Public Art

Local Art Enhances the Downtown Experience and Sparks Tourism

| 2016 Q3 | story by LIZ WESLANDER | photos by Steven Hertzog

Borborygmid 8, a large, metal sculpture sits in front of the Lawrence Public Library artist Will Vannerson

If you take the time to look, there is public art around every corner in Lawrence.

At the north end of Massachusetts Street, Lin Emery’s kinetic aluminum sculpture “Flame” stands in front of City Hall, moving with the wind and evoking symbols of the rebirth and vibrancy of Lawrence following Quantrill’s Raid in 1863.

On the University of Kansas (KU) campus, the late Elden Tefft’s bronze sculpture of James Naismith sits in front of the new DeBruce Center, greeting people as they head to Allen Fieldhouse.

At the iconic downtown Free State Brewery, a colorful mosaic by local artist Lora Jost titled “Nearly Spring” treats patrons with images of the Kaw River and native birds as they head up the restaurant’s stairs.

The abundance of public art in Lawrence reflects both the visionary nature of the community and its strong legacy in sculpture, explains Porter Arneill, director of arts and culture for the City of Lawrence.

“It’s important to realize and remember that Lawrence has a long history in sculpture,” Arneill says. “The fact that Elden Tefft, who started the International Sculpture Center, was at KU, and that Jim Patti was visionary enough to start the Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition 28 years ago—that’s the egg to the chicken, so to speak.”

Indeed, the Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission’s Outdoor Downtown Sculpture Exhibition, a collection of sculptures by local and regional artists throughout the downtown area that changes on a yearly basis, is an integral piece to Lawrence’s reputation as an artsy town.

The exhibition has two main components, Arneill explains. The first is professional development for the artists who participate; the second is to enhance the downtown pedestrian experience, which in turn, sparks tourism.

“Having art on our sidewalks is one of many things that sends a message to locals and visitors that we are a creative place and fun place,” Arneill says.

Another goal of the sculpture exhibition is to showcase the variety of ways artists see the world and to hopefully expand people’s ideas of what is pleasing to look at, says John Hachmeister, associate professor in the visual art department at KU.

“A Thousand Miles Away,” at Cordley Elementary School – Lawrence-based muralist Dave Loewenstein

For instance, Borborygmid 8, a large, metal sculpture in this year’s exhibition that sits in front of the Lawrence Public Library, takes its name from borborygmi, the medical term for the sounds of our digestive tract. According to artist Will Vannerson, the form is an allusion to the dichotomies of growth/decay and accumulation/erosion, and is meant to reflect a general situation of life in which direct observation fails to determine in which direction these forces are progressing.

Hachmeister, who also serves on the Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission and worked with Jim Patti to start the annual exhibition, says some of the considerations going into picking sculptures for the exhibition each year include ensuring the pieces are not dangerous in any way to viewers, especially children who tend to want to interact with the art by touching it or seeing if it is climbable. They also look for pieces that are truly engaging but without the potential to offend people on any fundamental level. Still, public opinion on the pieces they pick varies.

“People don’t always like what’s down there, but the nice thing is that it is there for one year, and then it’s gone,” Hachmeister says. “Over the years, it has worked out very well.”

”Mosaic Wall,” by Steve Smith, at the Outdoor Aquatic Center on Kentucky Street

Another city-sponsored art initiative that puts art into public spaces around town is the Percent for Art resolution, which allows the city to set aside capital improvement funds for art projects in new city construction or major renovations. When projects are approved, the Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission implements a methodical selection-panel process to select artists and integrate art into the public realm, Arneill says.

Some examples of Percent for Art pieces in Lawrence include “Mosaic Wall,” by Steve Smith, at the entrance of the Outdoor Aquatic Center on Kentucky Street; the “Swimmers” sculpture, by Mark Lemair, outside the Indoor Aquatic Center, on Overland Drive; and the wire “Suspended Sculpture,” by Ardys Ramberg, on the ceiling of the East Lawrence Recreation Center, at 15th and Brook streets.

