Downtown art choices
By Rochelle Moore
Published in News on August 1, 2018 5:50 AM
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Universal Inseparability is a 12-foot-tall stainless steel sculpture in the running for possible placement in downtown Goldsboro.
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For No Apparent Reason is an 18-foot-tall painted steel and wood piece and one of 10 sculptures under review by Goldsboro downtown development staff.
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Telos is a 12-foot-tall painted steel sculpture and one of a collection of art pieces available for public review and comment online at http://sculptures.goldsboronc.gov
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Hyperbolic Space is a 7-foot-tall stainless steel sculpture under consideration for the downtown landscape.
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Iliana is a 17-foot-tall steel, fiberglass, lace and silicone sculpture under review as a possible downtown art piece.
A collection of 10 art sculptures has been selected as possible additions to the downtown landscape, and city leaders are seeking public input on the process before the final four selections are made.
Each year, the Goldsboro officials select four art sculptures that are added along Center Street in an effort to generate excitement and interest to downtown. Two large sculptures are prominently displayed in the Center Street roundabouts, at Chestnut and Mulberry streets, one smaller piece is located at the entrance of the John Street parking lot, and another smaller sculpture is located in the median of the 100 block of Center Street.
Up until midnight on Aug. 17, the public has an opportunity to post comments on the sculptures on the city's website, at http://sculptures.goldsboronc.gov. While it's not a voting process, city leaders are interested in knowing whether residents favor specific sculptures over others. The public input will be considered by the Public Art Steering Committee, which will make a final recommendation to the Goldsboro City Council. The council will decide on the art pieces during its Aug. 20 work session.
On the website are 10 different art sculptures, which were selected by the committee from 61 sculptures that were submitted for consideration, said Julie Metz, Goldsboro downtown development director. The city plans to lease the art for one year and has budgeted $9,000 for the art and installation expenses. The cost is higher this year, up from $7,000 a year ago, in an effort to attract more artists from across the country, Metz said.
"The art elements in our downtown, particularly the streetscape project, have provided unexpected benefits to the overall investment," Metz said. "Looking back, we underestimated their worth.
"If you spend any time downtown, it is evident that people enjoy the pieces as they stage photographs to commemorate special occasions or moments in front of them. We often hear from visitors that the pieces add to their experience and find them to be a delightful surprise."
The top 10 art pieces offer a variety, reflected in the names of each piece and the craftsmanship. Several pieces offer the height needed for roundabout display, which includes one location within viewing distance of City Hall, and others are smaller, which could easily fit in the Center Street median or near the John Street parking lot.
"Increasing the budget for the larger pieces seemed to have worked as we received twice as many as last year to choose from, and the Public Art Steering Committee felt we had a better body of pieces to select from overall," Metz said. "The committee members talked through a multitude of considerations that helped them land on the 10 we are asking the public to weigh in on.
"Considerations such as: size and mass to space, whether we have had a piece from the artist before, an attempt to have various types of materials in the selection, all had a part in the final selections."
The new pieces will be added to downtown and on display during an installation ceremony on Oct. 12 at noon at City Hall. During the ceremony, artists will be on hand and background information on the artwork will be provided.