As winter is slowly giving way to warmer weather, the remaining installation of statues from the Hanna and Peter Woicke Collection is resuming. For those who are unaware of this collection and would like to see images and placement locations, please refer to the website of the Public Arts Committee (PAC) on www.chestertownpublicarts.com
A 24th November 2023 letter to the editor of The Spy, submitted by Ms Karen Paul Mack, discussed the pending installation of a sculpture entitled Head. In it, she sets out her objections to Head being installed in Fountain Park. I urge everyone to find and read this letter as it generated 17 comments:
13 readers objected to the installation
3 readers supported the installation
1 reader asked that a vote be taken but questioned putting another statue in ‘our tiny park’.Based on readers’ replies, it would appear more people have concerns about what is installed in the park than not. As such, The Public Arts Committee and Town council should provide more public transparency and pay (closer) attention to public opinion.To wit, after finding photographs and locations of the 13 already installed sculptures and the 2 soon-to-be installed sculptures on the PAC website last week, I noted there were no photos of the 11 sculptures still to be sited. Could photographs, locations and tentative installment dates now be provided?I do appreciate it gets complicated if a town consensus is required each time a decision needs to be made. However, I believe the Public Arts Committee and the Town Council are not doing enough to communicate about their decisions in a timely way that encourages feedback and allows response.Given the number of objections, I expected to read further updates. But there seems to be no updates or comments in the public domain that are easily accessible. In the minutes of a 12th December 2023 meeting of The Public Arts Committee (PAC) a discussion of Head is summarized as follows: “ They addressed concerns of a few Garden Club members about placement as inappropriate to the feeling of Fountain Park and that no other should go into the park. Discussion ensued and the committee decided to move forward with installation plans as due diligence has been followed. In light of the concerns it was decided to keep the approved location but to shift the orientation of the work towards High Street.”
This decision by the PAC to reorient Head was not easily discovered. I had to search and eventually found it in the minutes quoted above. I believe it would have been helpful had it been placed in The Spy as a follow up to Ms Mack’s letter so readers would be kept informed. Without published updates, readers remained unenlightened about the impact of this letter.
The issue here is about the placement of a sculpture in the park. Art has always been subjective and modern art possibly more so. People are entitled to their opinion about what this sculpture looks like and reminds them of. But for me, the issue is whether any new sculpture should be sited in Fountain Park, and whether others will then follow.
Fountain Park is the center of our town, maybe its heart. A special place in Chestertown. Hebe is well loved and the fountain is unique in terms of design and color. Here is where special events take place and where people look to congregate. Even Santa knows his first appearance of the season is there.
Public statues seem to disappear in cities and larger towns but in small towns like Chestertown, the inverse is true. Statues become move visible. That is why this issue is so important.
My objection is not about Head. Rather it is about placement. Fountain Park needs no further visual support from another piece of art, modern or otherwise.
Thank you
Nancy Balaban
Marjorie Fick says
I agree with the comments published in this article as well as Karen Mack’s and further comments. The Fountain Park is, indeed ,a very special spot in the center of our town. Let’s leave well enough alone and, perhaps, find another location.
Or, maybe limit the amount of sculptures altogether. Surely other small towns, such as ours, would like to have some. Maybe Centreville? Maybe no more at all???
I say enough. Less is more.
Holly Geddes says
I agree. Unless you swap the head for the nudes on cross street.
Liz Clark says
I think the “Head” would be a tasteful addition to the Fountain Park. The Fountain itself is a feminine statement and to have a contemporary sidekick would be interesting. The coloration of the “Head” statue would not distract from the fountain but compliment it. Hebe is the goddess of “youth” or “prime of life.” Hebe gets a younger friend!
Elizabeth Montague says
I agree with Nancy Balaban’s letter regarding the Head statue. I think our beautiful Fountain Park is lovely as it is and we can appreciate what is already there!
Pat Gears says
It would destroy the beauty of the park and the magnificence of the fountain. Contemporary art has no place there.
Born and raised in Chestertown, leave tranquil park alone…period
Joan Berwick says
I totally and absolutely agree. The fountain should stand alone in the park without other distractions. Surely there are many other locations the statuary would help enhance rather than detract from the beauty which is our beloved fountain.
Robbi Behr says
In my view, art is part of a continuum. So is history. So is Chestertown.
If we think of Head as a natural downstream outcome of our beloved Hebe (with some of her DNA, no less, by color and by spirit!) it makes a beautiful thread stringing our present Chestertown to our past. Fountain Park is so dang charming that a quiet nod to the more recent tides of artistic creation isn’t going to shatter the experience of visiting. We are lucky to have world-class art representing many eras and points of view being gifted to our town — it’s something to be proud of, not afraid of. Ironically, Hebe is the goddess of youth. It seems she would be fine with making space for her descendants.
The concern that the smallness of Chestertown will make the statue more visible is one of the GREAT things about a collection being here. There will be people who come to town just to see this statue and will admire its comfortable situation in such a beautiful spot.
As for Santa, he knows not to look a gift horse in the mouth, especially one that someone made with their own two hands.
George Hardy says
Well put, Robi! I am astonished and disappointed by the no-change-here reactions to the exciting and generous gift to our community by the Woikes. The Public Arts Committee has done a commendable job of spotting the pieces around town. After reading Balaban Letter above, I went to Fountain Park this morning (Sunday) to see the Head installation, expecting to approve, but curious to take a look. But the statue was GONE! All I could find was a square plate on the ground near the High Street sidewalk. Good Grief! Someone please explain that decision and uninstallation.
Tess Jones says
I think we should be grateful that our town is being graced with the gift of public art. Thank you to everyone who has been working hard on the public art committee. Our family is proud to live and work in an A&E district 💚
Deirdre LaMotte says
There is a wonderful spot near our camp in Northern Ontario. The
entire park, not large, is a grouping of contemporary sculptures. It is a lovely destination and the effect of these is so impactful. Is there not another place more appropriate that could be the home for a collection? I should think so; let’s find an appropriate place that
will be appropriate and highlight art in nature.
Lolli Sherry says
Chestertown is so fortunate to have been gifted this collection of public art. I may not love them all, but “Head” is a particularly sweet and accessible piece of sculpture and the color compliments the Fountain perfectly. We are particularly lucky to have this public art because we are located so far from any major museums where citizens have the opportunity to enjoy and learn about the art of sculpture. Specifically this is a chance for our children to grow up surrounded by interesting and sometimes challenging art, feeding their natural inquisitiveness and perhaps initiating a future love of art and museums. I lived in Chicago when the unnamed “Picasso”, a 50′ high modern sculpture by the master, was unveiled to a horrified public. It is now a beloved icon.