Emerging Spirit

Emerging Spirit is a sculpture located within King Edward Park which was commissioned by the Brisbane City Council and installed in 1991. King Edward Park reaches between Turbot Street and Wickham Terrace, and the sculpture is just up from the Turbot Street entrance to the park. The artists for the sculpture are John Fitz-Walter and Jennifer Farley.

Made from ceramic, the sculpture reaches close to 2.5 metres high. As best as I can discover, both artists are Brisbane residents. Both have had exhibitions or other commissions in the greater Brisbane region. In this instance it would appear Jennifer focused on the sculpted aspects of the structure, and John on the painted aspects, although I am not totally sure this was the case!

To me, this is quite an abstract piece of art. On the three pillars, the coloured stain which has been used makes it seem like the pillars are somehow translucent or transparent. It is almost like you are seeing the outline of the trees and foliage in the background. Then, with what appears to be coming from the right most pillar and extending onto the middle, you have the outline of the so called Emerging Spirit, a human form's shadow about to be brought to life before your eyes. You have to look again to determine if the shadow is real, or merely abstract thought.

Cheers, I Love Brisbane, Wes.

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Memories of Wind

Another of the sculpture's in Kind Edward Park, which reaches between Turbot Street and Wickham Terrace, is Fumio Nishimura's Memories of Wind. This piece was originally part of the artwork from World Expo 1988, and was relocated to the park some time after the event. Created from granite at a height of 2 metres, it was originally loaned by the artist to the Expo in association with Gallery Seiho, Tokyo.

What strikes me about this piece is that it invokes in me thoughts of Hiroshima at the end of World War II. I have no idea what the original intention of the sculptor was, but in my imagination this represents an individual who was able to withstand the blast and wind which would have occurred with the bombing. To do so, they would have had to have been as strong as this granite statue, facing into the destruction and always to remember the memories of wind.

On the surface, you could easily pass this sculpture by with out much notice. With the considerations above, in me it does strike a strong emotive response due to my feelings about the futility of war.

Cheers, I Love Brisbane, Wes.

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Juxtaposition I

Juxtaposition I is a sculpture which was commissioned by the Brisbane City Council and installed in 1990. The sculpture is another of those dotted around King Edward Park, which reaches between Turbot Street and Wickham Terrace. The artist for the sculpture was Robert J Morris.

Born in South Australia, Robert J. M. Morris has had a rather consistent theme to his sculpture. He has art which may be termed as painting sculpture. He has travelled and exhibited internationally, and I now believe he is located in Cincinnati, Ohio in the U.S. He is recorded as saying:

"I exist in a Time & Space that is simultaneously material & spiritual. The material is my painting & space is the environment in which I work. Time moves me through this space to the next space or moment of existence. The spiritual is my inner self (gaining) understanding through the act of painting".

Unfortunately I feel that this artwork is a little worse for wear being out in the sometimes harsh Brisbane sun for over 15 years. It also isn't helped that at the moment there is some ground works going on in the park, which have meant that there is some quite unattractive orange temporary fencing surrounding the sculpture. I like the contrast of the colours used, and feel I can get a sense of the type of landscape he may have been trying to depict.

Cheers, I Love Brisbane, Wes.

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Still Life with Landscape

King Edward Park, which reaches between Turbot Street and Wickham Terrace, is an interesting place. It was named in the early part of the century to honour King Edward VII. In the 1990's it was reopened as a sculpture park for works from the Brisbane City Council. The park is touted as being a great place for wedding photos, however, it has quite a steep bank. There are a number of sculptures within the park.

Robert Parr was an engineer who it would appear did sculpture as a hobby, although he taught it at Canberra School of Art for several years. It was put in the park in 1990 after being commissioned by the council. It is representative of many of his works if you look at other pieces in the above link.

This would most likely be one of his larger pieces, and I really like it! As you come across it walking up the path, the main focus is on the flowers, which get the three dimensional aspect regardless of how you view the piece. However, when you look at it face on, as in the picture above, you get the framed landscape perspective, with the flowers on the table providing foreground to the view "out the window" so to speak. If only we all could look at the window at a park.

Cheers, I Love Brisbane, Wes.

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