Moving from campus to downtown with ‘David’
Published 1:24 pm Tuesday, November 1, 2016
- CARSON REEHER | HERALD Members of the Farmville Downtown Partnership and Longwood Center for the Visual Arts gather Friday by a newly installed art sculpture in downtown Farmville. From left, front, Mindy Pierson, Beverley Roberts, Martha Butler, Jenny Bates; back, Ilsa Loeser, Pam Butler, John Burton, Rachel Ivers, Ebie Baker and Mackenzie Lenhart.
The Farmville Downtown Partnership (FDP) and Longwood Center for the Visual Arts(LCVA) came together Friday to celebrate another artistic addition to downtown.
Matt Evald Johnson created “David,” who’s “lived” on campus since 2012.
The LCVA sculpture program, which brings art to campus on a rotating basis, originally installed David at Longwood.
David is a robot with its foot placed upon a decapitated robot head, created from recycled metal materials, illustrating the story of David and Goliath.
Now, David has a new home next to First Bank on Main Street.
Pam Butler, head of FDP’s design committee, said she contacted LCVA Executive Director Rachel Ivers about incorporating more art into the downtown area and Ivers obliged.
“She put this in the LCVA work plan,” Butler said of the installation.
Butler said many students were wondering where David had gone and were happy to learn of his new home.
Butler said two years ago, the FDP had a consultant come in to work with the board and the design committee to look at downtown.
“This spurred on an idea that we would like to have more public art downtown,” she said.
After contacting Ivers, Butler realized Longwood had a sculpture program in place and the expertise to facilitate a move of the sculpture.
“The grassy park area across from Midtown seemed to be the perfect first location,” Butler said. “The rest as they say, is history.”
She said the FDP is excited about the art addition.
“The robot looks wonderful in its new location. It truly adds another visual dimension and an opportunity to stop, to pause and to enjoy,” Butler said.
FDP plans on placing some of the bistro tables and chairs in the area around the robot.
“We are thankful for the LCVA and looking forward to more art being exhibited downtown,” Butler said.
This installation is just one of several the FDP has been involved with during recent months, including a large mural on Third Street at Main Street, two Coca-Cola sign restorations and the addition of several projects chosen from a SOUP competition
