BENTONVILLE -- Public art will soon be incorporated into the city's landscape as various boards have been deciding which pieces to place and where.
The Advertising and Promotions Commission discussed at its meeting Thursday three pieces selected by the Public Art Advisory Committee.
At A Glance (w/art)
Ozark Topography
Ed Pennebaker’s Red Fern Glass is in Osage. It’s a small hot-glass studio where Pennebaker makes sculpture and art glass lighting using traditional offhand glass blowling techniques. His “Ozark Topography” is 68 inches tall, 62 inches wide and 38 inches deep.
Source: RedFernGlass.com
The pieces are Ed Pennebaker's glass sculpture "Ozark Topography," Nathan Pierce's sculpture "SunKissed" and Craig Gray's "PAC-Man" made from Arkansas stone.
The committee recommended the three pieces be displayed along the North Bentonville Trail this summer. They would be within a seven-minute walk of the Hidden Springs parking area.
Kalene Griffith, Bentonville Convention and Visitors Bureau president, told Advertising and Promotion commissioners the pieces would have to be used for tourism if they were going to help pay for them.
"We need to remember that art is essential to our city's identity," she said. Griffith also serves on the Art Committee.
Commissioner Galen Havner expressed concern about the pieces becoming hidden on the trail and not easily accessible to tourists.
"This is public art. It's not trail art," he said. "People aren't going to walk to see it, and only those walking are going to see it. That's not going to increase tourism I wouldn't think."
"SunKissed" would be placed at the Y intersection of the trail and be visible from North Walton Boulevard. "PAC-Man" would be a little further down the trail followed by "Ozarks Topography," Griffith said.
The further down the pieces go the more they will be used by the community and less by tourists, she said.
"We want it to be a benefit to the community, but it also has to engage tourism," she said.
Commissioners and staff also discussed the how glass sculpture would be more protected from vandalism if it were placed in a more public place, which would also make it more accessible.
Commissioners agreed to accept the plans for "SunKissed" and "PAC-Man" and have the Art Committee revisit where to display "Ozarks Topography."
The three pieces were also discussed at the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board on Monday.
NW News on 05/23/2014