"Startled" Dashes through the Snow in Scott Park

Startled

by Timothy Summerville (St. Joseph, IL)

Have you noticed that little deer dashing through the snow at Scott Park in Champaign?  Just peek through the tall grasses along the Boneyard Creek.

The Public Art League is proud to introduce you to Startled by local artist, Timothy Summerville of St. Joseph.  We are excited to have been able to purchase the piece with funds donated by Tod and Beth Satterthwaite of Champaign.

Of the sculpture, the artist states that Startled is an 'interactive piece of a small fawn at play.  The sculpture is inviting to the young and the young at heart.'

Startled is the 9th piece installed through the PAL program in 2017 and was done so through our partnership with the Champaign Park District.  Keep an eye out for Startled as it may show up in the natural areas of other parks around Champaign.

Happy New Year!

Startled

by Timothy Summerville (St. Joseph, IL)

"Critic's Corner" Perches High Above Springfield Ave.

Critic's Corner

by Judd Nelson & Craig Snyder (Wayzata, MN)

From L to R:  David Wilcoxen (Board President, PAL), Judd Nelson (Artist), Mike Hosier (Site Sponsor), Craig Snyder (Artist), James Barham (Director, PAL Board).

The Public Art League is proud to welcome Critic's Corner by Judd Nelson and Craig Snyder (Wayzata, MN) to Champaign.  The sculpture has been installed on the north side of Springfield Ave. between Neil St. and the railroad viaduct.

The sculpture is constructed of welded plate steel painted bright orange and stands high over the street and sidewalk.  The artists indicate that the piece is a mixture of sculptural styles that meld together.  Also, the piece has been known to be a popular perch for local birds.

A big thanks go out to Mike and Connie Hosier for the Site Sponsorship of this piece.

Artist Craig Snyder tends to the birds atop Critic's Corner

2017 Installation Celebration!

You are invited to our annual Installation Celebration.  On the evening of December 12th, 2017, we will be celebrating the installation of several new sculptures in the Champaign-Urbana area over the past year.

Please join us for a night of drink, food and friends of the Public Art League!

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

5:30pm - 7:30pm

Biaggi's (2235 S. Neil St., Champaign)

Appetizers and a cash bar will be available.

Please RSVP by December 9th.

Thank you for your support!  We would love to have you join is for the event!  If you are unable, please consider a donation to further our mission by clicking here.

"Awakening" Unfurls by The iHotel

Awakening

by Stephanie Sailer (Kingston, IL)

The Public Art League is proud to announce the purchase of Awakening (artist: Stephanie Sailer, Kingston, IL) by Fox/Atkins Development, LLC and the University of Illinois Research Park.  The piece is currently installed just East of the iHotel and Conference Center in Champaign.

The artist states that "Awakening depicts a seedpod unfurling into new life.  Tendrils are seen in a moment of unraveling as they stretch and reach toward the sky after winter hibernation.  Each tendril arches toward the sun, slowly shifting from the hard, protective shell to the vibrant air above.  As humans, we take part in this perpetual process but never truly see the simplistic beauty around us.  Awakening is an attempt to enlarge the beautiful form of a seedpod and this first stretch of life to a size that allows us to view, acknowledge and appreciate.

A big thank you to Fox/Atkins Development, LLC and the University of Illinois Research Park for bringing this sculpture to the community through the PAL program.

Artist, Stephanie Sailer with Awakening

PAL Welcomes "Meshed" to the Illinois Terminal

Bruce Pea, Beth Johnson-Satterthwaite and Tod Satterthwaite

with Meshed (by Dean Allen Bloedorn)

The Public Art League proudly welcomes Meshed by Dean Allen Bloedorn (Lodi, WI) to the Illinois Terminal building in downtown Champaign.  The piece was purchased by the Public Art League through a generous donation from Tod and Beth Satterthwaite.  Tod, and friend Bruce Pea, also constructed the platform for Meshed.

The artist states that "Meshed represents a finely tuned machine or mechanism mired or embedded in concrete.  It may serve as a metaphor for any number of current events."

