August Marks Changing Of The Art

BRISTOL, VA-TN. – It’s out with the old and in with the new as 2007 The Art in Public Places (AiPP) outdoor sculpture exhibition ends, and the 2008 sculptures move to town.

The new pieces, which have not been revealed, will be installed throughout downtown Bristol on Aug. 6. An inaugural walk on Aug. 7 at 1:30 p.m. will offer an opportunity for residents to view the art and to meet all but one of the artists. The walk will begin on the front plaza of the Bristol Public Library.

An invitation-only reception for project donors will be held at the Paramount Center for the Arts begining at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 7.

Arts Alliance Mountain Empire is the sponsor of AiPP. This year’s project has been financed with private and business donations totaling more than $28,000. Both Bristols are contributing the assistance of many city workers who help install the sculptures.

The exhibition juror Paul Ha will also be on the walk. Ha is the director of the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis. Exhibitions conceived during Ha’s tenure include “I Remember Heaven: Jim Hodges and Andy Warhol,” “Laylah Ali: Painting and Drawings,” “Alexander Ross: Survey, Michael Lin,” “Yun-Fei Ji: The Empty City” and others.

Ha has lectured extensively on contemporary art, artists, the emerging art scene and the importance of not-for profits. He has served on panels, as a juror for numerous grant-giving organizations and has been a visiting critic and lecturer for many institutions, universities and art schools.

Most of the 2007 sculptures are available for sale. “The Belly of the Beast” by artist Benjamin Jones, which was located at the Bristol library near Piedmont Street, left town recently.

“Deflowered Cannon” will be moved from its present location at the Farmer’s Market/Downtown Center to a nearby site. Artist William Harrington from Holliston, Mass., has requested to leave his sculpture in town for another year due to the cost of gas and that fact that his truck is not air conditioned. To save Harrington a trip, the steel 7-by-10-foot sculpture can be had for $6,000.

Additional 2007 pieces, which will be removed before Aug. 6, are available for purchase:
“Curved Form with Portholes” by Jacob Decola, Greensboro, N.C.,  $3,040 (Bristol Virginia Courthouse)
“Watershed” by Martin Webster, Burnesville, N.C., $3,800 (outside Blakely Mitchell)
“Catapillar” by Brain Glaze, Hendersonville, N.C., $5,000 (upper level of the library)
“Coke is Fun II” by Marvin Tadlock, Bristol, Va., 2007 People’s Choice Winner, $13,000 (outside Theatre Bristol Art Space)
“Dome of the Square” by Carl Billingsley, Ayden, N.C.,  $5,000 (outside former 5’O’Clock Bar)
“Evolution in Gray” by Samuel Burns, Southport, N.C.,  $10,000 (outside former Ruth King Antiques)

Individuals interested in purchasing a AiPP art should call Candy Snodgrass at (423) 612-9447. To view all the 2007 pieces and read the artists’ statements, visit http://aippbristol.org/gallery.php.