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Progress
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Arts & Community | Sunday, march 24, 2013
Space in a public place Gainesville area strives to bring more art into the open BY SAVANNAH KING
sking@gainesvilletimes.com In the hustle and bustle of daily life, you’ve probably missed a few details. For instance, have you ever noticed the folk art created by Gainesville’s own R.A. Miller on a brick wall in downtown Gainesville? What about the bronze animal statues at Memorial Park Cemetery? Or the war memorials at Rock Creek Park? Or the statues on Brenau University’s front lawn? “I think that we take for granted that they’re there or don’t even notice them,” Cindy Wilson, board member of Vision 2030 and member of the Vision 2030 Public Art Committee. “I really believe that there is truly a good bit of art here already.” The Vision 2030 Public Art Committee was founded last year with the focus of implementing a public arts program in Gainesville and Hall County. “One thing that our committee has done is kind of catalogue our existing public art and taken pictures of it all,” said Meg Nivens, executive director of Vision 2030. “We’re trying to develop a brochure for the community that shows where everything is here in Hall County and maybe even provide a walking tour of public art that they can find and access and learn about. There are probably so many pieces that we as citizens pass every single day and don’t even realize what’s here.” Wilson spent an afternoon last summer walking around the city with other committee members looking for public art. They categorized
This piece by renowned folk artist R.A. Miller hangs on the side of a downtown building on Bradford Street, where it has been for several years, providing a colorful enhancement to the brick-and-mortar walls.
“Miss Scarlet,” a metal horse sculpture created by artist Eric Strauss in 2004, stands playfully in front of the Quinlan Visual Arts Center on Green Street. More of Strauss’ horse sculptures can be found on the campus of Brenau University and in front of The Longstreet Clinic on Jesse Jewell Parkway in Gainesville.
their findings into architectural, memorial and basic art structures. “People don’t realize what public art is,” Wilson said. “There is a ton of memorial art around the court house area downtown.” She said a lot of people will probably be surprised to discover the 9/11 memorial at the Brenau Downtown Center or to-scale solar system walking town through downtown Gainesville. She said the group also found some breathtaking architectural details in the homes and buildings along Green Street and at Brenau. “Art can be interpreted in so many ways,” Wilson said. “What we found were some of these incredible building on the square and campus of Brenau have beautiful details over an entry way or on a doorway. We are blessed here in Gainesville just to have such beautiful architecture.” Part of the committee’s goals are to not only record what does exist but plan for future public art spaces. They are also working with city and county government and community organizations to create strong partnerships that will ■■Please see space, 3A
People walking through downtown Gainesville will not only spot the R.A. Miller piece, a large Coca-Cola advertisement painted on brick, and a statue of a Confederate soldier, they also will see a built-to-scale model of the solar system, which continues around town and along Wilshire Trails.
Brenau University’s new 2,200-pound bronze tiger sculpture which was designed by Georgia artist Gregory Johnson, rests on its granite tabletop on Brenau’s Gainesville campus.
Also on the grounds of the Quinlan Visual Arts Center is a painted aluminum sculpture titled “Lithely Verdant/ Gravity Fritz” created in 1990 by artist Stephen Kline. Various genres of art can be found around Hall County, ranging from realistic busts of historical figures to abstract sculptures, folk art and even architecture both postmodern and Victorian.
Photos by Times staff
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