Some people might think that Rochester’s
public art begins and ends with ARTWalk in the Neighborhood
of the Arts, the horses on parade (remember those?), and those polarizing benches.
But there have also been many different neighborhood art projects, as well as
public and private commissions of local artists, plus works of art created
randomly here and there. When I began research for this piece, I thought I
would cover the notables and uncover a few gems, but I honestly had no idea of
the extent of Rochester’s outdoor
art.
Public art
installation in this city has gone hand-in-hand with efforts to improve neighborhoods
and add a visual representation of the community’s identity, whether funded or
done independently. The following are highlights, but for a more comprehensive
list, visit photographer Richard Margolis’ rochesterpublicart.com.
Neighborhood Projects
Art Walk (University Avenue, from School of the Arts
to Culver Road) This collection of sculptures, including a whimsical cat by
Vincent Massaro at Merriman Street, mosaic-covered
light poles, sculptural benches, and artistic bus-stop shelters (like Nancy
Gong’s “Engineers Have Fun Too” work of etched glass in front of Gleason
Works), is a multi-artist collaboration that got its origin when former Mayor
Bill Johnson challenged city neighborhoods to come up with 10-year plans for
themselves. The Atlantic-University Neighborhood renamed itself Neighborhood of
the Arts, and there are plans to expand Art Walk in the future. For updates
check rochesterartwalk.org.
Parking Meter Totems/Traffic Control Box Paintings (South
Avenue from Mount Hope to Highland Avenues) A host of artists have created
sculptures to top former parking-meter poles in the South Wedge neighborhood,
and many others were commissioned to create paintings on drab utility boxes.
Scattered in South Wedge neighborhood, the painted boxes vary from colorful and
abstract, to homages to important figures from Rochester’s
history, most notably Kevin Fitch’s Frederick Douglass at the intersection of Main,
West and Chili avenues, and Stephen Dorobiala’s Son
House painting at the corner of South Avenue
and Gregory Street. For more information visit baswa.org.
Sculpture
The Liberty Pole (Intersection of East
Avenue, East Main and Franklin streets) The current steel sculpture is actually
the third liberty pole to have graced our city; it was designed by local
architect James H. Johnson, and erected in 1965. The original wooden pole was
built in 1846 but eventually toppled, and the second was destroyed in a storm December 26, 1889. The current one
seems to be having better luck, although it catches a bunch of criticism as
nothing more than an eyesore, except when it’s strung with cascading lines of
pretty white lights each holiday season. The site is also used as a meeting
ground and space for protests and rallies. Visit thelibertypole.org for
fascinating history on liberty poles as well as photos.
Horses/Benches on Parade (Various locations around the
city and county) The imaginative alterations made by
artists to these fiberglass fillies, fauna, and seats range as widely as their
locations around town. The High Falls Brewery Company sponsored the original
charitable community-arts project, for which more than 150 horses were created
and sold to business and private residences in 2001. The artsy equines are
currently displayed on front lawns, and at local businesses and organizations.
My favorite horse home is the balcony of MonroeHigh School at 162
Alexander St. The 2009 benches project was
presented by NazarethCollege
and produced by Dixon Schwabl. in
which 200 benches were decorated by area artists, and auctioned off to raise
funds for local non-profits. For a complete list of locations and photos of the
horses and benches, visit lowerfalls.org/horses (some links don’t work, so
click on the list by artist, horse name, or site) and benchesonparade.com
Seat of Forgetting and Remembering (Near the bluff of
the LowerFalls)
Four monoliths ring a central seat, covered in
sculptured hands and faces. The piece was created in 2001 by Adriana IppelSlutzky, a sculptor and art
educator who taught at the RochesterSchool
for the Deaf.
Port of Rochester (4791 Lake Avenue) Includes
“Another Little Adventure,” leaded glass panel work by Nancy Gong, and metal
fish sculptures by Paul Knobloch More artworks can be
found on site indoors.
Frederick Douglass (Highland Park Bowl, South
Avenue between Reservoir
Avenue and Robinson Drive)
Sidney Wells Edwards’ 1899 17-foot-tall bronze sculpture of the noted abolitionist
who lived in Rochester for much of
the mid-1800’s.
Goethe (Highland Park Reservoir at South
Avenue) Bronze bust by William Ehrich,
who also created the George Eastman statue in the quad on the University
of Rochester River Campus.
PepsyKettavong:
Works include “Let’s Have Tea,” a sculpture of Susan B. Anthony and Frederick
Douglass in Susan B. Anthony Square
between Madison and King Streets, “Nathaniel Rochester,” in the South Wedge at
the corner of Alexander and South Avenues, and a bronze voting box on West
Main Street, in tribute to Susan B. Anthony’s act
of voting illegally.
Albert Paley’s work: His monolithic work in Rochester
includes the Main Street Bridge railings, the Millenium
Bench on the Memorial Art Gallery’s front lawn, “Sentinel” at Rochester
Institute of Technology, “Threshold” at Klein Steel Corporation, 105 Vangaurd Way, an untitled steel wheel at The Strong
National Museum of Play, “Genesee Passage” at One Bausch & Lomb Place, and
of course, the gorgeous gates at Village Gate.
Murals
Murals are a trickier subject to pin down in this town — they
are numerous, and they pop up and get painted over regularly. Some are
commissioned by arts organizations and neighborhoods, others are commissioned
by smaller businesses, and still others are created independently (and
sometimes illegally).
The “Legal Wall” (Behind the Village Gate, along the
train tracks) This one-time free-for-all spot for area
spray-painters to express themselves is now off-limits, but the work remains (and
still changes, despite the legality being revoked).
Water Towers (Near Cobb’s HillPark, 475
Norris Drive) More graffiti
work; look for the Mario Bros. scene.
Black Vampire Bart Simpson (Genesee
Street and Columbia
Avenue) It’s worth
checking out.
Merchants Road Mural (At Merchants and Culver
Road) Rick Muto’s creation celebrates the
neighborhood with a cheerful scene; also see his Rose Garden and Rochester
history mural at the post office at Lexington
and Dewey Avenue.
Romaire Bearden-esque found-material mural (WilsonCommencementPark
on Joseph Avenue) Local
artists and arts-facilitator Shawn Dunwoody completed this piece with local
youths.
B-boy BBQ site (914 N. Clinton,
and a few surrounding buildings) Annually updated
graffiti imagery by some of the most talented and well-known graffiti artists
in town, FUA Krew, and their contemporaries. The
graffiti jam takes place on a different day each summer, and remains up until
the Krew replaces it the following year. Watch for
updates on the 2011 paint date at fua-krew.org.
This article appears in Mar 16-22, 2011.
