Public Sculpture for Tennessee Interstate Welcome Centers

A Project of the

Tennessee Arts Commission http://www.arts.state.tn.us phone: 615-741-1701 401 Charlotte Avenue Nashville, Tennessee 37243-0780

Art in Public Places he Tennessee Arts Commission is pleased to acknowledge its pioneering role in bringing some of the earliest major pieces of public art to Tennessee. In 1982, the first two sculptures in the Tennessee Interstate Welcome Center Program were commissioned to stand as gateway markers for visitors arriving in Tennessee at Bristol and Chattanooga. In the ensuing years, statewide panels of art experts have deliberated over the proposals of many outstanding Tennessee sculptors and chosen the best of the best to be represented at Tennessee’s nine other Interstate Highway entry points. This program would not have been possible without the partnership efforts of the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development, which continues to do an admirable job keeping our visitors coming, and the Tennessee Department of Transportation, whose outstanding services ease every driver’s journey across our heavily traveled geography. Rich Boyd Executive Director Tennessee Arts Commisson

Public Sculpture for Tennessee Interstate Welcome Centers n 1982 the Tennessee Arts Commission began placing large-scale sculpture at Tennessee’s Interstate Welcome Centers. Originally conceived as a competition to erect two pieces of public art at Tennessee’s eastern borders in honor of the 1982 Knoxville World’s Fair, the program grew in the years following to include eleven Welcome Centers. Chosen to receive sculptures were Centers located around the State’s periphery so that visitors coming into the State from any direction would be greeted by a major work of public art. After the World’s Fair Competition pieces were installed at I-81 Bristol and I-75 Chattanooga, pieces were quickly added at I24 Chattanooga and I-55 Memphis. Others have followed in the intervening years, with I40 at the North Carolina border installed in 1996. Today, these works of art stand as visual ambassadors for the State of Tennessee. All of the works are by Tennesseans, some of whom teach in universities and some of whom maintain independent studios. The works represent, in style and in technical skill, the impressive strength and diversity of Tennessee’s artistic community. The pieces themselves, some incorporating human figures and some representing abstract ideas,

are both serious and humorous. They contain references to the worlds of nature and technology— both of which are present in large measure in our state. And, perhaps most importantly, they speak for the artists who made them, signalling to all that Tennessee is not only rich in creative talent but a state made up of strong individual voices. Since the Tennessee Arts Commission’s Art in Public Places program began, millions of people have visited Tennessee’s Interstate Welcome Centers. The large-scale pieces of sculpture serve as conversation pieces for visitors and their families, distracting them for a pleasant moment from the rigors of travel. The sculptures often become photographic backdrops, both for art lovers and for those who would say they have no particular interest in art. Because they exist in three dimensions, these outdoor sculptures have become a part of our visual vocabulary without our even realizing it. The public works of art at Tennessee’s Welcome Centers are not only an unexpected gift for the weary traveler but also a lasting legacy of artistic education for future generations. Susan W. Knowles

1 Bristol I-81 south (Virginia Line) CITIZENS, 1982 corten steel signed and dated left front Modernistic figures, cut in rounded steel silhouettes, lean in towards one another like basketball players under the hoop. One is taller than the others and they appear to be a congenial group, maybe even a large family.

JOE FALSETTI “I grew up in Italy surrounded by monumental sculpture. Therefore it was natural for me to create large public sculpture. Since it has been used by most civilizations, I also found it natural to use the human figure for inspiration.” Falsetti, who was raised just outside of Pompeii, earned an MA from Ohio State University in 1962 and taught in the art department of the University of Missouri before coming to the University of Tennessee in 1974. He received outdoor sculpture grants to place work on both campuses and took part in a National Endowment for the Arts Community Art Project in Washington, DC. Falsetti has participated in numerous invitational sculpture exhibits across the country and his works have been seen in solo shows at the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, Winston-Salem, and the Hunter Museum of American Art, Chattanooga. Falsetti was the recipient of a 1982 Knoxville World’s Fair Public Art Commission, which ultimately became one of the first two Tennessee Welcome Center Sculptures. Recalling that time, he reminisces “I immediately thought about families and citizens when I thought about the World’s Fair. I went to see the site and noticed the beautiful rolling hills. The shapes (in the sculpture) have a sort of roundness and a rhythm like the mountains in the background.”

