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ARTS FESTIVAL Sculptural mother lode converges on Providence
[ALL Edition]
Providence Journal - Bulletin - Providence, R.I.
Author:
BILL VAN SICLEN Journal-Bulletin Arts Writer
Date:
May 30, 1996
Start Page: F.01
Document Text
PROVIDENCE
Floating torches, gushing fire hoses and a trio of giant cocoons that look like nurseries for the gypsy moths from hell are among the highlights of this year's Convergence
Festival, the annual outdoor sculpture extravaganza sponsored bythe Providence Parks Department.
Now in its ninth year, the festival doesn't officially open until Saturday. But as anyone who has taken a recent stroll through Roger Williams Park or along downtown's
new Riverwalk system can tell you, many of thesculptures are already in place.
"About half the sculptures came in over the past two weeks," says Bob Rizzo, the Parks Department official who oversees the festival. "Barring a major disaster, the rest
should be here by the end of thisweek."
Altogether, festival organizers expect to install more than 60 sculptures, some by artists from as far away as Wales and Colombia. Most of the works represent various
forms of outdoor, environmental and site-specific sculpture - a field thathas boomed in recent years, as artists have tried to engage viewers outside the familiar confines
of galleries and museums.
"The whole idea is to bring sculpture to people who don't normally do the art thing," says Rizzo. "They're free to ignore itif they want, but a lot of people really get into it.
As for the artists, it's a chance to respond to something other than a gallery or museum environment." it's a chance to respond to something other than a gallery or
museum environment."
As usual,most of the sculptures will be on display at Roger Williams Park, the largest of the city's public parks and the place where Convergence started in 1987.
According to Rizzo, about 40 works will be set up at locations around the park, including theTemple to Music, the Japanese Garden, the Casino and the park's
greenhouses.
Another two dozen sculptures are headed for sites in downtown Providence, including One Citizens Plaza, the Arcade and the Rhode Island School of Design. Other
downtownlocations include Old Stone Park (next to One Old Stone Square), the Federal Reserve Restaurant (Eddy and Westminster Streets) and the Roger Williams
National Memorial Park (between Canal and North Main Streets, across from the Providence TrainStation).Important showcase
The large number of art works - about twice as many as last year - is a testament to the growing importance of Convergence as a showcase for contemporary art. But
it's also a response to the 16th annual International Sculpture Conference, whichwill be held at the Rhode Island Convention Center and the Rhode Island School of
Design from June 6 to 8.
Organized by International Sculpture Center in Washington, D.C., the conference is expected to draw more than 1,000 artists, curators andother arts professionals for a
series of workshops, panel discussions and trade exhibits.
During the day, the conferees will discuss such weighty topics as "The Relationship Between Form and Material," "Off the Pedestal: The Sculpture ofInteraction" and
"The Museum and Its Collection as a Site." But during off hours, they will be free to sample the city's cultural riches - including the Convergence Festival.
When they do, what will they - and the general public - see?
Maybe thebest place to start is along the Providence Riverwalk. In Old Stone Park, for example, Utica, N. Y., artist Jonathan Kirk has installed a large painted metal
sculpture called Neptune's Horn. Located on one side of a brick-paved walkway, the piecelooks like a giant green nautilus shell that has sprouted a series of hornshaped limbs or feelers.
It's also a perfect match for its site: Not only is it close to the Providence River and the city's Old Harbor District, but the pedestrian walkwaythat it sits on leads to
Hemenway's, one of Providence's top seafood restaurants.
Washington, D.C., artist Craig Kraft, meanwhile, is represented by Running Man, an eye-teasing sculpture that overlooks the Riverwalk from the side entrance to
theRISD Auditorium. The sculpture consists of a hollow cast of man's body. But the way Kraft has painted and lighted the sculpture makes this hollow figure appear fully
three-dimensional.
"It's really weird," says Rizzo, who helped intall the piecelast week. "It almost seems to follow you around."
Still to come are two of the festival's most dramatic sculptures - Second Fire by Providence artist Barnaby Evans and Firefighters Fountain, a collaboration between
RISD provost Hardu Keck and theProvidence Fire Department.
Evans's work, a flotilla of torches set in the Providence River between Waterplace Park and the Crawford Street Bridge, will be lit at dusk from June 5 to 8 and again on
June 15. Keck's piece, which will usefirefightingequipment to create a 20-foot-high stream of water, will gush forth at noon on June 6 across from the Licht Judicial
Complex.Mother lode
In Roger Williams Park, visitors will find another mother lode of contemporary sculpture.
Among the highlights are a series of giant fiberglass cocoons by New Yorker Kathleen Gilrain, a pair of painted metal figures by South County artist PerukoCcopacatty
and an outdoor chess set by Illinois sculptor Mike Helbing.
Other works include a funky welded steel "easy chair" by Vermont artist Shaun Cassidy and Containment Field, a haunting environmental sculpture by Washington, D.
C., artist MaryShaffer.
Other Convergence-related events include a public reception at the Museum of Art, Rhode Island School on June 6 from 5-7:30 p.m. and an outdoor rock concert at
Waterplace Park (also on June 6) from 5:30-7:30. Providence galleries are alsoholding a citywide gallery walk on June 6 from 5-8 p.m.
The Convergence Festival continues through Sept. 15. For more information call 785-9450, ext. 241.
CAPTION: ONE HIGHLIGHT of Convergence is a series of giant fiberglass cocoons by New Yorker Kathleen Gilrain at Roger Williams Park.
CAPTION: EDIFICE, COLUMN 1 & 2 by Gabriel Warren is one of the Convergence Festival sculptures at Roger Williams Park in Providence.
Journal-Bulletin / JOHN FREIDAH
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.
Abstract (Document Summary)
Floating torches, gushing fire hoses and a trio of giant cocoons that look like nurseries for the gypsy moths from hell are among the highlights of this year's Convergence
Festival, the annual outdoor sculpture extravaganza sponsored bythe Providence Parks Department.
As usual,most of the sculptures will be on display at Roger Williams Park, the largest of the city's public parks and the place where Convergence started in 1987.
According to [Bob] Rizzo, about 40 works will be set up at locations around the park, including theTemple to Music, the Japanese Garden, the Casino and the park's
greenhouses.
Another two dozen sculptures are headed for sites in downtown Providence, including One Citizens Plaza, the Arcade and the Rhode Island School of Design. Other
downtownlocations include Old Stone Park (next to One Old Stone Square), the Federal Reserve Restaurant (Eddy and Westminster Streets) and the Roger Williams
National Memorial Park (between Canal and North Main Streets, across from the Providence TrainStation).Important showcase
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.
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