piece Meant to Honor Giving Citizens
Apr 4, 04
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Dedication of the "Tribute to the Spirit of Volunteerism" sculpture
WHERE: Lake Mirror Park
WHEN: 5:30 p.m. April 16
COST: Free
COMMITTEE MEMBERS
These are the members of the selection committee that chose the design for "Tribute to the Spirit of Volunteerism."
Co-Chairman David Bunch, Historic Lakeland
Co-Chairman Daniel Stetson, executive director, Polk Museum of Art
Cindy Alexander, executive vice president, United Way
Carol Barnett, local philanthropist
Todd Behrens, curator of art at the Polk Museum of Art
Juanita Black, Historic Lakeland
Larry Durrence, president of Polk Community College
Roger Haar, former city manager
Jay Hood, architect, Glatting Jackson of Orlando
Maggie Lazarre, former chair of the Lakeland Area Chamber of Commerce
Beth Mason, former chair of the Florida Arts Council
Seth McKeel, city commissioner
Alice O'Reilly, executive director Volunteers in Service to the Elderly
Pam Page, park planner, Lakeland
James Rogers, associate professor of art history, Florida Southern College
Norma Roth, art collector and philanthropist
Ernie Straughn, architect, Straughn Trout of Lakeland
Sam Viana, visual arts student, Harrison Center for Visual and Performing Arts
Fran Williams, past president, Polk Museum of Art
RELATED ARTICLES
Sculptor: Piece Meant to Honor Giving Citizens
Apr 4, 04
Sculpture Backers Expect Criticism
Dec 3, 03
New Life for Downtown
Oct 28, 03
Next Phase of Park Begins
Oct 6, 03
Eye-Catching Work by Acclaimed Scupltor to Debut
By Rebecca Mahoney
The Ledger
rebecca.mahoney@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Imagine a new Lake Mirror Park. Couples stroll among lush foliage and splashing fountains at Hollis Garden. Children play on animal sculptures nearby in the new Barnett Family Park. Pedestrians enjoy the promenade and listen to music flowing from an outdoor concert.
And right in the middle of it all is a 35-foot-tall, Crayola-bright sculpture, visible from every point in the park.
Part of this vision is about to become reality. The 18,000-pound steel sculpture, called "Tribute to the Spirit of Volunteerism," is set to be installed in downtown Lakeland this week.
The tallest and most expensive piece of public art ever erected in Polk County, the eye-catching, vertical sculpture will tower over Lake Mirror. It was created by Albert Paley, widely considered one of the country's top sculptors, and is meant to recognize volunteerism. The piece will be dedicated at 5:30 p.m. April 16.
"It's a strong piece. It's very bright and uplifting, and people are going to talk about it," said David Bunch of Historic Lakeland, the private organization that commissioned it and raised the approximately $100,000 for its construction. "Nobody's going to walk by this and ignore it."
Not everyone is ecstatic about the new sculpture.
Early sketches have prompted varying reactions, ranging from excitement over the idea of Lakeland having a sculpture by an internationally acclaimed artist to bewilderment from people who don't think the piece has anything to do with volunteerism to disappointment over the decision to erect a flashy, flamboyant sculpture in the middle of one of the city's most pristine views.
"I just personally didn't understand how it represented and told the story of the volunteer today," said Alice O'Reilly, director of Volunteers in Service to the Elderly and a member of the 19-member panel that selected the piece. "I went in looking for something for my volunteers to recognize and understand, and I just didn't see it."
City officials hope people will keep an open mind about this sculpture -- not simply because they want people to like it, but because they plan to erect other pieces of public art in Lakeland in the near future.
"We're trying to purchase art and increase the presence of public art in Lakeland," said Pam Page, city park planner. "It's a crucial new way of looking at downtown Lakeland."
The public's reaction will be known soon enough. But one thing is certain: This sculpture will not go unnoticed.
"This is something that is going to sit over there and is going to be very visible, very different and raise questions, which is what it's supposed to do," said Bunch. "It's different."
BRIGHT COLORS, STRONG SHAPES
The sculpture is awash with color and energy.
