04 Feb New Sculptures Purchased
The City of Augusta, by approval from the Augusta Commission, who based their decision off community survey data completed by the Greater Augusta Arts Council, purchased “Book Bench” by artist Craig Gray. This interactive sculpture, composed of granite book carvings, is a testament to Augusta’s literary arts and features several local author’s works, including Frank Yerby, The Foxes of Harrow, Jessye Norman, Stand Up Straight and Sing!, Hervey Milton Cleckley and Corbitt Thigpen, The Three Faces of Eve, Reverend Silas Floyd, Floyd’s Flowers, Berry Fleming, Effingham’s Raid, Louise Shivers, Here to Get My Baby Out of Jail, Starkey Flythe, Lent: The Slow Fast, Judith Ortiz Cofer, The Latin Deli, Stephen Vincent Benet, John Brown’s Body, Lee Ann Whites, The Civil War as a Crisis in Gender: Augusta, Georgia 1860-1890, Dr. Robert Greenblatt, Search for the Scriptures, Olivia Gaines, Thursdays in Savannah, Karin Gillespie, Bet Your Bottom Dollar, Brian Panowich, Bull Mountain andEvelyn Berry, Buggery.
Destination Augusta, who also based their decision on the community surveys, purchased “Without Limits” by Gus & Lina Ocamposilva and “Ruthless” by Flamino Antonio. With their sculpture “Without Limits” Gus and Lina Ocamposilva wanted to honor the perseverance of the human spirit and the relationship between two people who are able to achieve equilibrium, magic and show the perfection of the human being through movement. Their sculpture adds a colorful touch of whimsy to the space that hosts the Saturday Augusta Market, matching their previously purchased piece “Unstoppable.” Flamino Antonio’s “Ruthless,” in the shape of a shark, is composed of hundreds of second-hand pieces of iron and steel that Antonio used to restore usefulness to these forgotten materials. Oftentimes, we see many pollutants in our rivers and oceans, including discarded tools. This piece reminds viewers of the power of recycling and the beauty of all aquatic life. “Ruthless” the shark overlooks the Savannah River as a permanent installation on the 5th Street Pedestrian Bridge. Arts lovers can view these permanent public art fixtures along the Augusta Sculpture Trial for many years to come!
