August 26, 2005
The Road Show—A Drive By Gallery
The Hyattstown Mill Arts Project in Hyattstown, Maryland each year sponsors an unusual exhibition of sculpture in cooperation with the residents of the town. The annual event was started in 2001 in an effort to give drivers a reason to slow down as they passed through and received national media attention in part because of its novel approach to traffic control. A work by Mike Shaffer in this year's show, adds motion to a mesh of crisscrossing elements forming the work's mass with its top of solar-powered rotating "fruit." The bright tower stands out from the greenery and is intended to be a blend of seriousness and fun.
"Tall Fall Turn Around," 13 x 3 x 3 feet, wood, objects and solar and other electrical components"
There are about a dozen works in the show; all are in combinations of metal and or wood. Adam Curtis lends reserved dignity to the group with a work having a classic inverted triangle profile formed by intersecting planes of rustic wood. Other notable works include some tall narrow reclaimed wood and rebar sculptures by Bobby Donovan and some sizable chainsaw-carved wood abstractions and whimisical "heads" by Tom Barse.
"Totem," 7 x 3 x 3 feet, oak and carbon steel, Adam Curtis"
The Hyattstown Mill Arts Project is a public-service arts and humanities organization serving Maryland's southern Frederick and upper Montgomery County regions. HMAP operates out of an historic mill located on the edge of Little Bennett Regional Park in Montgomery County and is supported by the park, the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission, public and private grants and its members. Posted by Lloyd at August 26, 2005 8:44 AM