Dozens of people gathered at a River Market pavilion on Sunday afternoon to learn that the image of two children looking skyward will be the new sculpture placed at the southeast corner of City Hall grounds.
In a short ceremony, Theresa Dyer of Nashville, Tenn., was named the winner of the 2019 Sculpture at the River Market Fine Art Sculpture Show and Sale. Her sculpture Little Rock will join nearly $4 million worth of art -- in the neighborhood of 90 pieces -- that has been added to the capital city in the past 12 years.
"Thank you," Dyer quickly said before she was overcome with emotion at winning her first sculpture commission.
Sculptors from all over the country clapped as Dyer walked to her booth.
"We are so proud of her," Serena Bates, a sculptor from Rhode Island, said. "We [sculptors] sort of become like a family."
Dyer will also receive a $60,000 commission, which comes from donations to the Sculpture at the River Market organization.
"Little Rock is an amazing place," Dyer said. "I really love the place as a city. It makes the sculpture more important."
The sculpture scene in Little Rock has exploded since the city, Dr. Dean Kumpuris and Sculpture at the River Market have made it their goal to bring art to the city.
This year, 48 artists were picked to participate in the River Market Show and Sale, and 37 of those submitted proposals. A committee narrowed the entrants down to seven semifinalists before finally naming three finalists.
"I hope one day we have the money to add all of them," Kumpuris said.
Dyer described the atmosphere at the sculpture event at Little Rock like a "little university".
"Everybody here is so generous with the knowledge they have," Dyer said. "Some people here have been at this so long and they are generous with sharing their knowledge."
Nnamdi Okonkwo, one of the finalists, said he was glad he appeared at the event even though one of his sculptures was stolen from the downtown pavilion.
"Of course I was sad I didn't win because I am human, but I really believe what is meant to be is meant to be," Okonkwo, a Nigerian native, said.
Dyer said she got the idea of her 10-foot-high, 12-foot-wide, 4-foot-deep sculpture after viewing the courthouse. It will be made out of silicon bronze with verdigris patina, stainless steel, cold-rolled steel and concrete.
"I wanted it to be a gateway toward Broadway Bridge," Dyer said.
Dyer said she sees the sculpture as a testament to the future of Little Rock. She said she wants the image of two children looking up in openness, wonder and hope at the same star.
"They are positioned back to back looking up at the same star," Dyers said. "I liked the idea of of children looking into the future. It's a good symbol."
One of children will point upwards with his arm at an angle of 23.5 degrees, the exact angle of the tilt of the earth, Dyer said. The earth will be represented by an arc of stainless steel and an arc of cold rolled steel.
Along the edge of the base will be inscribed the coordinates of the City of Little Rock. Dyer said the top of the circumference is a stainless steel pin fixture that will become illuminated at night, adding interest from dusk until dawn.
"The two figures acknowledge the existing sculpture of the two figures across Broadway in front of Robinson Auditorium," Dyer said.
In 2020, after the proposed piece is fully realized in bronze or steel, it will be placed at the corner of West Markham Street and Broadway, the southeast corner of City Hall grounds, with Robinson Center Performance Hall across the street.
Dyer, a commercial architect who has always made drawings and paintings, said she started learning how to create sculptures six years ago.
"It became a hobby I started when I was going through kind of a tough time," Dyer said. "It was kind of therapeutic. I was really surprised how much I loved it."
State Desk on 05/06/2019