Valpo Shows Off Masterpiece Seats

Blogger's note: I think this idea is "absolutely brilliant," as the Harry Potter kids might say. A magnificient variant of the "Painted Cows" Theme of several years ago, this one both promotes local art and classical appreciation. Having said all that, my neice is one of the artists mentioned therein. Enjoy!

VALPARAISO: Painted benches to go on display this month

BY PHIL WIELAND
pwieland@nwitimes.com
219.462.5151

This story ran on nwitimes.com on Saturday, June 11, 2005 12:53 AM CDT

VALPARAISO | It's almost like dallying on a Dali or parking your posterior on a Picasso.

On Friday, the city's Parks Department unveiled its Masterpiece Seats, the first in what Parks Director Steve Doniger hopes will be an annual community art project in the tradition of the Chicago Cows and the Crown Point Bulldogs. The seats are park benches painted by local artists, and they will be on display all over the city beginning later this month.

Each of the 24 benches is painted with a copy of a masterpiece by a renowned artist, but it has been altered, sometimes in very subtle ways, to include a feature that is identified with Valparaiso.

For example, Vincent Van Gogh's "The Starry Night" was changed by artist Tracey Hunter-Doniger to include the Valparaiso University chapel in the landscape. When Becky Ashcroft recreated Claude Monet's "Japanese Bridge," she used the bridge in Ogden Gardens for the centerpiece of her masterpiece.

Other examples of "the Valpo touch" given the works of famous artists: a Viking ship floating on "The Great Waves" of Katsushika Hokusai when done by local artist Haylee Schwerdt, and a Valpo Velvet French vanilla label on a bench filled with copies of Andy Warhol's Campbell's chicken soup cans painted by Valparaiso High School advanced art students Christy Brown and Lindsay Popka.

High school art students Kaitlyn Cook, Lindsay Williams and Kathryn Dulla chose another Warhol work, the four portraits of Marilyn Monroe, and turned it into four portraits of Mayor Jon Costas. Valpo Velvet or Valpo are easy to detect in other paintings while the local connection in several of the benches is still a mystery to Doniger.

"I'm proud of how the whole project came together," Doniger said. "We started three months ago, and it took six weeks to get the benches. The artists had a window of five or six weeks to do their work. Everybody came together and did outstanding work."

The Valparaiso Arts Commission, made up of volunteers who are local artists, art students, park staff and community members, was set up by the Parks Department to assist in the creation of the art projects.

All 24 of the benches are sponsored, and 10 of them have been purchased for permanent display. The high school band bought one of two versions of "The Three Musicians" by Pablo Picasso for Band Director Dan Pritchett. The local artist is Chris Mooraidian. The parents of the Science Olympiad team at Thomas Jefferson Middle School bought one for display at the school. That bench was still being painted by the artist Friday.

The benches that are not sold for permanent display will be auctioned off in September to raise money for next year's art project. Doniger said the details of that project will be revealed at the auction, but it will involve something that can be displayed permanently at Foundation Meadows Park.

The benches have to be weatherproofed before being placed on display. Anyone interested in joining the Arts Commission or buying one of the benches for $800 can contact Barbie Johnson at the Parks Department, 462-5144.