I recently came across an image that stopped me in my tracks. It was a sculpture, entitled Support – by the artist Lorenzo Quinn. In terms of form it was nothing particularly special – a simple pair of hands reaching upward. His were not the first hands, nor will they be the last. What was extraordinary was the scale and location. Rising from a Venice canal, the instillation reached two stories into the air, appearing to support the historic Ca’ Sagredo Hotel. His hope – to inspire conversation about global warming and rising sea levels. Perhaps it did. Hard to say. The piece was only up for a few months in 2017 as part of the Venice Biennale.
And yet, as great art often will, I found it was still able to inspire.
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But it wasn’t the form or the size or the message that caught my eye. It was the water. It was the unexpected fantasy of helping hands emerging from the canal. It was the sense that site specific didn’t mean a traditional landscape or gallery corner. It could be somewhere unusual. Somewhere demanding of a certain sense of scale. Somewhere wet. Like a canal, or a lake or a river – all three of which Augusta has at its disposal.
So here is a thought. While we continue to place – or sometimes displace – public art from the streets and corners of the city, why not consider something sculptural for our waterways? In many ways a sculpture placed, for the sake of argument, along the abutments of the Fifth Street Bridge, represents art more active than a standard land-lubbing piece. The water reflects and moves, changing perspective. The exposure to the elements might affect the material, changing it – perhaps improving it, as time passes. A large-scale sculpture in the river challenges the sense of ownership, belonging more to those who gaze upon it from boat and bank than the entity responsible for its erection. It’s also something that could be marketed as an attractor, as a visual indicator for a community willing to think outside the box, embrace cultural activities and celebrate – and decorate – one of its primary natural resources.
Kick Out the Jams
A few weeks ago, we announced Press Play, the Augusta Press’s contest for original music. Now we are ready to hear what you have got. Beginning May 1, we will be accepting submission from local acts for the contest. The submission period will remain open until June 30. The submission rules are pretty simple. We are looking for a digital file – preferably an MP3 – of original music. Entries will be limited to a single song per artist. The song must be radio ready, which means no profanity, slurs or content that might otherwise be considered offensive. We reserve the right to remove any piece of music we deem as inappropriate from the competition. It’s also important to remember that finalists will perform these songs, so make sure you are able to play your track live.
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The three songs that receive the most votes between July 1 and Aug. 19, plus three Critic Picks, will perform live on opening night of the 2022 Arts In the Heart of Augusta Festival when Press Play takes over that event’s central Global Stage. A panel of judges will award the first, second and third place act $500, $250 and $125 respectively.
So, get those tracks ready. We are waiting to hear what you have got.
Buried Treasure – AOI:Bionix by De La Soul
By the time hip hop pioneers De La Soul recorded their sixth LP – the second in a proposed trilogy – much of the shine that had accompanied the trio’s breathtaking debut Three Feet High and Rising had been overshadowed by the newer and bigger beats of the acts that followed. That, and the fact that the group’s label was in the process of imploding, meant that an album that was a real achievement went almost completely unheard and unacknowledged. It’s a shame, because the trio that had, a decade before, deconstructed the rap game had done it again. Augmenting its literate approach with a more mature thematic approach, De La Soul found a way to engage its audience with tales of love, parenthood and the pressures of adult responsibility. It’s an incredible piece of work, at once jazzy and big beat danceable, smart and still rooted in a desire to drop tracks that feel fun. Had things gone as they should have, six would have been a magic number too.
Steven Uhles has worked as professional journalist in the Augusta area for 22 years, and his Pop Rocks column ran in The Augusta Chronicle for more than 20. He lives in Evans with his wife, two children and a dog named after Hunter Thompson.