2 Chattanooga I-75 north (Georgia Line) ENVIRO GARDEN, 1982 cast concrete Concrete planters and low walls integrated with a landscape of native plantings strike a harmonious balance between architecture and nature. Water bowls have been left in the concrete to attract birds and animals, while hardy plants spring out from surprise openings.

JACK HASTINGS “My sculpture seeks a sense of belonging and purpose. It has meaning because it relates to people and the places people inhabit, and to the natural elements we all share: sunlight, foliage, water, topography, the seasons.” Hastings received his formal art training at Louisiana State University and the Escuela de Pintura y Escultura, Mexico City. He apprenticed himself to architect/muralist Conrad Albrizio from whom he says he learned first hand about the “ancient linkage between art and architecture. When he studied with Diego Rivera in Mexico, he came to see art as having a socially conscious purpose”. Architecture-based work, primarily in cement and metal, has been the focus of Hastings’ career. His metal mobiles hang in atrium spaces at TVA’s Office Complex in Chattanooga and at the Nashville International Airport. Hastings has created numerous carved cement plazas, fountains and courtyards in corporate and private settings in Tennessee, Arizona and Louisiana, as well as tile murals and metal sculptures, grilles and gates for schools, residences and public spaces. “I focus on developing unique techniques, and tools for mastering new ones: carving cement, working metals, earth, light, water-reaching an understanding of their relationships to our need for shelter, and for making the spaces we occupy more liveable and more beautiful.”

3 Nickajack I-24 west (Alabama Line) CATERPILLAR GARDEN, 1986 marble, granite signed on pink marble caterpillar Caterpillars representing the ageless cycles of nature are carved from native Tennessee marble, one of the oldest materials in the world. Additional funding for this piece was provided by Service Merchandise Company, Inc.

WILLIAM RALSTON “My sculpture in marble and stone is carved in an eclectic mix of themes based on natural phenomena and imaginary concepts, and presented in both realistic and abstract styles, often with a touch of humor.” Ralston, who earned BA and MA degrees at Vanderbilt University, studied with artist-inresidence Puryear Mims, one of Nashville’s first modern sculptors. His first shows, in the later 1970s, were at Mims’ studio and the galleries of the Nashville Artist’s Guild, where Mims was a founding member. In 1980, Ralston was awarded Best of Show in Nashville’s Century III Exhibit by New York Times Art Critic John Canaday. Several of his pieces are permanently installed on the grounds of Cheekwood, Nashville’s Home of Art and Gardens, and in public collections such as St. Thomas Hospital, Brentwood Public Library, the City of Scottsboro, Alabama, and the City of Nashville.

4 Memphis I-55 north (Mississippi Line) PYRADOPTICS, 1987 painted aluminum on concrete base, mirrors, neon lighting Interactive before it became a popular word, Tom Wuchina’s pyramid-shaped sculpture is a scale model of the Great Pyramid of Cheops in Egypt. Visitors experience a powerful feeling when standing up top and can actually hear sounds “played” by wind rushing across the metal pipes. For those not in a hurry to get anywhere, driving by from opposite directions is an optical delight, as the sides of the pipes are painted in stripes of color, making the piece disappear and then reappear in a different color as one drives by.

