September Issue 1999
Art At Design Center of the Carolinas Celebrates Charlotte's Heritage
Community School of the Arts (CSA), Camden Square Associates
and Pike's Old-Fashioned Soda Shop hosted a celebration of the
six original works of art at the Design Center of the Carolinas
(DCC), located at 1930 Camden Road, in Charlotte, NC's South End
on Aug. 29. Approximately 400 people, including Community School
of the Arts students and patrons, representatives of the South
End and area design communities attended the event. The artists
who created the six works were on hand to discuss their work.
The six works of art celebrate both the area's heritage and the
transition that is occurring in the community. The art includes:
(1) A visual narrative mural by Charlotte artist and Community
School of the Arts instructor T.J. Reddy, which is located in
the DCC building's front foyer.
(2) New Foundation, by Charlotte artist Laura Sutthoff,
which covers the 4,000 sq. ft. floor of the 127 W. Worthington
Ave. atrium.
(3) Transition's Embrace, a two-ton, approximately 12-ft.
tall metal sculpture in the grass courtyard in front of the DCC
by the late Blowing Rock artist Jerry Clemens.
(4) An abstract mural by Suzanne Ervin of Charlotte in the rear
entrance foyer of the DCC building.
(5) A mural by 19-year-old, Northwest School of Performing Arts
graduate, Cameron Johnson in the DCC's Tompkins Alley.
(6) A medallion in the center of the Camden Rd./Worthington Ave.
speed table by Tim Breiding president of Breiding Advertising
in Charlotte.
"The Design Center of the Carolinas is a focal point for the greater design community in the two Carolinas," notes Tony Pressley, CSA board member and president of Camden Square Associates, which developed the DCC. "We are committed to incorporating works of art as integral parts of the DCC complex. These area artists have taken such surfaces as walls and floors as their 'canvases' and created truly distinctive works of art."
Two of the artists were commissioned through Camden Square Associates. "The Commission of T.J. Reddy and Cameron Johnson serves as testimony to Community School's commitment to not only cultivate artists through our programs, but to promote their work so as to mutually benefit local artists and clients," said Jane Weaver-Sobel executive director, Community School of the Arts.
The Design Center of the Carolinas is located in the Camden Square area of Historic South End in Charlotte, NC. It includes three buildings: 101 W. Worthington Ave., 127 W. Worthington Ave. and 1930 Camden Rd. The DCC combines an innovate mix of showrooms, studios and offices with resources and services catering to the design industry.
Art at the Design Center of the Carolinas
127 W. Worthington Ave.
New Foundation, color glazes with multiple layers of polyurethane top coat, is the eye-catching design on the 4,000 sq. ft. floor in the DCC's atrium. Artist Laura Sutthoff explains, "I chose colors and shapes that would accent the new construction of the building".
Charlotte native Sutthoff, of Surface Designs, specializes in faux finishes. A graduate of East Carolina's school of art, Sutthoff's work at the 127 W. Worthington Ave. building didn't stop at the floor. She also painted palm trees for Charleston by Design and various murals for iXL.
Tompkins Alley
Nineteen-year-old Cameron Johnson was commissioned through the Community School of the Arts for the 12 ft. x 33 ft. subway-style mural in Tompkins Alley (between the 127 W. Worthington Ave. and 1930 Camden Rd. buildings). The mural, painted in acrylics on a concrete wall, depicts ongoing activities associated with the DCC and Camden Rd. area.
Johnson, a graduate of Northwest School of Performing Arts, was the winner of the Community School of the Arts Festival high school mural contest at the DCC in March 1999.
1930 Camden Road Murals
T.J. Reddy's 8 ft. x 24 ft. visual narrative mural in the front foyer of the 1930 Camden Rd. building depicts six periods in the history of Camden Road and the surrounding area. Reddy was selected for the work based on his family's deep roots in Charlotte, and his passion and ability to artistically portray that history.
Reddy is a visual arts instructor with the Community School of the Arts. He used natural materials (including sand, wood carvings and dried vegetation) to integrate a variety of textural effects into the mural.
Charlotte artist Suzanne Ervin sought to do "a site-specific mural that would make a bright, fun and inviting rear entrance foyer for the Design Center." Her company, Ervin Design, specializes in custom faux finishes and trompe l'oeil effects.
"To create the illusion of a larger, more open space, color, simple geometric shapes and line were employed and contrasted against a soft, cloud-like field," Ervin notes.
Sculpture - Transition's Embrace is a two-ton, approximately 12-ft. tall metal sculpture by the late Blowing Rock artist Jerry Clemens. Located in the center of the grass courtyard in front of the 1930 building, it combines mild steel, a four-foot bull gear and stainless steel.
The sculpture reflects the area's industrial past and its transition into a design community.
Intersection of Camden Road & W. Worthington Ave.
The brown and yellow medallion in the concrete center of the Camden Rd./Worthington Ave. speed table, which includes yellow beaded safety glass, combines an image of the textile industry with a salute to the two neighborhoods within the South End community - Dilworth and Wilmore.
"The machinery of restoration for South End depends upon the participation of both neighborhoods," explains designer Tim Breiding, president of Breiding Advertising, a full-service advertising/marketing firm located in the DCC.
For further information contact Krista Gladman, Community School
of the Arts at 704/377-4187 or Tony Pressley, Camden Square Associates
at 704/372-9461.
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