Four Artists Chosen for Outdoor Public Art to be on View for 3 Years in Turners Falls
The Turners Falls RiverCulture Project announces the winners in a call for artists for four outdoor art pieces serving as informational kiosks to be placed in downtown Turners Falls. These functional works of art will open an artistic and historical dialogue as well as serve as a way finding system to the town’s cultural, historical and recreational resources.
The four artists chosen for these commissions are Stephen Cahill of Turners Falls, Cynthia Fisher of Buckland, Gary Orlinsky of Leverett and James Rourke of Northfield. Each proposed a piece centered on a theme relevant to Turners and will include display space for a map, RiverCulture project information and a space for community postings.
Stephen Cahill, a brick mason by trade says, “The quality of craftsmanship in the buildings of this town has become somewhat of a lost art. I hope to pay tribute to this aesthetic in my work…My artistic creativity comes from many places: the decay of man-made buildings, the rust of the railroad or the natural wonders that surround us…Turners has provided me with an endless inspiration that inspires me to create.” His piece will reside on the corner of Avenue A and 3rd Street in front of the Hallmark Museum of Contemporary Photography. Cahill has created work for the Boston Flower show, independently created and installed sculptures along the river in Turners, and produced paintings and work in mixed media.
In veteran artist Gary Olinsky's description, his piece entitled Rock, Paper, Knife will juxtapose stacked paper from the last remaining paper mill with the stacked rocks from the river, displayed inside of a monumental support made of oak timbers. Rather than use knives from the cutlery factory, he will include the grinding wheels used to sharpen blades as a tribute to all the men and women who labored in the mills. “For it is not the architecture or industry alone that we celebrate- but the spirit of the people who made these things possible.” Much of Orlinsky’s work has explored the dual themes of regional history and the interplay of nature and civilization and notes “while the dams and canals provided the power for the mills, they also created the rather unique landscape of the dry riverbed.” Rock, Paper, Knife, will stand at the riverside bike path next to the Fish Ladder and in front of the parking area.
Mosaic artist, Cynthia Fisher, proposed a large mosaic salmon, a fish that is an important symbol of a healthy river environment. She hopes to pay tribute to the goal and hope of “biologists and nature lovers alike that this once abundant inhabitant of the major rivers in New England will with our help, recover from the drastic population declines.” An accomplished mosaic artist, Fisher has created several works of public art as well as illustrated 30 children’s books. “While color is the obvious attraction for me, it is the more sophisticated and challenging aspects of working in mosaic that I truly respond to…I love bouncing between thinking analytically and intuitively about how to achieve a desired affect.” Her large mosaic will reside in Peskeomskut Park. 
Sculptor James Rourke’s proposed installation called Powertown is an abstracted wheel constructed of forms and materials pulled from the history and visual landscape. The wheel is meant to echo the water wheels utilized by the canal’s factories as well as the bicycle wheel that transforms a rider’s energy into movement. Rourke notes “the surrounding landscape and structures become material to be explored so that we may gain a deeper understanding of the life of the past and possibilities for our individual and collective futures. The wheel is a universal symbol of man’s development over time and functions to visually draw a similarity between the recreational and mechanical uses of our earliest technology.” Powertown will stand at the foot of the bike path at the parking area at the end of First Street in front of the river. Solar lights are integrated in the piece for viewing postings at night.
The public art selection committee consisted of RiverCulture partners, town officials and outside jurors. They include Chris Janke of Suzee’s Laundry; Jack Nelson,artist; Bill Gabriel of Northeast Utilities; Frank Abbondanzio, town administrator; Dave Jensen, building inspector; Lisa Davol, RiverCulture Coordinator;
Special Thanks to Hezzie Phillips, Director of the Contemporary Artists Center in North Adams; James Florschutz, sculptor from Newfane VT; and Joseph Krupczynski, Chair of the Northampton public art committee and Architecture and design professor at UMASS.
Massachusetts Cultural Council, Town of Montague, Western Massachusetts Electric Company, Hallmark Museum of Contemporary Photography, Hallmark Institute of Photography, Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, Greenfield Savings Bank, The Franklin County Chamber of Commerce, Mark Abramson of Benchmark and Pratt Real Estate, Greenfield Cooperative Bank
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