Art for the masses? Just sit on it.

Byline: Jan Gottesman

COLUMN: Reflections

It has been a few years, but Don Lowe, Clinton's director of community and economic development, still develops a nasty twitch when you say the word AppleArt!

The public art project, a joint project between the Wachusett Chamber of Commerce and Clinton Hospital, was not a bad project, but it did involve thousands of man hours and required Lowe to lie on the ground at different locations, physically securing the pedestals and plastic apples, which were decorated by a variety of regional artists.

Time heals all wounds and Uptown, now a partner with the Wachusett Chamber, is thinking about taking on another public art project, probably involving something like Adirondack chairs.

So my husband and I took a field trip this weekend to look at another public art project, this one Art in the Park at Elm Park in Worcester.

Chairs are looking better and better.

I should add that many modern art exhibits leave me a bit bewildered, and many of the pieces at Elm Park offered more comedy relief than cultural inspiration.

This juried art show, running until October, is spread throughout one of the oldest public parks in the country. While there are "real" works of art (a bronze statue called Fisher Boy, a horse watering trough, which was moved to the park in the 1950s from the center of a street; and a heron in the middle of the pond), it was the temporary exhibit we were out to see.

Right near where we parked our car, there was a steel and wood sculpture, "Tashtego," by James Burns, a fairly literal display of a bear. It was an encouraging start for two people whose taste in art is closer to photos than Picasso.

Things quickly fell apart from there. There was a pile of wood in an interesting pattern that had no explanation plaque and was already gathering lots of, what I termed, graffiti. My husband commented that it looked like the way they piled wood at college before a bonfire. I said, perhaps people were encouraged to write their thoughts and a bonfire at the end of the exhibit would carry those words up to the heavens. Later, I discovered it was called "Where Secrets Lie," by James Florschultz, and someone posted photos online of the patterns from the inside, which were very interesting.

The art went from the bizarre (a series of snow fences, called "Park Fences," by Linc Cornell, where every third slat was painted a bright color and the fences were in a pattern that children would probably love playing tag through) to the strange ("Sentry," by Matt Evald Johnson - the plaque was smashed, and the name was written by hand on the base - which looked like a great auger drilling for water on the other side of the planet).

One piece of art, "Massai Warrior Adorned," by Fern Cunningham, was stolen. Police speculate the person did not realize it was plaster and took the realistic-looking statue, thinking it was bronze.

There were a couple of intriguing pieces. "Listen - Elm Park Soundscape," by Denis Svorvonos, was a large telescope-like device, which could be positioned to pick up sounds across the park. "Flight Pattern," by Joyce McDaniel, was two large wings suspended in a tree, made from dress form paper.

But when we got to "Bound," no artist named, I burst out laughing. Three bicycles were suspended from a tree, covered in bright green fabric held together by safety pins.

My husband began to speculate on what in the park was art. For example, someone took the time to paint the fire hydrant a bright yellow. And dogs and water fowl regularly use the park for their bodily functions, creating organic art. We got sillier and sillier until we figured it was time to head back to the car. We had had enough culture for one walk.

I do appreciate the effort made in public art projects, exposing people to things they might not have seen before and bringing art lovers into an area. And I understand the limitations of using materials that will survive the weather and might not be too attractive to thieves.

The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of setting regional artists loose on Adirondack chairs and seeing what type of art they could produce. And if you don't appreciate the decorations, you could just sit on them.

Jan Gottesman is managing editor of The Item. She can be reached at [e-mail].