July Issue 2001
Hickory Museum of Art in Hickory, NC, Presents Public Art Project
Tyrannochairus
Rex, Keith Stanley & Donna Cullum
Cincinnati was overrun with fiberglass pigs; colossal cows consumed the streets of Chicago. Now, Hickory Museum of Art combines art and popular culture with Chairs on Parade, a display of 46 larger-than-life, artfully-decorated dining room chairs displayed throughout Hickory, NC, through Oct. 14, 2001.
Chairs on Parade is a community project designed to promote the concept of public art, according to Hickory Museum of Art Executive Director Arnold Cogswell Jr.
"By placing this wonderful artwork on city streets, we connect with and educate those who don't regularly visit our museum," Cogswell said. "This project provides a fun opportunity for tourists and local residents to get to know the city and its cultural opportunities. The project also allows us to support local artists selected to decorate the chairs."
Committee
Chair, Pam Brock
Though it emulates public art projects in other
US cities, Chairs on Parade is the first regional venture.
After scouting Hickory streets for dining room chairs, tourists
and local residents can follow a "parade route" to Charlotte,
NC, where larger-than-life rocking chairs will be on display.
Constructed by Dowell Craft Furniture of Conover, NC, each chair
is built from 75 board feet of poplar wood (compared to 16 to
18 board feet used for an average-size chair) and stands more
than 5 feet tall and 3 feet wide. "A piece of furniture was
the natural choice for a project in North Carolina, since manufacturers
in our state are recognized worldwide," said Cogswell. "And
while the chairs truly are larger than life, they will appear
to be even larger, now that they are mounted on concrete bases
and installed around the city."
The unfinished chair was a unique canvas for
local and regional artists selected to participate in the project.
Hickory Museum of Art received more than 200 proposals from a
variety of artists, ranging from high school students and other
amateurs to widely-known artists and craftspeople.
It's A Jungle Out Chair, Students
of Hickory High School
"The artists proposed creative, original
ideas," said Chairs on Parade Project Coordinator
Amy Ogle. "Some suggested conservative but beautiful chairs
decorated with paint, fabric, clay and other materials. Other
designs were more outrageous and came from clever puns, such as
Tyrannochairus Rex and Scarlett O'Chaira. It's difficult
to pick a favorite."
The number of chairs included in the parade depended on the number
of businesses and individuals willing to serve as project sponsors.
"To be included, a chair had to have a sponsor," said
Ogle. "Sponsorship fees covered construction and installation
costs and provided an honorarium for each artist."
When the chairs are de-installed in October, sponsors may keep their chairs or donate them to a CHAIR-ity auction hosted by Hickory Museum of Art.
"Sponsors benefit from either decision," said Cogswell. "Donating a chair to the auction is a great way to celebrate the end of the project, support a CHAIR-ity and take one last opportunity to promote the sponsoring individual or organization. Those who keep their chairs will continue to draw crowds to their front doors."
Chair locations are listed on a map available at Hickory Museum of Art, as well as area hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions.
Help celebrate Hickory Museum of Art's Chairs on Parade public art project with a series of Lawn Chair Parties. Bring your own blanket or lawn chair and make yourself comfortable for an evening of entertainment, including a movie shown outdoors on a large screen. Call the Museum for details.
A complete list of Chairs included in Chairs on Parade is offered - including "title", artist(s) and sponsor. (Chairs are listed alphabetically by title.)