TOM WUCHINA “The participatory and responsive nature of my finished work allows the viewer to experience a multidimensional situation not limited to sight alone. The kinetic forms react to and reflect the spiritual and sensual harmony existing in our natural environment.” Wuchina attended Vanderbilt University on a football scholarship. While there he studied with painter Arthur Orr, who was teaching in the Art Department of Peabody College. Orr’s geometric style and bold use of color had a profound impact on Wuchina, who went on to study at the University of Memphis before receiving his MFA at Washington University in St. Louis. Wuchina has also been a teacher--at the University of Mississippi, LeMoyne-Owen College and the Memphis College of Art. Inventive use of industrial materials, such as aircraft paint, metal, and plastics, have always characterized Wuchina’s works, many of which have moving elements. The interplay of the traditional aesthetic disciplines with industrial materials and technology is where Wuchina finds his inspiration. By creating works that people can interact with, he hopes that experiencing art can become a playful activity, attracting adults as well as children.

5 Mitchellville I-65 south (Kentucky Line) PORTAL GROUPING, 1988 sandblasted stainless steel Life-size silhouettes in metal: parents and children, couples, business travelers, walk to and from the Welcome Center filling the sidewalk with almost audible motion.

PHILLIP VANDERWEG “I was excited at the outset to have been selected to participate in the Welcome Center Sculpture Program. It proved to be a significant factor in the development of my work and provided a means for me to reach out to many more viewers than would otherwise be possible. Friends and family alike have visited the site many times and frequently brought back humorous photographic documentation.” VanderWeg, who taught at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro from 1968-1989, holds a BS in Design and an MFA in Sculpture from the University of Michigan. Proficient in drawing and sculpture, VanderWeg often works in both media, showing in juried shows all over the country. His works were included in both the 1984 and 1987 University of Tennessee Sculpture Tours, he was a featured artist at the 1986 Summer Lights Arts Festival, and he was awarded a purchase prize in the “Early Eighties” exhibition at the Tennessee State Museum. He showed at the juried Pier Walk 1999, an adjunct to the Chicago International Art Expo. VanderWeg pieces can be found in the permanent collections of the Hunter Museum of American Art, Chattanooga; Third National Bank, Nashville; Kayser-Roth Company, New York, NY; and Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, where he teaches on the art faculty and held the Chair in the Department of Fine Arts from 1989-1997.

6 Jellico I-75 south (Kentucky Line) TOTEM, 1989 painted aluminum

This fantasy of a circus Strong Man, with his welldefined muscles, could just as easily represent a super hero as a real-life wrestler. The heroic totem symbol, once used in the form of a good luck animal image on poles at the entrances to a Northwest Coast Tribal Village, has been transformed into a TV age welcome symbol for Tennessee.

LANIE GANNON “TOTEM is a characterization of the human figure in contemporary popular culture, influenced by the mediums of film, television and advertising. He is a muscular body builder with brightly colored plumage, a cultural icon who embodies the new ‘classical ideal” of the male figure. With his totemic heads, stacked and looking in opposite directions, TOTEM has the ability to collect more and more information. He sees more, hears more, and is exposed to more of the world. Existing as a 3dimensional cartoon, TOTEM is a non-threatening and humorous poke at the world we live in.” Gannon, a graduate of the Memphis College of Art, did her graduate studies at the Appalachian Center for Crafts. While she is recognized for very stylized and brilliantly colored drawings, designs and paintings, Gannon is best known for her finely-smoothed painted wood sculptures. Her first major solo show was at Nashville’s Cumberland Gallery in 1983. She received a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in 1988. Gannon teaches at Belmont University, where she designed and conducted a course in Public Art in 1998. One of her major sculptural pieces was acquired in 1999 by the Tennessee State Museum. Gannon was awarded the Individual Artist Fellowship in Craft Media from the Tennessee Arts Commission for 2000. This piece is no longer on-site.

7 Dyersburg I-155 south (Arkansas Line) SPACE RECEPTOR, 1990 stainless steel

Looking very much like a sophisticated antenna trained at outer space, Nichols’ shiny metal sculpture stands in telling contrast to the log cabin behind.

