Palmerston North’s newest peice of public art will “add depth and character to our city heart”, Major Jono Naylor told the umbrella – holding faithfull at a sculpture unveiling Sunday 30th March, 2008.
A tall, wavy Returning Column, made of Corten steel was erected in the middle of a roundabout at the intersection of Main Street west and The Square.
OzJet put a bigger dampener on the ceremony than the drizzle did, depriving the crowd of Australian sculptor Greg Johns, who was unable to make the trip because of the airline’s abandonment of Palmerston North.
Mr Johns told the Manawatu Standard, by phone, he still hoped to travel to the city to see the sculpture at some stage.
People would get a different view of the sculpture as they move around the roundabout, he said.
It was his first New Zealand work.
Mr Naylor said the Palmerston North Public Sculpture Trust was dedicated to helping make the central business district dynamic and interesting [...]
Spending money on public art made it accessible for everybody, including those people who wouldn’t set foot in an art gallery, Mr Naylor said.
Like it or not – art engages people, he said.
[Text extracted from Warwick Smith’s article ‘Engaging Artwork’, Manawatu Standard, Monday 31 March, 2008.]
For more information about this work or other public works by artist Greg Johns, please contact Australian Art Resources.
