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One Civic Square Carmel, IN 46032
Contact: Nancy Heck
E-Mail: nheck@carmel.in.gov
Phone: (317) 571-2494
Nancy Heck
The
Department of Community Relations
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City of Carmel
One Civic Square Carmel, IN 46032
News Release
Date:
November 16, 2007
Contact:
Nancy Heck
(317) 571-2494
Release:
Immediate
City to Add to its
Outdoor Public Art
Carmel, IN – The City of Carmel has
signed a contract for the purchase of 11 additional statues
from internationally acclaimed sculptor
J. Seward Johnson.
These statues will complement the City’s current collection
from this artist, who has been referred to as the Norman
Rockwell of American Sculpture. Many of these statues will
be placed in the
Arts & Design
District to create a walkable outdoor museum of art,
although exact locations have not been pin pointed. The
unique design of the sculptures turns heads because of their
life-like appearance. Johnson uses a technique to apply
paint to the bronze sculpture making the life-size pieces
appear realistic.
“The addition of these realistic sculptures enhances the
enjoyment of a visit to the
Carmel Arts &
Design District. Visitors to the area will be able to
discover the sculptures as they shop and dine in the area.
Many will stop and have their picture taken with the
sculpture to capture the moment. We realize the tremendous
impact that the arts have on economic development and are
investing in the district to help attract customers and
businesses to the area,” said Mayor Jim Brainard.
The total amount of the contract for all 11 statues is
$979,000, which reflects a ten percent discount to the City
of Carmel. This discount price includes the modifications
requested to customize certain statues making them unique to
Carmel, Indiana. The original price, without the discount,
would have been $1,121,000. The statues are being paid for
out of the one percent for the arts portion of the City
budget and payments are subject to annual appropriations.
The first of the 11 statues included in this contract was
placed on loan with the City earlier this year and installed
in front of Joe’s Meat and Fish Market in the Arts & Design
District. It is called, “Holding Out,” and depicts an
older woman holding shopping bags.
The second statue in this series will be “The Right
Light.” This statue shows an artist at an easel and will
be customized so that the image on the “canvas” reflects the
Arts & Design District from the viewpoint of the statue. The
exact location of this piece is yet undetermined, other than
it will be placed in the Arts & Design District.
Subsequent deliveries include the following pieces of art:
· “Oh, It’s You, Welcome” – a
smiling police officer assisting passers by
· “Unconditional Surrender” – image of sailor
kissing nurse from VJ day
· “My World” – A little girl with a book
· “Who’s in Charge?” – a boy riding on his
father’s shoulders
· “Bib Sister” – Girl trying on sister’s shoe
· “One Man’s Search” – boy sitting on a bench
reading wearing a school sweater, which will be
customized to carry the Carmel High School emblem
· “Things To Do” – Seated woman writing a list,
which will be customized to show design notes
· “Elemental” – couple with umbrella, which will
be customized to show the couple carrying an antique
mirror and shopping bag.
· "Ambassador of the Streets” – Woman walking a
dog
Including the “Holding Out” statue
mentioned earlier in the release, the other statues that are
currently in this collection include:
· “First Ride” – unveiled
December 10, 2005; along Monon Trail just south of Main
Street; depicts father helping daughter learn to ride a
bike; purchased by the City of Carmel
· “Sidewalk Concert” – unveiled April 20, 2006;
outside Carmel Music Store on north side of Main Street
just east of Lurie Gallery of Art; shows a violinist
serenading passers by; purchased by the Carmel
Redevelopment Commission and Carmel Economic Development
Committee
· “There, Now You Can Grow” – unveiled April 20,
2006; just outside World’s Smallest Children’s Art
Gallery on the northeast corner of Main Street and 1st
Avenue NW; small girl watering flowers; purchased by the
City of Carmel
· “Confirming Predictions” – unveiled April 20,
2006; located on a bench just outside Arts & Design
District office; man in suit reading stock market
information; purchased by the City of Carmel.
Johnson wasn’t always a sculpture; he
started as a painter and then, in 1968, he decided to try
his hand at the medium of sculpture and has focused on
life-size bronze cast figures. It turned out to be a great
decision, as more than 200 pieces of Johnson’s work have
been featured in private collections in the United States,
Canada, Europe and Asia, as well as prominent public places
such as Rockefeller Center and the World Trade Center in New
York City and Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver, Canada.
Johnson's work has also been selected for
the International Sculpture Conference Exhibition and is
sited in Washington, D.C. on a long term loan. He has also
had exhibitions in the Galleria Ca D'oro, Piazza di Spagna,
Rome, the RW Norton Art Museum, the Knoxville Museum of Art,
the Wave Hill Sculpture Park, the Jacksonville Art Museum at
Yale University, and solo exhibitions in Connecticut, New
Jersey, Texas, California, New York, Washington, D.C., as
well as in Mexico and Canada.
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