A model shows bright-green and electric-blue palm fronds curl around the base. Yellow sunbursts and purple curls climb toward the sky, bursting into a cornucopia of color and shapes at the top -- bright red fireworks, golden banners and yellow and orange ribbons. It will stand about 35 feet, including its granite base.
TONY RANZE/THE LEDGER
A monument to volunteerism will be erected at this spot on Lake Mirror on Tuesday.
Enlarge this photo
The piece represents the most ambitious work of public art ever erected in Lakeland.
Historic Lakeland paid Paley $100,000 for the sculpture and is in the process of collecting more money for its future maintenance.
It will also be arguably the most noted piece of art in the city, thanks to the reputation of its sculptor. Some say they hope a work by Paley will draw tourists to the area, perhaps in the same way the Frank Lloyd Wright buildings at Florida Southern College draw attention.
"It certainly ratchets us up. This is quite a coup for Lakeland," said Daniel Stetson, executive director of the Polk Museum of Art and one of the members of the committee that selected Paley. "In terms of ambition, in terms of culture, it makes a very powerful statement about us being forward-thinking. I envision this in tourist brochures. There are people who will come here to see it."
The piece was selected by a panel made up of a cross-section of the community, including representatives from the city, people who worked with volunteers and fine arts professionals.
The group chose Paley after an extensive selection process. It solicited proposals by advertising in national art magazines, narrowed the field from 150 artists to three, and asked those three to submit designs for the Lake Mirror site. By all accounts, there was some healthy debate among committee members over which piece to choose. But in the end, two-thirds of the 19 members voted for Paley's design, Bunch said.
"Visually, it's a joyful piece," said James Rogers, associate professor of art history and director of the Melvin Gallery of Art at Florida Southern College, who also served on the committee. "In my mind, there's no risk that this was the best decision."
CONTROVERSY
The piece, and the way it was selected, are not without its critics. Some people say the purpose of the monument -- to commemorate the spirit and work of volunteers -- ended up taking a backseat to Paley's reputation.
"In my opinion, it was the artist more than the piece. To me, that was the most important criteria -- who the sculptor was," said City Commissioner Seth McKeel, who also served on the committee. "Ten, 15, 20 years down the road, it's going to be really great that we have a piece of Albert Paley's. . . . That was the driving force in my mind."
Others say there should have been more input into the selection of the piece, considering its very public location.
"I believe that any sculpture intended to honor volunteers and be displayed in a public park should be designed so that it will be admired by everyone, not just a few," said Richard McDonald, a Lakeland resident who complained about the monument in a letter published by The Ledger last December.
Selection committee members defend their method, saying the process is the same as those routinely used by public arts groups in art-friendly cities such as Seattle, Chicago and Miami.
It is also the same process that will likely be used for other pieces of public art in Lakeland, said Stetson of the Polk Museum of Art.
"Our goal is educationally to keep advancing visual knowledge," he said. "Experience (with) and exposure to a great work of art of this kind . . . will change people."
Rogers of Florida Southern said people with art and architecture backgrounds, like many of the people on this committee, are more likely to recognize strong pieces of modern art.
It was a committee of experts that chose such dramatic, cutting-edge pieces as the Eiffel Tower in Paris; the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C.; and the 50-foot-tall cubist Picasso sculpture in Chicago's Daley Center -- all pieces that were decried by the general public when they were selected but that were eventually validated and embraced over time.
Average people, Rogers said, "might not necessarily know that there is wonderful stuff out there that you haven't been exposed to yet. (Experts) can see taking a leap when somebody else might not see that."
Committee members are expecting a mixed reaction to the Paley piece. But several said they hope that, like the Eiffel Tower, Lakeland residents will also come to love it.
"Great art doesn't reveal all its secrets at once," said Stetson. "I think that if people open themselves to experiencing (this piece) over time, it will actually grow and change with them."
A COMING WAVE OF ART?
Paley's sculpture is more than a tribute to volunteerism. In many ways, the sculpture is symbolic of a new movement in Lakeland: a drive to make public art and culture an integral part of Lakeland's landscape.
