STATE ARTS AGENCY
Arkansas Arts Council
Little Rock, AR
www.arkansasarts.com

 

Artists & Communities Host Site: The Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas
Pine Bluff
701 Main Street
Pine Bluff, AR 71601
E-mail: asc@seark.net
Web site: www.arts-sciencepb.org

Millennium Artist:
Stephen Glassman
Sculptor / Installation Artist
California
E-mail: zolart@artnet.net
Web site: www.izome.com

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Sculptor Stephen Glassman had something monumental in mind to commemorate the millennial year when his Artists & Communities residency began with The Arts & Science Center of Southeast Arkansas in April 2000.

Glassman worked with the Center and over 30 community members to design and create a permanent plaza in downtown Pine Bluff. He has realized a similar vision through community projects and commissions over the past 17 years in public settings from New York to Bali, from Antwerp to Los Angeles.

Originally conceived as a temporary sitework, the Pine Bluff design soon took on magnificent proportions. Its construction was embraced by the community as a phenomenal partnership between private logging, steel, and construction companies and the County bridge and road crews, recycling facility, and port authority. By grafting his expertise in giant bamboo construction with available indigenous materials and industry, Glassman and Pine Bluff community members created a permanent monumental, freeform, structural plaza utilizing a derelict building adjacent to the Town Hall square.

The installation cuts a majestic path 75 feet into the Pine Bluff sky. 90 feet wide and 150 feet long, the plaza is complete with lighting, a water feature, and seating. In the development of the plaza, Glassman chose to incorporate defining regional characteristics: pine, water, and other plants native to the region.

"Southeast Shear: Barraque Bridge Plaza," was dedicated in October during BridgeFEST, a community-wide family festival. It is constructed of debarked and treated pine tree bundles with steel tube elements. The basis for the structure is a building dating back to 1877, made of cast iron, brick, and cypress. The historical architecture and natural elements give the sculpture an indoor and outdoor context. In keeping with the theme of the White House Millennium Council, the act of anchoring the structure to the historical building "honors the past and imagines the future."

The building's interior slab reflects the nearby Arkansas River, and is paved with recycled concrete rubble. Bamboo landscaping adds softness and movement to the environs. The sculpture forms a dramatic gateway to Pine Bluff for visitors approaching via the highway, and provides a focus for the planned regeneration of the downtown precinct. Glassman and community members see the plaza as a symbol of the past and future fortunes of Pine Bluff, and envision it becoming a regional destination, community resource, and gathering place for events such as the farmer's market.

About his host community and Artists & Communities experience, Glassman commented, "[i]n my nearly 20 years of public art, I have never experienced as generous a community as that of Pine Bluff, Arkansas. I donąt mean generous only in the material sense, but a generosity of spirit…..this town is wholeheartedly owning a producing a completely uncompromisingly singular sitework as a foundation for the future….to see these principles truly in force in the 21st Century urban environment is a dream come true, and I believe a shining example of what the Millennium Project is all about."

MILLENNIUM ARTIST BIO

Stephen Glassman is an internationally recognized expert of freeform, large-scale structured bamboo. He is accomplished in many mediums, including traditional fabrication, media, robotics, aerodynamics, and theatre. Glassman's collaborations and commissions include Robert Wilson/Paris Opera, Jonathan Borofsky, and the Moscow Circus.