For pedestrians and drivers along one stretch of a Greenwood trail, four new works of art inspire wonder, conversation and introspection.
People will marvel at the colors that seem to shift on a piece titled “Feathers Three.” They’ll ponder the twin messages works such as “Pair” and “Both Sides.” In the abstract figures of “Open Arms,” they’ll find a tribute to connection, flow and openness.
“It’s a great way to introduce art into the city through that main thoroughfare of Smith Valley Road. The pieces are all very diverse — the pieces are all different sizes and from artists all over the country, so we’re getting a large range of work out there,” said Jen Winget, assistant director for Greenwood Parks and Recreation.
In what has become a biannual tradition, new works of public art have appeared along the stretch of Greenwood walkway known as Polk Hill Trail. Four new sculptures have been unveiled through the Art on the Trail program, an initiative aimed at providing a home for artwork from around the country in two-year stints.
The new pieces are diverse and unique creations, and organizers of Art on the Trail hope that the works generate creativity locally in addition to beautifying the city.
“Every two years, it refreshes the art scene here in Greenwood,” Winget said.
For the artists taking part, the program offers a chance to give the community wide-reaching exposure to their work.
“All my life, I’ve really responded to public art. It’s for everyone — you don’t have to have a special invitation or pay to go to a museum to see it. It’s out there for everyone to enjoy,” said Kirk Seese, whose sculpture “Feathers Three” is now featured on the trail. “I hope that it brightens people’s lives, where they can enjoy it as they pass by.”
Art on the Trail has been a Greenwood staple since 2012. Every two years, new sculptures from regional and national artists are leased and installed along a stretch of trail east of Craig Park.
The idea for the art trail came from Rob Taggart, director of Greenwood Parks and Recreation. He worked with the Greater Greenwood Arts Council to come up with a plan to attract finished artwork from throughout the country to be installed in Greenwood. Submitted sculptures are juried by a committee that looks at durability in the outdoors, relevance to the history and culture of the city and size and scope.
“That committee is made up of local artists and people who are involved in the local arts organizations, the Southside Art League and Greater Greenwood Arts Council. They, along with a representative from the parks department rate all of the submissions so we find the four top ones,” Winget said.
After two years, new artwork is installed along the trail. Only two sculptures have become fixtures through Art on the Trail — “Strider II,” an imposing sculpture depicting a lean figure walking into the wind, and “Bright Days,” a bright yellow burst along the trailway.
“It’s something that’s gotten really good resident feedback, so it’s something we want to continue,” Winget said. “You think about Greenwood Parks and Recreation as being about physical activity, but it’s about arts and culture too, and this is a good way to incorporate it into the city.”
This year’s selections include Seese’s “Feathers Three;” “Open Arms,” by Tim Adams of Webster City, Iowa; “Both Sides,” by Maureen Gray of Interlochen, Michigan; “Pair,” by Jan Dean of South Bend.
Each piece adds something a little different to the trail.
Seese, hailing from Lutherville, Maryland, has been working in visual art for his entire life, recently specializing in large-scale murals and public sculptures. His work can be found all over the country, with pieces already occupying 36 states.
The artwork is eye-catching and engaging; Seese regularly brings mixtures of colors and shapes to engage with passersby. “Feathers Three” grew out of a series of similar sculptures that he’s done previously, with bright geometric, elongated boards with colorful designs on each side.
“After three and four years of printing the same designs, I wanted to create some new color combinations. So what you see in Greenwood is a brand new, never-before-seen color combination,” he said. “That’s a first for me.”
Dean’s powerful sculpture “Pair” features two opposing jet-black pieces, with finger-like appendages pointed at one another. Her work often deals with the aspects of life that are opposite yet also bring people closer.
“Pair” is a commentary on the human condition — feeling isolated within ourselves while searching for a home in others, according to placard mounted outside the piece.
“This is how I see the world — the connection between opposites, and the realization that you can’t have one end of an opposite without the other,” she said. “They are intricately connected to each other.”
In “Both Sides,” Gray wanted to emphasize the belief that people can overcome their differences and work together. That is symbolized in the piece, constructed out of materials that are essentially the same yet have strikingly different appearances.
The rusted steel patina and the bright aluminum may look different, but function in the same way.
“I really believe that everything matters, and everything is 99% the same. With my sculpture, I try to use materials that are so similar, but look so different, but then relate so well to each other,” she said.
Adams created “Open Arms” with its two figures facing towards each other, almost in embrace. He intended to bring to mind openness and flow; in the artist statement outside the piece, he wrote, “Like the waters of a river, flow and openness implies an ability to change and adapt to circumstances with resiliency.”
His hope is the qualities of the sculpture — calm, quiet and agility — inspire people to take on new challenges, ideas and perspectives.
“I hope people get an appreciation for the pieces here — that the pieces speak to them,” Winget said. “Every piece has the artist’s interpretation on a little placard in front of it, but art is subjective, so every person interprets it differently. So I hope they find what that piece means to them.”