A big thanks go out to Tod & Beth Satterthwaite, the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District, and to all who made the purchase and installation of Meshed possible.

Meshed

by Dean Allen Bloedorn (Lodi, WI)

"LD's Song" Stands Majestic Near The Robert Hosier Memorial Garden

LD's Song

by Rollin Karg (Kechi, KS)

The Public Art League is proud to welcome LD's Song by Rollin Karg (Kechi, KS) to the corner of Neil Street & Stadium Drive in Champaign.  The sculpture stands majestic (14' tall) near the Robert Hosier Memorial Garden.

The artist states: "I have been working in glass and metal for over thirty years.  About twelve years ago I started making public art.  A sculpture has a profound amount of spiritual content in it.  Creating and designing for special locations is exciting, but physically seeing my work in the outdoor setting really makes me feel like I have made an impact in the world.  My work is a bridge to communicate the spirit of man to the world in which we live."

"Seeing the stunning effect that glass and metal have on the landscape is pure joy.  Glass is so durable that people forget it has been out of doors since the beginning of its creation.  History tells the story of glass.  Art is like a rocket full of our hopes, dreams and history that shoots into the future for all generations to come."

He further states:  "LD's Song is a tribute to the mother of Rollin's son.  Like its sister sculpture Woman's Song, LD's Song represents a woman's ability to endure and thrive despite adversity and hardships.  Their ability to bring beauty no matter the situation."

A big thank you to Mike & Connie Hosier for the Site Sponsorship of this piece.

Artist Rollin Karg installing LD's Song in Champaign

"Loop" Emerges in Mattis Park

Loop

with artist, Jim Weitzel

The Public Art League proudly welcomes Loop by artist Jim Weitzel (Forest City, NC) to Mattis Park in Champaign.  Loop is a sculpture made on a wire armature that is covered with bonding cement onto which the artist has incised small marks and then applied stain.  The sculpture is filled with high-density foam for added strength and to stop water migration.

Of Loop, the artist states:  "The sculpture is about energy; there is the energy of all those small marks and then my goal was to make the arms of the sculpture appear to emerge from the earth and show how the energy is disrupted until it can make the final loop back around and re-enter the ground."

"I saw this sculpture in a dream.  In the dream, it was composed of maybe thirty sections that formed a circle and was flowing water.  This piece is my effort to realize that vision in a three-dimensional form.  The sculpture was created of a few years' time and completed in 2015."

"This is, of course, a metaphor for our lives and the human struggle.  All the energy that it takes to be a person and how we have fits and starts until we close the loop and become truly human."

A big thanks to James Barham and Barham Benefit Group for the site sponsorship of this piece.

Loop

by Jim Weitzel

"La Diva II" - A Vibrant Addition to Downtown Champaign!

La Diva II

by Ruth Aizuss Migdal

The Public Art League proudly welcomes La Diva II by Ruth Aizuss Migdal (Chicago, IL) to the corner of Neil Street and Park Ave. in Downtown Champaign.  The sculpture stands 12 feet tall and is constructed of fabricated steel painted bright red.

The artist states: "La Diva II exhibits what it is to be a strong, independent woman full of life and beauty.  It captures the individual strength in all of us.  The larger-than-life, vividly red sculpture is a celebration of life.  It activates its surroundings by bringing to it a bold presence."

La Diva II is the second of the artist's work to be featured in the community.  The majestic Flamenco Revisited (also by Migdal) is installed in Porter Park in Southwest Champaign.

A big thank you to Robin Allen & Dan Noel, Whitney & Andrew Hartman, Masha & Brent Trenhaile and the Friends of PAL for the site sponsorship of this piece.

La Diva II

by Ruth Aizuss Migdal

A "Quarter Moon" Shines in Downtown Champaign

Quarter Moon

Carl Billingsley (artist) & David Wilcoxen (PAL president)

The Public Art League is proud to welcome Quarter Moon by Carl Billingsley (Greensboro, NC) to downtown Champaign.  The piece is installed near the Gold Rush Pawn Shop on the north side of Main.

