STREAMING: A Public Viewing of the Underscore (a dance installation)

Photo by Sophia Gillmann

WATER: A PUBLIC ART PROJECT

Railroad Bridge Public Art Project

The Northampton Arts Council announced in May of 2011 the selection of  Water Music by David Teeple as the artwork to replace Leland Johnston’s “Dream” Mural on the bridge entering Northampton. Following an open call for proposals, a selection committee selected Teeple's artwork, which was installed the week of October 3, 2012. Acting Mayor of Northampton David Narkewicz, Northampton Arts Council Board of Directors Chairperson Betsy Stone, and artist David Teeple, performed the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the route 9 railraod bridge at 4pm, Friday Ocotber 14, 2011.

The Northampton Arts Council, in cooperation with the City of Northampton, unveiled a major public art installation on the Route 9 railroad bridge in Northampton, facilitated a juried visual arts exhibition at the Hosmer Gallery in Forbes Library, and initiated arts enrichment programs for children in Northampton’s public schools in the spring of 2012; all around the theme water.

The public art installation, called Water Music, is comprised of two essential visual components--a series of stainless steel panels spanning the width of the bridge, which represents the surface of water, and a suspended blue, aerial map of the Connecticut River. The 4,000 piece installation acts as both a painting and a sculpture. The panels form the “ground” or “canvas” for the work, while the river element represents a flowing brushstroke.

Scott Cohen of ABC40 caught up with David Teeple just after the completion of the project.

Follow the River: A Juried Exhibition and Performance

Running concurrently with this site-specific installation last October, was a visual arts exhibition guest curated by David Teeple, at the Hosmer Gallery in Forbes Library in Northampton, MA. Artwork was selected through a blind-jury process.  The focus of the juried exhibition called, Follow the River, provided a conceptual framework that directly engaged with the innovative power, beauty, and scope of art inspired by water.  

Emphasis was placed on artist’s work, which engaged, inspired and celebrated the life-affirming properties of water. One goal of this exhibition was to initiate a dialogue between artists and the community, and to demystify and provoke the many facets of this most elusive and essential compound. Topics encouraged, but not limited to, included, beauty, recreation, agriculture, energy, symbolism, mythology and weather, addressing questions like; How can the science of water be communicated through a work of art? What impact is the global water crisis having on us locally? The undercurrent of the exhibition is one of shared inquiry and optimism.

A Special performance featuring The Thursday night Underscore +/- group, developed by Nancy Stark Smith occurred on Saturday, October 15, 2011.