Arneill says it’s quite likely people in Lawrence are encountering public art much more than they realize, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

“We are bombarded with so much visual stimulation these days that I think sometimes we take public art for granted,” Arneill says. “But some of the art is not meant to stand out, per se. For so long, the traditional approach to this was ‘plop art,’ where you’d place a piece—typically a sculpture—into a setting where it didn’t relate to the context. But more and more, the pieces are becoming an integrated part of the buildings. They are adding artistic elements that enhance the space.”

City-sponsored programs are just one way public art makes its way into the community. For 18 years, the local nonprofit Van Go Inc. has been giving at-risk teens the chance to create public pieces of art through its Benchmark program, where local businesses, nonprofits, schools and individuals commission teens in the program to design a bench using a professional business process.

Van Go Executive Director Lynn Greene says before making the benches, the program’s teen artists meet with their clients, create a design, process a full-scale color rendering of the bench, bring it back to the client for feedback, input proposed changes then, finally, have the client sign off on the design.

She explains that part of the goal in creating these public works is to give teens who are not accustomed to successful experiences an opportunity to receive public recognition and see themselves as successful and productive members of community.

“The fact that these pieces are permanent and public is extremely important to these teens, because they will continue to see the bench and show it to their family, friends and possibly their kids,” Greene continues.

Many people in the Lawrence community have come to recognize the colorfully painted pieces as Van Go benches, she says. “The benches have become our calling card. They make people feel good about the businesses that have them, and they provide joy and color, as well as functionality. People can actually sit on these benches.”

Lawrence-based muralist Dave Loewenstein also believes in creating public art that is meaningful to and reflective of the community where it exists. Loewenstein has created murals throughout the state and both nationally and internationally using a community-based approach where people in the place where the mural is being created take the lead on the content of a mural and also help paint the piece. The “East Lawrence Waltz” mural, on the stadium at Hobbs Park, 11th and Delaware streets, and “A Thousand Miles Away,” at Cordley Elementary School, 1837 Vermont St., are just two local examples of Loewenstein’s community-based murals.

Loewenstein says the community-based approach, which was started by political activists in Chicago during the 1950s and 60s, is more than just asking people what kind of mural they want in their community or simply choosing a group of people in a community to help create a mural.

“The group of people who come together is always a group that chooses themselves,” Loewenstein says. “We have a big, open meeting, and if people decide they want to participate, they can participate.”

The planning of a community-based mural involves several gatherings during which the self-selected group discusses what images and concepts best represent the people and the place where they live. Loewenstein uses what he hears from the community to design the mural, which the group then helps to paint.

The “East Lawrence Waltz” mural, on the stadium at Hobbs Park, 11th and Delaware streets Lawrence-based muralist Dave Loewenstein

“They are not just having an opinion in the process, they are actually accountable to it and responsible for it,” Loewenstein explains. “This can be incredibly empowering, and this can be incredibly challenging, because not everyone agrees about how a place or people should be represented.”

Loewenstein favors public art that is driven by the people and the stories of the community because it encourages conversations, reflection and storytelling that are important to identity.

“Art is a powerful thing. It can shape the way that we understand a place, a history and a people in ways that can be wonderful,” he says. “It also has the power to change the story of a place. A lot of the new funders of public art understand this, but there are some that specifically want to use art and culture to change the story of the place because maybe they think the story isn’t good enough. These are really sensitive issues.”

KU professor Hachmeister agrees that public art, for better or worse, engages communities in a broad fashion, and that artists should always keep this in mind. However, for the time being, Lawrence seems to be getting it right, he says.

“When art comes in and surprises a neighborhood, it is not appreciated,” Hachmeister says. “But what we have in Lawrence right now is a win-win in terms of balancing art and the needs of neighborhoods. It creates a vibrancy and uniqueness that draws people to the area and has been good for Lawrence.”