Philanthropist Donates Artwork to City

By LEIGH ANN LAUBE lalaube@timesnews.net

Printed Kingsport Times News 12/17/07

    Local artist and philanthropist Alice Frederick has given Kingsport an early Christmas present with the purchase of one of the 11 sculptures that have made up city’s first Sculpture Walk .

    Frederick purchased “Sky Wedge,” a steel, bronze and cast glass sculpture by Alfred Station, N.Y., artist Glenn Zweygardt. The sculpture is located near the intersection of Broad and Center streets.

    “I decided to purchase it because I had been aware there was an effort to bring rotating paintings [to Kingsport], but that did not work out,” Frederick said. “So when I saw they were doing sculptures, I decided to take a close look. It’s the one phase of art I have not done.”

    Frederick, who received her bachelor of arts degree from Syracuse University, has seen sculptures in different parts of the United States and has found them beautiful, she said.

    After viewing the 11 sculptures placed in downtown Kingsport as part of the city’s first annual Sculpture Walk, Frederick inquired about the status of the sculptures and learned that the pieces are on loan until April 2008, when they will be returned to the artists unless they have been purchased.

    “Needless to say, I didn’t want a sculpture in my yard,” she said. “I was impressed by several of them, but when I decided to buy one, I looked at them from an artistic point of view. I liked ‘Sky Wedge.’ Artistically, I liked the contrast between the dark solid lines, contrasting to the light blue glass.”

    Zweygardt created “Sky Wedge” as an homage to human survival and creativity.

    “Finding one’s place in a relationship with nature is the theme of my sculpture. … While working with material such as metal and stone, a relationship between nature and myself is formed. Further, I want to tell stories and comment on my collective life experience and my perception of a collective consciousness,” said Zweygardt.

    But Frederick sees something simpler in “Sky Wedge.”

    “With Church Circle [in the background], ‘Sky Wedge’ appeared to be a cross. The light blue glass immediately made me think of life, living water. ‘Sky Wedge’ is a good name. I think of it as opening up the skies, opening up our way to heaven. I can’t think of a better name,” she said.

    Frederick has no plans to buy another sculpture, but hopes her purchase will inspire others to follow suit.

    “I was hoping it would encourage people to gradually buy some more,” she said. “I feel it’s a beginning and there are enough other people in the area, if they’re interested.”

    Indeed, Jennifer Egan is equally interested in purchasing “Yo-Yo’s Muse” — located at the intersection of Broad and New streets — for the city. Egan has committed $10,000 toward the purchase price of this $32,000 mobile sculpture.

    “Yo-Yo’s Muse” is a kinetic sculpture, spinning, drifting and floating in response to the breeze. At the base of the sculpture is a cello-shaped form.

    “One way I think of sculpture is as visual music,” said sculptor Mike Roig. “Fashioned in the mind and by the hand of its maker, it is an entity unto itself claiming a place in this world by fact of being. Like music, its claim has the ephemeral quality of the non-utilitarian, and like music, it is celebrated for its ability to heighten the senses and add savor to our lives. Like music, it stands sentry at gateways to days remarkable for their qualities of surprise, thought, wonder and contemplation, rather than merely marked in their pass quantities.”

    Egan’s mother, a cellist, recently died.

    “This piece is just beautiful, and I’d love for it to stay in Kingsport and remind us all of the gift of music and art,” Egan said. Her commitment has already been matched by a $3,000 contribution from anonymous benefactors.

    The 2008-2009 Sculpture Walk will be installed in May 2008. The Sculpture Walk is a project of the Kingsport Public Art Committee, assisted by the Cultural Arts Division and in partnership with the Arts Council of Greater Kingsport. The exhibition is primarily funded through private contributions as well as through the Tennessee Arts Commission’s Arts Builds Communities programs.

    Donations for next year’s temporary exhibition are being accepted and can be mailed to Sculpture Walk Exhibition, Arts Council of Greater Kingsport, 1200 E. Center St.. Kingsport, Tenn. 37660.

    To contribute to the purchase of “Yo-Yo’s Muse” or to inquire for purchase of other sculptures, call the Cultural Arts Division at 392-8414.