Statues to bring real life, artistic replicas to Gainesville
Artist J. Seward Johnson Jr. created the sculptures, some depicting people doing everyday activities and others inspired by famous works of art.
While most are life-sized, there also will be a 20-foot-tall sculpture of a couple dancing on UF's Plaza of the Americas that will serve as a touchstone of the outdoor exhibition.
The exhibition, called "Crossing Paths," is a collaboration between UF and the Gainesville Community Redevelopment Agency. The project is part of UF's efforts to increase cultural offerings during the summer and encourage creative exchanges between the university and city, said Andy Howard, spokesman for UF's College of Fine Arts.
"It's important to bridge the gap and get people on campus to explore what's here and get people off campus to explore what's there," he said.
The on-campus part of the project is being funded by $35,000 through the UF Foundation, while the Community Redevelopment Agency is seeking sponsorships to pay the same amount for the off-campus sculptures. The works are being loaned by the Sculpture Foundation, a California-based nonprofit dedicated to providing art to communities.
The exhibition begins Monday with the installation of the 20-foot-tall sculpture on UF's Plaza of the Americas and runs through Oct. 14. The monumental sculpture, called "Whispering Close," is inspired by the painting "Dance in the City" by French Impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir.
Other sculptures that will be installed starting July 7 depict people in everyday activities, such as a window washer, and replicate images from paintings by Vincent van Gogh, Edouard Manet and other artists.
Ten figures, weighing as much as 800 pounds apiece, will be placed on the north lawn and colonnade of UF's Reitz Union. The smallest sculpture in the exhibition — "Follow Me," depicting a young piper — will rotate to various indoor campus facilities.
Visitors will be able to locate the sculpture by answering riddles written by UF historian Carl Van Ness.
Additional sculptures will be placed at UF colleges, the Harn Museum of Art and various off-campus locations. They likely will be located in University Heights, a neighborhood east of Norman Hall, and downtown to help establish a link between the campus and those areas, said Anthony Lyons, redevelopment agency director.
"It's to get people flowing back and forth to look at art and appreciate it," he said.
A printed map and cell phone tour are being developed to provide information on the sculptures. Howard said the effort is planned to connect Creative B, a program of cultural offerings during the Summer B semester, and campus programs planned for National Arts and Humanities Month in October.
J Seward Johnson - News
Artist J. Seward Johnson Jr. created the sculptures, some depicting people doing everyday activities and others inspired by famous works of art. While most are life-sized, there also will be a 20-foot-tall sculpture of a couple dancing on UF's Plaza of
But the money was raised and, in 2007, the metal people came: life-size and lifelike bronze figures by New Jersey sculptor J. Seward Johnson that transformed downtown Auburn in temporary and then permanent ways. Johnson's sculptures brought people into
The sculpture is part of an outdoor exhibition of the work of artist J. Seward Johnson Jr. More than 15 other sculptures are being installed next month on campus and at other Gainesville locations. UF Provost Joe Glover said the sculptures are meant to
The successful promotion Sculptures on the Square began in 2003 with life-sized figural works by J. Seward Johnson. That popular display was repeated by Johnson with newer sculptures in 2005. WACO bi-plane sculptures decorated the square in 2007;
Nancy F. Seward, Personal Representative of the Estate of Verna Jean Schaldecker, Deceased, to Carl W. Schaldecker, Jr., Vernon Schaldecker, Nancy F. Seward, and Carla J. Devries, tenants in common, Lot 3, Skaden's Addition, City of York. DS Exempt.
Photo Session- J Seward Johnson | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
The Instamatic was a series of inexpensive, easy-to-load 126 and 110 cameras made by Kodak beginning in 1963. The Instamatic was immensely successful, introducing a generation to low-cost photography and spawning numerous imitators.
The Instamatic was an instant success; more than 50 million Instamatic cameras were produced between 1963 and 1970. Kodak even gave away a considerable number in a joint promotion with Scott paper towels in the early 1970s in order to generate a large number of new photographers and stimulate lasting demand for its film business.
During its heyday, the range was so ubiquitous that the Instamatic name is still frequently used (erroneously) to refer to any inexpensive point-and-shoot camera. (It is also frequently used incorrectly to describe Kodak's line of instant-picture cameras.)
Kodak Instamatic X-35
Manufactured: 1970 - 1976
Lens: f/8, 41mm
shutter: 1/90 sec. normal or 1/45 sec. flash
Focus: two zone: 2-6 feet and 6 feet-infinity
Meter: Cadmium-Sulfide
Exposure: auto aperture control
Flash: Magicube
Tips:
Automatically reverts to 6 feet-infinity
focus after each shot
Substitute two G13 button cells for PX-30
battery. Shim with shiny pennies.
Red filter in viewfinder means flashbulb
is used.
Red light in viewfinder means
insufficient light.
J Seward Johnson - Bookshelf
Beyond the frame, Impressionism revisited : the sculptures of J. Seward Johnson, Jr
Solid impressions, J. Seward Johnson, Jr
Celebrating the familiar
Celebrating culture, essay on the sculptures of J. Seward Johnson, Jr., inspired by Impressionist paintings
Encore!, the sculpture of J. Seward Johnson
Casual Information Directory
Seward Johnson
Official site of the sculptor of life-size bronze figures.
John Seward Johnson II - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John Seward Johnson II (born 1930) also known as J. Seward Johnson, Jr. ... His father was John Seward Johnson I, and his mother was Ruth Dill, the sister of actress ...
John Seward Johnson I - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John Seward Johnson I (July 14, 1895 – May 23, 1983) was one of the sons of ... He was also known as J. Seward Johnson, Sr. and Seward Johnson. ...
Grounds For Sculpture: J. Seward Johnson, Jr.
Includes career highlights and artwork images by the sculptor who recreates scenes in paintings by Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, and Pierre Auguste Renoir.
The Collection: Individual Sculptures