By Emily Ford

eford@salisburypost.com
SALISBURY — The sculpture of a whimsical figure displayed on the Rowan Public Library lawn has won the Norvell Best in Show Award.
“Go Take a Hike” by artist Davis Whitfield of Mountain City, Tenn. combines motion and whimsy with engaging asymmetry, said judge Noelle Rhodes Scott, who recently selected winners of the 2013 Salisbury Sculpture Show Discover What’s Outside.
“It appeals to both children and adults with its square and rounded shapes of the joints and knees and its back bent as though in exertion,” said Scott, Cabarrus Arts Council president and CEO.
Scott reviewed the 14 sculptures on display in Salisbury, starting with a stop at exit 76 on the Interstate 85 on-ramp to check out “Sunflower Gate II,” said Lynn Raker, the Salisbury city planner who oversees the annual sculpture show.
Scott continued to Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, where the upper courtyard hosts two of the more contemporary pieces in the show.
The tour continued on foot through downtown, where Scott said she thought the pieces were effectively displayed in the historic setting.
Additional winners include:

• Second place: “Winding Out” by Robert Winkler of Asheville, displayed at the corner of Fulton and Innes streets.
“The graceful motion of this piece is entrancing,” Scott said. “While quite stable in construction, it deftly implies movement and dance. The colors of the wood change with the light, allowing continued variety for viewing.”
• Third place: “Rosa Parks Bench” by Jim Gallucci of Greensboro, displayed in front of the Rowan Museum.
“A photograph of this functional art does not do it justice,” Scott said. “Its bright colors are in juxtaposition with its more serious message. The bench invites the viewer to look more closely at the combination of shapes and the interactive aspect of the piece.”
• Honorable mentions: “Sunflower Gate II” by Gallucci and “A Few Degrees from Plumb and Square” by Bill Wood of Fairfax, Va., displayed at RCCC.
Apart from the juried awards, Salisbury residents voted for a Citizen’s Choice Award winner and chose “Winding Out” by Winkler.
Cash awards are funded through grants, private donations and commissions from sales of pieces from previous years.
A graduate of Wake Forest University, Scott has served in various arts management positions throughout North Carolina and Virginia. A fellow with the National Endowment of the Arts, she has worked with Charlotte’s Arts and Science Council, the High Point Arts Council, the Winston-Salem Symphony and the Sawtooth Center for Visual Design.
Scott has held her current position with the Cabarrus Arts Council since 2000.
The 2013 Salisbury Sculpture Show will remain on display until early January 2014. A call for entries for the 2014 show will go out to artists later this month, and new sculptures will be installed in early spring.
Printed brochures are available at the Visitors Center, City Hall, Rowan Public Library and several downtown restaurants and galleries.
A downloadable brochure, along with more information on the show and artists, are available at www.salisburyart.com and https://www.facebook.com/salisburysculptureshow.

Contact reporter Emily Ford at 704-797-4264.