Sculptures on display in downtown Salisbury

Derek Graham and Davis Whitfield guide the artwork as Randy Goodman runs the controls on the boom that is lowering the newest artwork to hit Salisbury. The piece titled "Up and Over" is the first of 20 new pieces of art that will be placed around downtown Salisbury. Photo by Jon C. Lakey, Salisbury Post.

Jozef Vercauteren and his wife Laverne set up Jozef's sculpture "Le Car" next to the Wachovia Bank on South Main Street. Photo by Jon C. Lakey, Salisbury Post.

Glenn Zweygardt. from Alfred Station , NY sets up his sculpture "Blues Storys" on the corner of Lee and Liberty Streets. Photo by Jon C. Lakey, Salisbury Post.

Jim Collins' steel sculpture "Big Wheel" in the lawn in front of the Rowan Museum and next to the Rowan County Courthouse. Photo by Jon C. Lakey, Salisbury Post.

Artist Bill Wood , from Fairfax Va. set up his artwork titled "Tilt" next to the garden behind the Rowan Museum. Photo By Jon C. Lakey, Salisbury Post.

By Shelley Smithssmith@salisburypost.com

Sculptures were installed around historic Salisbury Thursday and Friday for the 2010 Salisbury Sculpture Show, which officially kicks off Friday.

In the show's second year, the City of Salisbury's Public Art Committee had the responsibility of choosing 19 entries out of 80 applicants.

"We try to pick pieces that are well done and diverse," said Lynn Raker, urban planner for Salisbury and chair of the Public Art Committee. The same committee also helped pick location sites for each sculpture.

The locations vary from the Salisbury Police Department to the Rowan Public Library, but all are within walking distance of each other.

Paris Alexander's piece, "The Burning," is located at the Fisher Street entrance of the library.

His sculpture, carved from limestone, weighs 1,200 pounds and has never been displayed outside.

"It's a really great opportunity for somebody trying to do larger public art pieces," Alexander said of the Salisbury Sculpture Show. "Being able to put up a work and put it in a setting, it's really a major thing for artists."

Alexander said he is lucky enough to get six or seven pieces in various shows each year, and appreciates Salisbury for putting on such a show.

"It really pays for itself," he said. "There are multiple incentives.

"With shows like this, you get to introduce people to your work who might not have seen it."

Ralph Berger, an artist from Rutherfordton, was chosen to display "A Toy for Sysyphus."

The sculpture, which has been intricately crafted and carved from of an old ocean buoy, was named after the mythological Greek Sysyphus, who was condemned to push a ball up a mountain. The "toy" in the title of the piece was chosen because Berger's sculpture was hollow and easy to push up a mountain.

Berger said he was "very honored" to be a part of Salisbury's show.

"I think Salisbury is a beautiful community," he said. "It's a real jewel.

"I think many towns are utilizing art as a way to revitalize their communities, and it's so important.

"Art should be public, and should be for everyone to enjoy."

Pattie Firestone's work, "Leaves of Grass," is featured at City Hall.

The sculpture, nine red blades of grass that stretch eight feet into the sky, was named after Walt Whitman's poem, "Leaves of Grass."

"In the poem, Whitman talks about the importance of the individual of the group," Firestone said. "Each blade of grass looks a little different wherever it is.

"All are handmade, are part of a group of blades, and each one is different."

Firestone has one piece in North Charleston, S.C., and most of her other works are in the northeast U.S. near her residence in Chevy Chase, Md. She called the Salisbury Sculpture Show "fabulous."

"It seems so supportive of the arts," she said of the program and Salisbury. "It's very nice, and I've never been treated so well.

"It seems like a lot of people are moving here for the arts."

Jeanette Broussart's "We are the Problem, We are the Solution," can be found at the library, in a garden. Broussart's mosaic sculpture is a human form and 95 percent of it was created using recycled or reused materials.

Broussart was thrilled with the location, saying that her sculpture focused on the children of today changing the future for the better.

"It really showcases that we are the ones that make all the waste," she said. "The library is the perfect spot because I like for adults to look at it, but children are really the ones who will have to deal with everyone's consequences in the future.

"I don't think one child can pass by it and not want to look at it."

Reuven Fields' "Hanging in the Balance" can also be found at the library, to the right of the Fisher Street entrance.

His piece, he said, evolved over three years.

"The original name was 'Planet Hanging in the Balance,'" he said. "(The sculpture is about) how our life on this planet is hanging on by a fine balance, surrounded by chaos."

Fields said this was the first time he had been chosen to display a piece to the public outside.

"As an artist, we're craving any opportunity to show our stuff like this," he said. "For me it's very historical. It's very cherished."

Randy Goodman helped install the sculptures Thursday and Friday, and said things went as smoothly as possible. He assisted in the installations last year, also.

"I love it," he said. "It's awesome.

"When you actually work with these people, hands-on, you can really relate to it, and see what goes into the art."

"They were a great group of people to work with," he said.

Raker said she was very pleased with this year's selections, and urges everyone to walk around Salisbury, discovering each sculpture.

"Take the time to look at each individual piece for its own merits," she said.

The artists, she said, have been very grateful to have been chosen for the 2010 show.

"One man said he was so honored to be selected for this show because it was a premier show," she said. "It's only our second year, and I think we got really lucky."

For more information on the artists and locations, visit www.salisburysculpture.com.