Public Art Sculpture “Rejoined” Installed at the Southwest 5th Avenue Triangle
Gainesville, Florida - The City of Gainesville is pleased to announce the installation of public artwork “Rejoined” by Brad Smith at the Southwest 5th Avenue Triangle. The artwork was purchased through the Community Redevelopment Agency and the City of Gainesville Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Art in Public Places Trust program. The sculpture is scheduled to be presented to the Gainesville Mayor and City Commission at the November 6, 2008 City Commission meeting.
The origin of “Rejoined” dates back to the early 1900s when construction began on the “old Federal Building” in downtown Gainesville. Granite blocks were laid as the foundation, upon which a steel frame supported limestone moldings and entablature. The building was finished in 1911 and housed the Post Office and the Federal Court until 1964 when those offices were moved to the new Federal building. When the building was renovated to house Gainesville’s Hippodrome Theatre, a number of granite foundation blocks and limestone molding were removed from the structure and put into storage in the building’s basement. The artist later used these materials to create the sculpture.
Artist Brad Smith states, “The design, a split column joined by three stainless steel bars, was to symbolize the old made new. It was also to act as a symbolic gateway connecting the University of Florida with the redeveloped University Heights neighborhood located adjacent to it.”
Funded by the Community Redevelopment Agency, the Southwest 5th Avenue Triangle pocket park is gateway to the historic University Heights neighborhood. Located between heavily trafficked 13th Street, the University of Florida’s College of Education (historic Norman Hall) and within the College Park/University Heights Community Redevelopment Area, the sculpture is visible by both high volume student pedestrian and automobile traffic. The park’s landscape architecture was designed by Buford Davis and Associates and the artwork was installed by Painter Masonry, Inc.
Bradley Smith is currently a Teaching Lab Specialist in sculpture at the School of Art and Art History at the University of Florida. After receiving his MFA in 1986, he taught sculpture for two years as an Adjunct Instructor at the Art Department prior to accepting the position of Chief Preparator at the Samuel P. Harn Museum, where he oversaw the installation of over 125 exhibitions during his nine year tenure there. Inspiration for Smith’s sculptures is drawn from ritual objects from diverse cultures and time periods. Multiple materials such as stone, wood and metal are combined to produce visual contrast and the depiction of oppositional forces in his totemic forms. His sculptures have been exhibited throughout Florida and have been included in nationally juried and invitational exhibitions.
