Plans for a new public art installation in Lewes hit a snag in the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission.
The city’s Public Art Commission is working with Maine-based artist Posey on a sculpture to be installed next year. Barry Dunkin, who is also a member of the Public Art Committee, gave Parks and Recreation Commission members an overview of Posey’s work and why the Public Art Committee chose her.
“One of the things that all of us on the committee were attracted to is her focus on using marine salvaged materials,” he said.
That includes things like old fishing nets and rope, upcycled into brightly-colored material for environmental sculptures. The maritime material underpinning her work is one reason why the Public Art Committee would like to install the project in the city’s CanalFront park. Dunkin also highlighted the park’s prominence in the community.
“Since CanalFront is the most used and most visible park, we felt like CanalFront would probably be the best to locate this,” he said.
And, he stressed, the sculpture would be easy to install, without much impact on the park’s grounds.
“It does not require a cement pad. It doesn't require any kind of structure for it to be installed,” Dunkin said. “Basically, it'll be sort of screwed into the ground.”
Design of the sculpture, which will likely be one large and one small piece grouped together, is underway, with a proposed installation in April or May.
But, Parks and Recreation Commission member Rodney Robinson said he isn’t ready to sign off on the idea without more details.
“I would like to see it, or a representation of what it is and how big it is and the colors and so on, and get a better sense of what it is before I would agree that it belongs in Canal Front Park,” he said.
Robinson also serves as the liaison with the Friends of CanalFront Park. The Parks and Recreation Commission postponed a vote on approving the sculpture in CanalFront park to see if the Public Art Committee could provide preliminary sketches.
Delaware Public Media's arts coverage is made possible, in part, by support from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.