The artist states: "Quarter Moon is an exploration of a vertical motif.  It is constructed of standard industrial steel shapes such as I-Beams, and various sizes of pipe that are welded and mechanically attached.  The technique that I employed in constructing Quarter Moon is also industrial and continues the tradition of 19th century 'constructivists' who introduced industrial materials and techniques to 'fine art.'  'Economy of means' and 'the hand of the artist' are both expressive aspects of the sculpture that any viewer can see and readily understand.  Quarter Moon is a unique and somewhat mysterious object that enlivens the public space and references the natural world symbolically by employing universal design elements such as color, planes, lines and circles in a sort of poetry of object and space."

A big thanks goes out to Jos. Kuhn & Co. for the site sponsorship of this piece.  We thank them for their continued support of public art in our community.

"Dakota Memories" Purchased with Generous Donation

Dakota Memories

By Shawn Morin (Bowling Green, OH)

Photo by Della Perrone Photography

The Public Art League is proud to announce the purchase of Dakota Memories (artist: Shawn Morin).  The purchase was made possible with a generous donation from Fred and Donna Giertz.

Dakota Memories came to the community in 2015 and is installed at the Northeast corner of Neil and Chester Streets in downtown Champaign.  The piece is made primarily of Mount Rushmore granite and serves as a remembrance of times the artist spent working with the Dakota Granite Company on a project in Sioux Falls, SD.

Dakota Memories is installed just steps away from another Shawn Morin piece, Remembering Horeb.  That piece was also purchased by The Public Art League in a previous year (with a donation from Barham Benefit Group).

We are happy that Dakota Memories will be staying in the community and thank Fred and Donna Giertz for their generosity.

"Peek Between Trees" in Downtown Urbana

Artist Mark Krucke & Sponsor Mike Hosier

with "Peek Between Trees" 

The Public Art League is proud to welcome "Peek Between Trees" by artist Mark Krucke (Sarasota, FL) to Main Street in Downtown Urbana (by Crane Alley).

About the sculpture, the artist states:  "This piece is about human curiosity and discovery.  This pair of tree-like trunks creates a negative space that forms a peak when viewed from certain angles.  The peak is also very much part of the sculpture."

Thank you to MCDJ, LLC for their generous sponsorship of this sculpture.

Installation of "Peek Between Trees"

Main Street, Downtown Urbana, IL

2017 Unveiling Celebration

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

5:30 - 7:00 p.m.

Art Mart

1705 S. Prospect Ave., Champaign

Join us on Tuesday, June 27 from 5:30p-7:00p at Art Mart as we unveil the sculptures that could make their way to the Champaign-Urbana area this year! Artists from all over the country have submitted their entries and you will get a chance to see the wonderful pieces that have been selected for installation. Hors d’oeuvres Provided. Beer & Wine Available (Cash Bar).

A Beautiful Storm in the Research Park

"Beautiful Storm"

by Michael Helbing

A big thanks to Kim and Peter Fox for their consistent support of public art in our community.  We are proud to announce their purchase of “Beautiful Storm” by artist Michael Helbing.  The sculpture is installed in the Research Park at the University of Illinois along South 1^st St. across from the iHotel and Conference Center.  The piece was originally  leased through the PAL program in 2012 thanks to a sponsorship donation from Fox/Atkins Development, LLC.

PAL Featured on "Art Now!" - Urbana Public Television

The Public Art League is featured in the January 2017 episode of Art Now! on Urbana Public Television (UPTV).  The show is produced by The Urbana Public Arts Program and Commission in collaboration with UPTV.

The episode features interviews with artist Michael Collins (created Beacon, currently installed in Downtown Champaign), sponsor and advocate Ginny Waaler (donated toward the purchase of Stranger Reduction Zone and other local pieces), and Eric Robeson (PAL board).

Thank you to Urbana Public Art Coordinator, Pauline Tannos, and Director/Editor, Jason Liggett, for their work on the show.

You may view the episode here:  "Art Now!" featuring the Public Art League