In the past several years, Lakeland has made considerable strides in putting public art on display. The annual Lemon Street sculpture competition kicks off its fourth year this month, and last year marked the successful public art project Swansation.
The city has also added at least four pieces of public art to Lakeland in recent years, including several from the Lemon Street sculpture competition: the Robert Wick bronze piece "Window" and Brett Hunter's granite-and-steel "In Flux: Persistence," both located in Hollis Garden; the steel Frank Holder piece "Airwaves," now in Elvarath Park near Lake Morton; and Doug Makemson's sculpture "Crocodilis," which rests on the lawn outside the railroad station downtown.
City officials say putting art on the streets is a way to draw tourists -- thereby boosting the local economy -- and attract new residents.
Art is "adding interest and increasing power of place for downtown Lakeland," said Page, the park planner. "It prevents us from being stagnant."
City officials say the hope is to use art as a way to bridge Lakeland's past and future and say the Paley piece and its Lake Mirror setting are good examples of how modern art can work well in a historic setting.
"You'll look at this modern piece of art, and then you've got this historic promenade behind it," said Anne Furr, the Lakeland Downtown Development Authority's executive director. "I think in the future that will tell a lot about us. I think it will show that we're open to growth and change but that we hold onto what's dear to us from the past."
The erection of a volunteer monument completes the 75-year-old vision by the founders of Lake Mirror Park, who had suggested an obelisk for the site. Historic Lakeland originally considered an obelisk -- a stone pillar that tapers to a point at the top -- but later decided there would be more value in putting in a piece of original art.
This week, the public's reaction will begin to show whether the gamble paid off.
"We're trying to attract a new interest in Lakeland and a new level of economy in Lakeland and art is a big part of that," said Bunch of Historic Lakeland. "I think (this sculpture) makes a statement that we are capable of something different."
--
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"Tribute to the Spirit of Volunteerism" was assembled at Albert Paley's studio in Rochester, N.Y. The sculpture by Paley, widely considered one of the country's top sculptors, will be unveiled April 16 at Lake Mirror Park.
Enlarge this photo
FEATURED ARTICLES
Sculptor: Piece Meant to Honor Giving Citizens
Apr 4, 04
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Dedication of the "Tribute to the Spirit of Volunteerism" sculpture
WHERE: Lake Mirror Park
WHEN: 5:30 p.m. April 16
COST: Free
COMMITTEE MEMBERS
These are the members of the selection committee that chose the design for "Tribute to the Spirit of Volunteerism."
Co-Chairman David Bunch, Historic Lakeland
Co-Chairman Daniel Stetson, executive director, Polk Museum of Art
Cindy Alexander, executive vice president, United Way
Carol Barnett, local philanthropist
Todd Behrens, curator of art at the Polk Museum of Art
Juanita Black, Historic Lakeland
Larry Durrence, president of Polk Community College
Roger Haar, former city manager
Jay Hood, architect, Glatting Jackson of Orlando
Maggie Lazarre, former chair of the Lakeland Area Chamber of Commerce
Beth Mason, former chair of the Florida Arts Council
Seth McKeel, city commissioner
Alice O'Reilly, executive director Volunteers in Service to the Elderly
Pam Page, park planner, Lakeland
James Rogers, associate professor of art history, Florida Southern College
Norma Roth, art collector and philanthropist
Ernie Straughn, architect, Straughn Trout of Lakeland
Sam Viana, visual arts student, Harrison Center for Visual and Performing Arts
Fran Williams, past president, Polk Museum of Art
RELATED ARTICLES
Sculptor: Piece Meant to Honor Giving Citizens
Apr 4, 04
Sculpture Backers Expect Criticism
Dec 3, 03
New Life for Downtown
Oct 28, 03
Next Phase of Park Begins
Oct 6, 03
Eye-Catching Work by Acclaimed Scupltor to Debut
By Rebecca Mahoney
The Ledger
rebecca.mahoney@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Imagine a new Lake Mirror Park. Couples stroll among lush foliage and splashing fountains at Hollis Garden. Children play on animal sculptures nearby in the new Barnett Family Park. Pedestrians enjoy the promenade and listen to music flowing from an outdoor concert.
