Ring Art for Art public sculptures arrive

STAFF REPORT

Life and time are forever linked, anchoring two of the major recurring themes for the seventh edition of Ring Out for Art on the Greene County courthouse square.
The four 2022 winning pieces arrived in Jefferson on May 3.

Each winning-sculpture is owned by the artist and loaned to the exhibit from now through November 1. A public vote for the People’s Choice Award will be held through early August. Viewers can cast their ballots at the Mahanay Bell Tower beginning with the Bell Tower Festival, June 10-11. The result of the vote will determine which one of the four sculptures will remain in Jefferson for another few months until April 30, 2023. The winner will also receive an extra $500 in prize money. Home State Bank donated $1,000 to each of the four artists for their original winning pieces.

Ring Out for Art is a juried contest. The Ring Out For Art Selection Committee is composed of members of Tower View Team, visual artists, and a member of the Greene County Board of Supervisors. Entries are critiqued on artistic merit, creativity, public safety and durability in an outdoor environment. The sculptures are chosen based on select criteria and artist merit. Sculptures are on loan to the Greene County Board of Supervisors and Jefferson Matters: Main Street.
This year’s four, hand-selected sculptors each with works proudly displayed on the square are: Damian Radice, Kirk Seese, HIlde DeBruyne and Anna Modeland.
A handful of the pieces take alternative looks at daily life and how human experiences shape lives. Modeland’s sculpture is titled “Time,” an ode to one of the greatest rock bands of all, excuse the pun, time. She’s a resident of nearby Boone.

“I call this sculpture Time after Pink Floyd’s 1973 hit. If you’re not familiar, the song
begins with an eerie, hollow ringing of chimes and clocks ticking away,” Modeland said. “To me, the song represents how and why we do or don’t do things; ‘I’m not ready, I’m too old’ or ‘I can’t wait until this or that happens.’ We’re all just waiting for the ‘perfect’
moment to do something. Why? When we’re younger we don’t understand the magnitude of the effects that living in the moment has on our futures, but as we get older we blink, and suddenly we see that time has changed everything. Time changes opportunities; time changes perspectives. Time is passed, time is NOW and sometimes time ends abruptly. So, we can continue waiting and fall in line with the same hollow bellows of the clocks or we can make our own chords. Time has a way of teaching you that any sound can be music if we stop just hearing it and actually listen.”

Radice, a resident of Grand Junction, Colorado, named his piece “Humanity,” creating a reflection of life itself.

“This bronze work is one of my darker pieces. I did it at (a) time in my life when I thought humanity was deteriorating into the dried lake bed we all came from,” Radice said. “Humanity today is the same as in the past; we are constantly being bombarded with our short comings. Those who are pessimistic will see people declined into the lake bed. Those who are optimistic will see people rising up out of the dried lake bed."

DeBruyne, a resident of Cumming just south of Des Moines, created a piece called “Flying Home.” She originally hails from Belgium, utilizing steel to construct a reminder of the setting sun, encouraging on-lookers to “fly home.” Her website can be found at www.hildedebruyne.com.
Seese, a resident of Lutherville, Maryland, created a sculpture named “Icosahedron.” The suspended, 20-sided geometric from spins when activated. Each CNC panel cut from three-fourths inch marine grade MDO board has designs directly printed on the surface thanks to the use of UV inks from a large, format flatbed printer, which were then coated in acrylic sealer. More of Seese’s work can be found at www.alien artifact studios.com.

All four pieces are for sale by the artist.

The Public Choice Award winner will be announced on Aug. 15.

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