Thursday, September 27, 2007 12:24 AM CDT
'Have a seat,' two new sculptures beckon
By LISA BARTELT, Staff Writer
lbartelt@jg-tc.com
CHARLESTON — People passing by the Tarble Arts Center’s east or west sides might be tempted to take a break on two pieces of art.
Sculptor Jeff Boshart would say, “Have a seat.”
“They were designed as sculptures, but they’re intended to use as benches,” he said. “They do serve double duty.”
The two limestone sculptures are the latest additions to Tarble’s outdoor sculpture court. On Sunday, they’ll be dedicated during the center’s community celebration in recognition of its 25th anniversary.
The celebration is from 2-4 p.m. at Tarble, south Ninth Street at Cleveland Avenue on the Eastern Illinois University campus. The sculpture dedication is at 2:45 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public.
Activities will include storytelling by Patricia Hruby Powell, music by The Staple Crop Ramblers, hands-on art projects for children and food by What’s Cooking.
“We really wanted to do something geared toward a family audience,” said Kit Morice, Tarble’s curator of education. “We wanted to do this one big for our silver anniversary.”
Members of Tarble’s volunteer docents program will be on hand to to answer questions about the center’s current exhibition, “The Tarble at 25: Celebrating the Collection.”
“I’m always so surprised when people say they’ve never been to Tarble or didn’t know it was here,” Morice said. “We want people to know we are a resource to the area and encourage them to participate.”
The open house also is an opportunity for the public to see some of the standout works of art in Tarble’s collection.
Director Michael Watts said the current display includes six paintings by Paul T. Sargent that have not been on display since they were sent to a professional painting conservator.
Also of note in the collection is glass work by Dale Chihuly, which is on long-term loan to Tarble and could be recalled at any time, Watts said. Chihuly is a well-known glassblower, he said.
Work by local artists Jennie Cell, Cora Meek and Alice Baber also is on display. Watts said all three of those artists have received national recognition for their work.
The addition of Boshart’s work, titled “Landspan East” and “Landspan West,” is significant to Tarble because they are the first stone sculptures the center has received, Watts said.
“Landspan East” and “Landspan West” are in front of Tarble’s Atrium on Ninth Street and on the west side of Tarble near Seventh Street.
Boshart, a professor in the art department at Eastern, donated the sculptures to jumpstart landscaping ideas for Tarble.
“I hope people see that even simple benches have a purpose and a place,” he said. “And they don’t have to be ordinary.”
He said the arts community on campus is hoping to develop an “avenue of sculpture” from Tarble to the new Doudna Fine Arts Center when it opens, on what used to be Seventh Street. “Landspan West” would then be the entryway piece to the avenue, he said.
The Tarble Arts Center was formally dedicated on Sept. 28, 1982.
For more information, contact the center at 581-2787 or e-mail mwatts@eiu.edu.
Contact Lisa Bartelt at lbartelt@jg-tc.com or 238-6858.
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