And right in the middle of it all is a 35-foot-tall, Crayola-bright sculpture, visible from every point in the park.
Part of this vision is about to become reality. The 18,000-pound steel sculpture, called "Tribute to the Spirit of Volunteerism," is set to be installed in downtown Lakeland this week.
The tallest and most expensive piece of public art ever erected in Polk County, the eye-catching, vertical sculpture will tower over Lake Mirror. It was created by Albert Paley, widely considered one of the country's top sculptors, and is meant to recognize volunteerism. The piece will be dedicated at 5:30 p.m. April 16.
"It's a strong piece. It's very bright and uplifting, and people are going to talk about it," said David Bunch of Historic Lakeland, the private organization that commissioned it and raised the approximately $100,000 for its construction. "Nobody's going to walk by this and ignore it."
Not everyone is ecstatic about the new sculpture.
Early sketches have prompted varying reactions, ranging from excitement over the idea of Lakeland having a sculpture by an internationally acclaimed artist to bewilderment from people who don't think the piece has anything to do with volunteerism to disappointment over the decision to erect a flashy, flamboyant sculpture in the middle of one of the city's most pristine views.
"I just personally didn't understand how it represented and told the story of the volunteer today," said Alice O'Reilly, director of Volunteers in Service to the Elderly and a member of the 19-member panel that selected the piece. "I went in looking for something for my volunteers to recognize and understand, and I just didn't see it."
City officials hope people will keep an open mind about this sculpture -- not simply because they want people to like it, but because they plan to erect other pieces of public art in Lakeland in the near future.
"We're trying to purchase art and increase the presence of public art in Lakeland," said Pam Page, city park planner. "It's a crucial new way of looking at downtown Lakeland."
The public's reaction will be known soon enough. But one thing is certain: This sculpture will not go unnoticed.
"This is something that is going to sit over there and is going to be very visible, very different and raise questions, which is what it's supposed to do," said Bunch. "It's different."
BRIGHT COLORS, STRONG SHAPES
The sculpture is awash with color and energy.
A model shows bright-green and electric-blue palm fronds curl around the base. Yellow sunbursts and purple curls climb toward the sky, bursting into a cornucopia of color and shapes at the top -- bright red fireworks, golden banners and yellow and orange ribbons. It will stand about 35 feet, including its granite base.
TONY RANZE/THE LEDGER
A monument to volunteerism will be erected at this spot on Lake Mirror on Tuesday.
Enlarge this photo
The piece represents the most ambitious work of public art ever erected in Lakeland.
Historic Lakeland paid Paley $100,000 for the sculpture and is in the process of collecting more money for its future maintenance.
It will also be arguably the most noted piece of art in the city, thanks to the reputation of its sculptor. Some say they hope a work by Paley will draw tourists to the area, perhaps in the same way the Frank Lloyd Wright buildings at Florida Southern College draw attention.
"It certainly ratchets us up. This is quite a coup for Lakeland," said Daniel Stetson, executive director of the Polk Museum of Art and one of the members of the committee that selected Paley. "In terms of ambition, in terms of culture, it makes a very powerful statement about us being forward-thinking. I envision this in tourist brochures. There are people who will come here to see it."
The piece was selected by a panel made up of a cross-section of the community, including representatives from the city, people who worked with volunteers and fine arts professionals.
The group chose Paley after an extensive selection process. It solicited proposals by advertising in national art magazines, narrowed the field from 150 artists to three, and asked those three to submit designs for the Lake Mirror site. By all accounts, there was some healthy debate among committee members over which piece to choose. But in the end, two-thirds of the 19 members voted for Paley's design, Bunch said.
"Visually, it's a joyful piece," said James Rogers, associate professor of art history and director of the Melvin Gallery of Art at Florida Southern College, who also served on the committee. "In my mind, there's no risk that this was the best decision."
CONTROVERSY
The piece, and the way it was selected, are not without its critics. Some people say the purpose of the monument -- to commemorate the spirit and work of volunteers -- ended up taking a backseat to Paley's reputation.
