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| Bleu Cease |
When
I visited the Rochester Contemporary Art Center this week to view the
exhibit, Bleu Cease, the Executive Director, informed me that he was organizing a “Bicycle Tour of Little Known Public Artworks” on Sunday
afternoon. Spring has finally come to Rochester, and what better way
to explore some of Rochester's public art than on a bike, with
photographer Richard Margolis and Bleu as our guides? I'd never biked
downtown, and figured there was at least safety in numbers (although
often the reverse is true!). |
| "Liberty Pole" |
My
friend Bernie joined me on this very slow ride. Even the one person
in wheelchair had no trouble keeping up, but it was fun. About 100
people assembled outside RoCo for the tour, whose first stop was
James Johnson's “The Liberty Pole.” Margolis explained his
rationale for what he does and does not consider public art on his
website (www.rochesterpublicart.com);
the art must be permanent and have attribution (so the various downtown murals are out).
 |
| Wendell Castle & Richard Margolis with "Twist" |
Our
second stop included a view of the Paley “Main Street Bridge
Railings,” commissioned by Bausch & Lomb for Rochester's
centennial, and Wendell Castle's “Twist.” We were honored by the
appearance of Castle himself, who explained the fabrication of the
sculpture – fiberglass, sealed to protect it from the sun, and
filled at its base with concrete, to keep it from...disappearing. He
admitted that bronze is more ideal for an outdoor sculpture, but the
competition that he won to develop art for the site didn't have the
budget for bronze. And he agreed with one biker that the piece, including its orange color, is “of it's time – the 1970s.” He is
of “two frames of mind on public art.” On the one hand, he likes
it because it is there for the public to enjoy. On the other hand, he
feels it is sometimes too “site specific” (his is definitely
not).
After
we crossed the Genesee River, we were confronted by Richard Fleischner's
“Rochester Project.” which was controversial when installed in
1986. Apparently, it “cost a fortune,” and most people don't
recognize it as public art. It is difficult to photograph in its
entirety, and there is no vantage point from which the seemingly
unrelated sculptures all come together. As we assembled for a group
photo in the amphitheatre, overlooking the river, I couldn't help but think this might be a fun space for an
outdoor summer (Fringe Festival?) Jacob's Pillow-like dance
concert...
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| Bleu telling us not to take pictures of "Equilateral Twist" |
When we arrived at Duayne Hatchett's “Equilateral Six,” in front of
the Federal Building, Bleu warned us that a security guard had warned
him that the taking of photos of the building is frowned upon. So I
took several, because a) it's not illegal, and b) a wrongful arrest
lawsuit might have been fun and profitable! Bleu then explained this
sculpture as an example of “plop art,” which began as a
derogatory term for art that could be “plopped into space
anywhere.” The term came to define modernist and minimalist
sculpture, reignited the debate about whether public art should be
integrated into its site, and has recently witnessed a revival in
public art funding.
We
also viewed the Times Square Building's dramatic Art Deco “Wings of
Progress,” and bas-relief sculptures on both that building and the
Gannett Building. Finally, we rode past Paley's 1996 sculpture,
“Genesee Passage,” outside the B&L building. According to
Bleu, it is Paley's “largest sculpture to date. It is composed of
abstract forms symbolizing the growth of Bausch & Lomb as a major
international corporation along the banks of the Genesee River.”
Bausch & Lomb is gone, but the tribute to the company, and its
continued contribution to our community, remains.
 |
| Paley's "Main Street Bridge Railings" with Times Square Building and "Wings of Progress" in background |
Sadly,
many of these public art pieces are, as Castle bemoaned of his piece,
“out of the way,” because when they were installed, it was
expected that there would be more pedestrian traffic than actually
exists. Perhaps if downtown Rochester experiences a revitalization,
more people will come to experience these pieces in person.
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