By Dan Spalding
News now Warsaw
WARSAW — The Warsaw Public Arts Commission will unveil its latest installation on Friday afternoon at Central Park.
The newest piece of public art in Warsaw — a sculpture titled Reflection by Gail Christofferson of Bowling Green Ohio — will be unveiled at 4 p.m. Friday on the west side of Central Park. Public comments will start at 4:30 p.m.
Pieces of the sculpture came together this summer at a series of events in which the public was invited to add colorful, small slabs of glass to one of several mosaic panels, which will be part of a 10-foot by 10-foot sculpture big enough for adults to walk under.
Public participation came from people at Cardinal Center, Wagon Wheel and Third Friday, among others.
Suzie Light, one of two original members of the arts commission which was established nearly ten years ago under former Mayor Joe Thallemer, describes the new sculpture as one of a kind.
“This is going to be iconic,” Light said.
Christofferson was chosen from some 20 artists who sought to carry out a sense of “creative convergence.”
“What we were looking for was an artist who would understand we needed the community to be part of the making of the art,” Light said.
She thinks people will be able to connect with the artwork.
“To be able to look up and say, ‘Hey, I was a part of that. This was part of my artwork in the community,’ “Light Said.
Christofferson and two colleagues on Wednesday were busy assembling the sculpture, which will include a bench underneath for visitors to sit on.
Reflections will be the second art installation that plays off sunlight, with the other being “Radiance,” a sculpture installed several years ago just a few hundred yards away on the shores of Center Lake at the end of North Buffalo Street.
Light said two more projects are in the works. Those include a mural that could be unveiled later this year and another that could come to fruition in 2025.
Light and Paulette Davis, another original member of the arts commission, talked about public art this week for In The Know, the public affairs show you can hear Friday, Saturday and Sunday on Kensington Digital Media radio stations.
In The Know can be heard at the following times:
News Now Warsaw (99.7 FM and 1480 AM):
Fridays at 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Saturdays at 7 a.m.
Sundays at 7 a.m. & 2 p.m.
WRSW (107.3):
Sundays at 6 a.m.
Willie (103.5 FM):
Sundays at 6 a.m.
