20
May
2003
Photos by Brian Barkley
Seven new sculptures have popped up in downtown Davenport, the result of the second Sculpture on Second project of DavenportOne. The organization is also developing a brochure for a walking tour.
The Sculpture on Second program is funded by a grant from the Riverboat Development Authority and coordinated by Quad City Arts. Artists received $800 per piece selected, and one will be awarded a critics' choice award. (That honor carried a $1,000 prize last year but doesn't this time around.)
The works are also for sale - for between $3,500 and $16,000 apiece - with the hope that they'll become permanent fixtures in downtown Davenport. Last year, one sculpture was purchased through the program, and another was sold privately to the City of Davenport for $1.
An odd feature of the competition this year is that three artists supplied two works each, meaning that the seven pieces represent the work of only four artists. Stephen Witte, coordinator of the Sculpture on Second program, said Quad City Arts sent out a call for entries in Illinois and Iowa. Last year's call-for-entry area was a six-county area around the Quad Cities and from colleges and universities in Iowa and Illinois. Witte added that the six-person jury - featuring a local art teacher and representatives of DavenportOne, the Riverboat Development Authority, the River Music Experience, and the City of Davenport - received more entries than last year's competition, which received 37 submissions. (After publication of this story, Witte responded to a Monday request for the exact number of submissions; 10 artist submitted 23 pieces for consideration this year.)
"Some of these pieces ... just blew away the competition," Witte said. He singled out The Dream and Into a Laurel Gone, both by Jeff Adams, as superior works. "They just knocked me out," he said.
The pieces in the Sculpture on Second exhibit will be on display through November. For purchase or other information about the Sculpture on Second program, call DavenportOne at (563)322-1706.
The works:
Useless Information, Chris Wubbena (Cedar Falls, Iowa), Acid-Etched Steel and Concrete, $3,500. Southwest corner of Second and Harrison streets.
Selective Memory, Chris Wubbena (Cedar Falls, Iowa), Acid-Etched Steel, $15,000. South side of Second between Ripley and Harrison streets.
Pique a Terr a, Tom Newport (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), Steel, $7,000. North side of Second Street at Perry.
Garden Fan, Tom Newport (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), Steel, Powder Coat, $3,700. Northeast corner of Main and Second streets.
Hinged Archway, Jim Benedict (Iowa City, Iowa), Coated Steel, $5,500. South side of Second between Main and Brady streets.
The Dream, Jeff Adams (Oregon, Illinois), Bronze, $16,000. North side of Second between Ripley and Harrison streets.
Into a Laurel Gone, Jeff Adams (Oregon, Illinois), Bronze, $13,000. Southeast corner of Main and Second streets.
The Sculpture on Second program is funded by a grant from the Riverboat Development Authority and coordinated by Quad City Arts. Artists received $800 per piece selected, and one will be awarded a critics' choice award. (That honor carried a $1,000 prize last year but doesn't this time around.)
The works are also for sale - for between $3,500 and $16,000 apiece - with the hope that they'll become permanent fixtures in downtown Davenport. Last year, one sculpture was purchased through the program, and another was sold privately to the City of Davenport for $1.
An odd feature of the competition this year is that three artists supplied two works each, meaning that the seven pieces represent the work of only four artists. Stephen Witte, coordinator of the Sculpture on Second program, said Quad City Arts sent out a call for entries in Illinois and Iowa. Last year's call-for-entry area was a six-county area around the Quad Cities and from colleges and universities in Iowa and Illinois. Witte added that the six-person jury - featuring a local art teacher and representatives of DavenportOne, the Riverboat Development Authority, the River Music Experience, and the City of Davenport - received more entries than last year's competition, which received 37 submissions. (After publication of this story, Witte responded to a Monday request for the exact number of submissions; 10 artist submitted 23 pieces for consideration this year.)
"Some of these pieces ... just blew away the competition," Witte said. He singled out The Dream and Into a Laurel Gone, both by Jeff Adams, as superior works. "They just knocked me out," he said.
The pieces in the Sculpture on Second exhibit will be on display through November. For purchase or other information about the Sculpture on Second program, call DavenportOne at (563)322-1706.
The works:
Useless Information, Chris Wubbena (Cedar Falls, Iowa), Acid-Etched Steel and Concrete, $3,500. Southwest corner of Second and Harrison streets.
Selective Memory, Chris Wubbena (Cedar Falls, Iowa), Acid-Etched Steel, $15,000. South side of Second between Ripley and Harrison streets.
Pique a Terr a, Tom Newport (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), Steel, $7,000. North side of Second Street at Perry.
Garden Fan, Tom Newport (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), Steel, Powder Coat, $3,700. Northeast corner of Main and Second streets.
Hinged Archway, Jim Benedict (Iowa City, Iowa), Coated Steel, $5,500. South side of Second between Main and Brady streets.
The Dream, Jeff Adams (Oregon, Illinois), Bronze, $16,000. North side of Second between Ripley and Harrison streets.
Into a Laurel Gone, Jeff Adams (Oregon, Illinois), Bronze, $13,000. Southeast corner of Main and Second streets.
