Carnegie Center announces 2012 New Albany Public Art Project: Bicentennial Series Artists.

(submitted)

The Carnegie Center announces the 2012 New Albany Public Art Project: Bicentennial Series Artists

Nathan Smith
Jacob Stanley
R. Michael Wimmer

Art Walk Saturday June 23, 2012 (Rain date June 30)

Artist Nathan Smith of Louisville, KY, will create an art installation on the historic theme of Parks and Recreation on a section of brick sidewalk next to MainSource Bank, located at the corner of State and Market Streets in downtown New Albany.

Jacob Stanley, an artist living and working in Greencastle, IN, will install his artwork on the theme of Neighborhoods and Architecture in the garden at St Marks Church, located at the corner of Spring and Bank Streets, directly across the street from the Carnegie Center.

New Albany artist R. Michael Wimmer’s art installation will interpret the theme of Education in front of the City-County Building, located at 311 Hauss Square, also in downtown New Albany.

Nathan Smith's wooden “MicroPark” will take its form from the Ohio River and will provide a gathering space for the community with seating and plants. Smith writes, “The MicroPark proposal is conceived as an interactive work that applies aspects of sculpture and landscape urbanism in an attempt to create new social interactions on the sidewalk site. Reclaimed lumber will be sourced locally to recreate the form of the Ohio River at the pedestrian scale. Islands and shores, at this scale, become places to sit or grow plants while the river itself is translated into a wood ‘boardwalk’ that ramps slightly upward to make a new space on the sidewalk… Ultimately, the goal is to create a beautiful representation of New Albany’s link to the natural world while prompting a productive interaction on the sidewalk.”

Jacob Stanley's sculpture will begin with a grid on the ground, representing city streets and neighborhoods. This grid then metaphorically and literally turns upward to become posts that support a sculpture of a house, which will incorporate architectural details from well-known local homes. The artist writes, “The supports represent the many hardworking people, contractors and institutions that have fought to save historic and architecturally significant homes in New Albany. The built environment profoundly influences our lives and requires a critical understanding of this influence and its history. In particular, I am excited by the site-specific nature of the project. It allows for an in-depth investigation into the history of New Albany. ”

R. Michael Wimmer's metal sculpture will grow out of the earth as a plant form, flowering into objects that symbolize education in our city. About his artwork, Wimmer writes, “The education system in New Albany has a rich history in this country. In 1853 New Albany High School was the first public school in Indiana. NAHS also started WNAS-FM in 1949, which is the oldest continuously operating high school radio station in the nation… Growth of Education represents not only what is learned in books and the classroom but what is learned outside the school in nature and life experiences.”

The New Albany Public Art Project: Bicentennial Series is a 4-year program featuring a rotating schedule of outdoor artworks that will be installed each year in the downtown area, beginning in 2010 and leading up to New Albany's bicentennial commemoration in 2013. Each work interprets a different theme from New Albany's history. The jurors for the 2012 Public Art Project were Jim Clark of LexArts in Lexington, KY; Martha Slaughter of Bernheim Arboretum in Clermont, KY; and Alice Stites, of 21C Museum in Louisville, KY. The New Albany Public Art Project: Bicentennial Series originated from a partnership between the Carnegie Center for Art and History and the New Albany Urban Enterprise Association.

For additional information visit the Public Art Project website and Facebook page.

Thank you,
Laura Wilkins, Director of Marketing and Outreach