Photo by Teresa Lousias
“Gaze,” by Florida sculptor James Oleson Jr., is on the south lawn of the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center, 15801 Michigan Ave.
DEARBORN – Twelve sculptures have been placed throughout Dearborn as part of the community’s 2012-13 Art in Public Places Midwest Sculpture Initiative.
Funding for the project is provided by the Dearborn Community Fund and the East and West Dearborn downtown development authorities. A different sculpture and sculptor is highlighted each month.
“Gaze” by Florida sculptor James Oleson Jr. is the featured sculpture for February.
The sculpture, on the south lawn of the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center, 15801 Michigan Ave., is a life-size figure of a horse, constructed entirely from materials that many would consider useless or broken. Visitors to the sculpture have taken note of the artist’s creative use for these materials and how he incorporated them to create a sculpture that is both artistic and innovative.
Oleson said discarded materials present endless possibilities and he spends time searching through landfills, rubble from demolished structures, junk yards and other areas that have the potential to yield an unending supply of materials for use in his work. “Gaze” is priced at $15,000.
Oleson lives Brooksville, Fla., and most of his exhibition experience has been centered in that state. In addition to his participation in the Midwest Sculpture Initiative, his work was recently accepted in the Loveland Sculpture Invitational in Loveland, Colo. Among his many awards are: First place sculpture, Port Orange (Fla.) Artfest; Beaux Arts Award of Excellence, Coral Gables (Fla.) and Black and White Show Award of Excellence in Sculpture, Winter Haven, Fla.. His work also can be found in private collections in Arizona, Florida, Massachusetts and Colorado.
For more information about Oleson, view a short video online at www.cdtv.pegcentral.com/ or go to his website at www.jamesoleson.com.
Maps and “I Spy Dearborn’s Art in Public Places” cards, which include photos and locations for the 12 MSI sculptures and two Pockets of Perception pieces, are available upon request or on the Dearborn Community Fund web page at www.dearborncommunityfund.org.
For more information about the 2012-13 Midwest Sculpture Initiative, including sculpture purchase information, contact the Dearborn Community Fund office at 313-943-5478 or go to www.cdtv.pegcentral.com for an “Art in Public Places” video segment produced by CDTV.
The DCF is a 501(c)3 organization and gifts toward purchase of a sculpture for permanent public installation are tax deductible.