PHILIP NICHOLS “This sculpture takes it form and subject from the various technologies associated with communications, and with the research into their energies. The imagery is a conglomeration of wave and particle sending, receiving and collection. Stainless steel, to me, is the right material to reflect this imagery.” Nichols, who began teaching at the University of Tennessee immediately upon receiving his MFA in sculpture from the University of Michigan, has shown in most of the major competitions in the region. He won 1st in Sculpture at the 1963 Mid-South Exhibition in Memphis, and was included in the First Annual Central South Exhibition at Nashville’s Parthenon Gallery in 1966. While at UT, his works were regularly included in the regional traveling competitions of the Southern Association of Sculptors and he received one of Tennessee’s first major public art commissions, a 1978 piece for the Knoxville Civic Coliseum. Nichols’ work can be found in the permanent collections of the Knoxville Museum of Art and University of Tennessee.

8 Ardmore I-65 north (Alabama Line) THE LONG DISTANCE DRIVER, 1992 mild steel

A humorous depiction of the human brain, as if controlling a car over miles and miles of interstate highway might create a spiraling thought pattern to match.

DENNIS PEACOCK “Rest stop, pit stop, and drive again, the road trip is an institution developed in parallel with the creation of freeway systems. There must be some universal state of mind that survives kids in the back seat, loud music, boredom and road noise. ..THE LONG DISTANCE DRIVER tries to capture some of the energy and focus of the brain as it pilots all those cylinders and all those wheels over all those miles. Speed and horsepower, on the long stretches, uses only a small part of the brain, the rest is left free to travel its own route.” Peacock, who founded and directed the University of Tennessee’s Campus Sculpture Tour from 1982-96, came to the University in 1967 with a BA from Western Washington State College and an MFA from the University of Iowa in Iowa City. Major commissions include pieces at Goshen College, Indiana; Winston Salem State University, NC; TVA’s Office Complex in Chattanooga; and Provident Life in Chattanooga. Peacock has served as a consultant for and exhibited in numerous outdoor sculpture shows, including the juried Chicago Pier Walk in 1996,1997,1998.

9 Tiftonia I-24 east (Georgia Line)

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY, 1994 ceramic and glass tile mosaic, cement While Hunter’s playful mosaic fishes, turtles, and salamanders cavort around a gently curving park bench, one adventuresome fish ventures out a little too far.

SHERRI WARNER HUNTER “My goal was to create an interactive sculptural environment of bright colors and reflective surfaces. Mosaic covered fish greet all visitors with a smile (especially broad on ‘the one that got away’) and invite children to come play in the ‘pond’. THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY will serve as a whimsical reminder that not only is the Tennessee Aquarium nearby but that Tennessee is rich in all forms of water recreational sports and activities.” Hunter, who graduated with a BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute, also studied abroad in fiber arts and drawing at Leeds Polytechnic and in stone carving at Paros, Greece. She earned a Master’s Degree from Claremont College in California and worked with community arts organizations before coming to Tennessee in 1989. Since her arrival, she has been juried into important shows such as Artstravaganza, Chattanooga; “From the Mountains to the Mississippi” and “Celebrating Tennessee Women Artists” at the Tennessee State Museum; and the Tennessee All-State, Nashville. She was awarded Best of Show in the Tennessee Association of Craft Artists 1998 traveling biennial “The Best of Tennessee Crafts”. She has shown her work in solo shows at Morgan Gallery, Kansas City; William Jewel College, Liberty, MO; and Zeitgeist Gallery, Nashville and has received major sculptural commissions from Nashville International Airport (1995), Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital (1997), and the Memphis Shelby County Public Library (2000).

10 Clarksville I-24 south (Kentucky Line)

THE MAN IN THE WIND AND THE WEST MOON, 1995 painted steel The suspended circles in Keim’s bright blue and yellow abstract sculpture could be imagined as phases of the moon. The artist describes the branching off of colorful lines in space as being like the improvisations in jazz music.