"In my opinion, it was the artist more than the piece. To me, that was the most important criteria -- who the sculptor was," said City Commissioner Seth McKeel, who also served on the committee. "Ten, 15, 20 years down the road, it's going to be really great that we have a piece of Albert Paley's. . . . That was the driving force in my mind."
Others say there should have been more input into the selection of the piece, considering its very public location.
"I believe that any sculpture intended to honor volunteers and be displayed in a public park should be designed so that it will be admired by everyone, not just a few," said Richard McDonald, a Lakeland resident who complained about the monument in a letter published by The Ledger last December.
Selection committee members defend their method, saying the process is the same as those routinely used by public arts groups in art-friendly cities such as Seattle, Chicago and Miami.
It is also the same process that will likely be used for other pieces of public art in Lakeland, said Stetson of the Polk Museum of Art.
"Our goal is educationally to keep advancing visual knowledge," he said. "Experience (with) and exposure to a great work of art of this kind . . . will change people."
Rogers of Florida Southern said people with art and architecture backgrounds, like many of the people on this committee, are more likely to recognize strong pieces of modern art.
It was a committee of experts that chose such dramatic, cutting-edge pieces as the Eiffel Tower in Paris; the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C.; and the 50-foot-tall cubist Picasso sculpture in Chicago's Daley Center -- all pieces that were decried by the general public when they were selected but that were eventually validated and embraced over time.
Average people, Rogers said, "might not necessarily know that there is wonderful stuff out there that you haven't been exposed to yet. (Experts) can see taking a leap when somebody else might not see that."
Committee members are expecting a mixed reaction to the Paley piece. But several said they hope that, like the Eiffel Tower, Lakeland residents will also come to love it.
"Great art doesn't reveal all its secrets at once," said Stetson. "I think that if people open themselves to experiencing (this piece) over time, it will actually grow and change with them."
A COMING WAVE OF ART?
Paley's sculpture is more than a tribute to volunteerism. In many ways, the sculpture is symbolic of a new movement in Lakeland: a drive to make public art and culture an integral part of Lakeland's landscape.
In the past several years, Lakeland has made considerable strides in putting public art on display. The annual Lemon Street sculpture competition kicks off its fourth year this month, and last year marked the successful public art project Swansation.
The city has also added at least four pieces of public art to Lakeland in recent years, including several from the Lemon Street sculpture competition: the Robert Wick bronze piece "Window" and Brett Hunter's granite-and-steel "In Flux: Persistence," both located in Hollis Garden; the steel Frank Holder piece "Airwaves," now in Elvarath Park near Lake Morton; and Doug Makemson's sculpture "Crocodilis," which rests on the lawn outside the railroad station downtown.
City officials say putting art on the streets is a way to draw tourists -- thereby boosting the local economy -- and attract new residents.
Art is "adding interest and increasing power of place for downtown Lakeland," said Page, the park planner. "It prevents us from being stagnant."
City officials say the hope is to use art as a way to bridge Lakeland's past and future and say the Paley piece and its Lake Mirror setting are good examples of how modern art can work well in a historic setting.
"You'll look at this modern piece of art, and then you've got this historic promenade behind it," said Anne Furr, the Lakeland Downtown Development Authority's executive director. "I think in the future that will tell a lot about us. I think it will show that we're open to growth and change but that we hold onto what's dear to us from the past."
The erection of a volunteer monument completes the 75-year-old vision by the founders of Lake Mirror Park, who had suggested an obelisk for the site. Historic Lakeland originally considered an obelisk -- a stone pillar that tapers to a point at the top -- but later decided there would be more value in putting in a piece of original art.
This week, the public's reaction will begin to show whether the gamble paid off.
"We're trying to attract a new interest in Lakeland and a new level of economy in Lakeland and art is a big part of that," said Bunch of Historic Lakeland. "I think (this sculpture) makes a statement that we are capable of something different."
--
The Design-L list for art and architecture, since 1992...
To subscribe, send mailto:design-l-subscribe-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.
To signoff, send mailto:design-l-unsubscribe-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.
Visit archives: http://lists.psu.edu/archives/design-l.html