TRAVELS WITH JIMMY TEE-STATUESQUE CITIES

We are taking a bit of a diversion in this segment – rather than describing a specific location in detail, we are highlighting a series of destinations which have sponsored community art with a unifying theme – in each case, a collection of identical animal castings inventively decorated by a series of artists. In general, these works of art are on public display for a number of months and then are sold through an auction or bidding process – and then disappear from view. In the more successful programs, either the city acquires a few of the statues and maintains a permanent public display, or a bank or major corporation will purchase a statue and put it on public view in their lobby. The number of artistic displays varies from half a dozen or so to 30 or more, depending on the available budget. Overall, the programs provide for a most enjoyable photo tour of each city during the period when the eclectic statuary is featured. Here we go!

SAN FRANCISCO -- HEARTS
What else could it be? There were beautifully decorated hearts throughout the financial district on my recent visit to San Francisco. The city did it right, and acquired a number of the decorative hearts for permanent public display. Four of them are at the four corners of Union Square, with the highlight being the Tony Bennett heart. Others are on display in the lobbies of major office buildings. Great choice, and a project well done!

CATALINA -- BISON

As you may know, Santa Catalina Island has had a herd of bison roaming the mountains since the 1920’s, so that animal was a natural for the city of Avalon to display. I really enjoyed this sequence, as the artists were given free reign to use their imaginations in decorating the featured bison statues. The US flag bison was one of my favorites. Others included the purple quilt bison, the blonde bison with eyelashes and lipstick, and the Catalina Island landscape bison. As in the following sections, I have only displayed one or two photos, although there are many more in my files.

SEDONA -- JAVELINAS

The Sedona sequence was perhaps the best of the individual city displays, as they had several dozen javelina pairs along both sides of the main street downtown. It was a fun, colorful, and compact exhibition which was easy to view as you walked through the shopping district. The statues were whimsically decorated, fit in perfectly with the Southwest atmosphere, and gave an element of class to what basically is a long strip mall. However – unfortunately – great as this exhibition was – Sedona did not acquire any of the statues and they disappeared into private collections. The only javelina statue on display is the pink pair which is owned by the Pink Jeep Company and sits in front of their office. Sedona really missed an opportunity here – they should have acquired all the javelina statues and retained them as permanent public art.

SALT LAKE CITY -- SEAGULLS

Again, an obvious choice, but again, one which complimented the city. I particularly liked the Scrabble seagull, as I could relate to both the artistry and to fond memories of some well-fought games. My visit to Salt Lake City was after the major seagull displays had been auctioned off, but I did get to see a couple of interesting variations of seagull art.

Well, that’s it for now. I will have additional cities to highlight in future articles – and if anyone has observations, recommendations, or a favorite sequence that I have missed, please let me know.

To Additional Adventures in Healthy Living,

Jimmy Tee