Acu-punc-chair,
created by Bret Johnson & Heidi Holland, sponsored by Lenoir-Rhyne
College; Basket of Flowers, created by Mary Kliese, sponsored
by City of Hickory Public Art Commission; Blue Willow Tile,
created by Kathy Shirilla, sponsored by City of Hickory Public
Art Commission; Celestial Swirls, created by students of
Fred T. Foard High School, sponsored by Hickory Museum of Art;
Chairade (The Big Cover-Up), created by Deborah Storey,
sponsored by MDI; CHAIR-ity, created by Pat Viles, sponsored
by Hickory Furniture Mart; Chair Jordan, created by The
Calamia Family, sponsored by Capital Concepts; Chairliner,
created by Harry Seng, sponsored in part by The Cogswell Family;
Cherish the Memories, created by Jeanne Brown; sponsored
by Catawba Valley Hospitality and Tourism Alliance; Children's
Dream Chair, created by Eric Purves, sponsored by the Hickory
Museum of Art Guild; Claremont: We Care, We Share, We Chair,
created by Wendell Hildebrand, sponsored by the Town of Claremont;
Committee Chair, created by Pam Brock, sponsored by Boyles
Furniture; Conchairto, created by Debbie Van Ordstrand,
sponsored in part by The Cogswell Family; Concise History of
Chairs, created by Don Moore, sponsored by Henredon Furniture;
Don't Let Arts Funding Take a Back Seat, created by Larry
Rice (with help from Tina Tallent), sponsored by Corning Cable
Systems; Homage to Minnie Rinehardt, created and sponsored
by Keith Staley & Donna Cullum; Hot Seat, created by
Rebecca Lytle, sponsored by City of Hickory Public Art Commission;
Imagine, created by Lindsay Barrick, sponsored by Alex
Lee Inc.; In The Hot Seat, created by Ashe County High
School/National Art Honor Society, sponsored by Hickory Museum
of Art; It's a Jungle Out Chair, created by students of
Hickory High School; sponsored by Hickory Museum of Art; Life
is Just a Chair of Bowlies, created by Vae Hamilton, sponsored
by Holiday Inn Select; Medium Chair/Chair-Voyant, created
by Chair De Lune, sponsored by Café 2 Forty 2; Musical
Chair, created by Mary Dobbin, sponsored by The Porter Agency;
Musical Chair, created by Carol Eickmeyer, sponsored by
Shurtape Technologies; Musical Chairs, created by students
of the Jackie Maté Studio, sponsored by Century Furniture;
Na-Chair, created by Leroy Kennedy & Monique Stephens,
sponsored by Hickory Furniture Mart; North Chairalina,
created by Diane Clayborne, sponsored by Southern Furniture; Of
All the Chairs, This is the Wright One, created by John Falcone,
sponsored by Synergy Ad Group; Passage of Time, created
by Employees of the Specialty Plant at Corning Cable Systems,
sponsored by Corning Cable Systems; PhotoGRASSic Chair,
created by Sally Fanjoy, James Labrenz & Melissa Gibson, sponsored
by Hampton/Fairfield/Courtyard Inns; Pickup Chair with Dog,
created by Andrea Maricich, sponsored by Carolina Container; Rive
Gauche, created by Sue Seamon, sponsored by Vanguard Furniture;
Rockin' Chair, created by students of Bunker Hill High
School, sponsored by Hickory Museum of Art; Scarlett O' Chaira,
created by Debra Bumgarner, sponsored by Catawba Furniture Mall;
Simply Marbelous!, created by Nikki Thorneburg, sponsored
by Deloitte & Touche; Striving for Excellence, created
by students of South Caldwell High School, sponsored by Hickory
Museum of Art; The Day Care Chair, created and sponsored
by The Mitchell Gold Co.; The Dream Chair, created by Lindsay
Barrick, sponsored by IFH; The Garden Seat, created by
Becky Cortino, sponsored by The Cogswell Family; The Pooh Chair,
created by Linda Swift; sponsored by Catawba Memorial Hospital;
The Streets of Hickory, created by Bobbi Miller, sponsored
by City of Hickory Public Art Commission; The Wing Chair,
created by students and faculty of Hickory Day School, sponsored
by Hickory Day School; Tyrannochairus Rex, created by Keith
Stahley & Donna Cullum, sponsored by City of Hickory Public
Art Commission; Unity Chair, created by Full Circle Arts,
sponsored by Downtown Development Association; and Van Gogh
in North Carolina, created by Deborah Klein, sponsored by
Frye Regional Medical Center.
For further information check our NC Institutional Gallery listings
or call Beth Teague, Communications Director, Hickory Museum of
Art at 828/327-8576, e-mail at (bteague@hickorymuseumofart.org),
or (http://www.hickorymuseumofart.org).
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