AL KEIM “I listen to jazz as I work and deal with rhythm, tone, color, intensity, flow and melody much as a jazz quartet takes a familiar song as the basis of its improvisation. My sculpture uses basic geometric shapes combined in ways which occupy space the way musical notes occupy time.” Keim, who studied art as a Duke undergraduate and earned his BA in English literature at Maryville College, learned welding at Chattanooga State Area Vocational and Technical School. He began showing welded metal sculpture in the mid 1970s and was included in the 1975 Tennessee All-State and 1976 Central South Exhibits. During the summer of 1976 he studied privately with David Smith and attended Bennington College’s Summer Welded Metal Sculpture Workshop where he worked with Mark di Suvero. Keim’s career took off in 1979 when he was invited to install four outdoor works as long term loans at Knoxville’s Dulin Gallery of Art. Commissions for the Dogwood Arts Festival and Knoxville private collections soon followed, as well as an invitation to show a piece in the 1984 University of Tennessee Campus Sculpture Tour. Permanent public works for TVA’s Chattanooga Office Complex, TVA’s Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, and TVA’s Watts Bar Nuclear Plant were commissioned from the mid to late 1980s. His work was featured in a solo show at Nashville’s Cumberland Gallery in 1991. Keim’s works are included in the permanent collections of the University of Tennessee, Steiner-Liff Industries, Nashville, and the Nashville International Airport.

11 Hartford I-40 west (North Carolina Line) GOOD MORNING, 1996 limestone, cedar, bronze

On the eastern border of the state, atop a limestone column, a bronze coffee cup holds a rising sun aloft. This fourteen foot tall sculpture is Greely Myatt’s humorous welcome to those arriving from North Carolina. Its also a salute to songwriter Lyle Lovett, whose song I’ve Been to Memphis begins with the words “the sun comes up in a coffee cup”.

GREELY MYATT “This piece reflects my investigation into combining vernacular with art historical references, humorous with tragic subjects, songs, puns, jokes, and any number of other contradictions. Materials are equally important in my approach to art making. These particular materials were selected because of their ability to weather well in the outdoor setting and are intended to give a nod to the traditional monument, both in homage and in parody.” Professor of Sculpture at the University of Memphis since 1989, Myatt earned his BFA from Delta State University, Cleveland, MS, and his MFA from the University of Mississippi. He has exhibited extensively in alternative art spaces, university galleries and museums. Myatt’s recent solo installations include “A Brief History of Modern Sculpture” Thompson Gallery, University of Georgia; “Bottle Rack/Tree for Marcel and Bernice” at the Alexandria (LA) Museum of Art, “Whips, Quilts, Quotes and Other Bright Ideas” at the University of Arkansas, Little Rock, and “Saddle Soap and Then Some” at Ledbetter Lusk Gallery, Memphis. He is the recipient of the 1992 Visual Arts Fellowship from the Tennessee Arts Commission, a 1993 Alternate Roots grant, and a 1994 award from the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters. In 1998 he traveled to Israel as part of the Tennessee/Israel Visual Artists Exchange Program.

Photos: TAC files, Timothy Weber, artists Designer: Art Colebank, State of Tennessee Graphic Arts

Tennessee Arts Commission. Authorization No. 316482, 15,000 copies, July 2000. This public document was promulgated at a cost of $0.39 per copy.

Tennessee Department of Tourist Development Interstate Welcome Center Locations Land Between the Lakes

10 CLARKSVILLE

MO

155

24

6

Kingsport

65

81

75

NASHVILLE

KNOXVILLE

65

MEMPHIS

4

8 MISS

40

ALA

Cherokee National Forest

N CAR 11 12

40 JACKSON

55

Johnson City

1

40

7 ARK

Bristol

VA

KY

5

24

75

CHATTANOOGA

3 9

2

GA

Great Smoky Mountains

Cherokee National Forest