COMMUNITY PARK SCULPTURE SERIES
A project aiming to increase community interest for public art and to honor those who struggled and persevered in the local Historic Foot District area.
Community Park reopened on July 3, 2020, after receiving extraordinary park improvements. The park, which has been largely ignored for several decades, is now Jefferson City’s destination park. It is adjacent to Lincoln University (LU), a Historically Black College and University founded by African-American Civil War veterans, and only one mile from the Missouri State Capitol. Three major park features include a unique play experience with a tall climbing tower and zip-lines, Jefferson City’s first splash pad, and a picnic shelter for events and gatherings.
Starting in June 2021, a new series of sculptures for the historic foot District are being installed at Community Park. This permanent sculpture series provides public art that successfully illustrates the stories of African Americans striving and thriving in the Historic Foot District and surrounding community during times of world wars and segregation.
ADJACENT
Artist: Chad La Fever
Material: silicon bronze
Dimensions: 7 ft. tall
Each of the two abstract figures has a distinctive patina to represent black and white members of the Historic Foot District community.
Adjacent was inspired by the collection of personal experiences described by Community Park sculpture committee members.
The sculpture is a commentary on segregated co-existence and represents the very different lives of black and white people living near one another, yet worlds apart.
Both figures are standing together in familiar and intimate proximity, but a wide gulf existing between the figures prevents them from being fully engaged. With heads hung and nearly in contact, there is a sense of sadness, hesitation, and resignation.
But there is also the feeling that the two figures are coming together with the intention of moving forward.
ENDURE
Artist: Ben Pierce
Material: stainless steel
Dimensions: 7’6h x 5’w x 5’d
Set vertically with a slight angle, Endure is made to resemble a large circle that has been folded nearly in half. This subtle arrangement creates drastic visual tension.
Endure’s name and shape work together to reflect a message of staying strong and getting through difficult times.
The bent circle may be initially interpreted as being damaged or imperfect; but this distortion also defines its unique beauty. Just like the unique experiences gained through our own struggles shape us to be perfectly imperfect.
To endure is to have hope. The beauty of hope is found not by ignoring the negative, but by shifting our thoughts toward the positive. This hope empowers us to heal.
SAFE HAVEN
Artist: Chad La Fever
Material: stainless steel
Dimensions: 6’h x 5’w x 4.5’d
The inspiration for this sculpture doesn’t come directly from a single story or moment in the history of the Foot District, but rather from the collection of experiences and first-person accounts from members of the Foot District who lived through segregation.
This sculpture is an abstract representation of “The Negro Motorists Green Book”, known colloquially as “The Green Book”. The abstract human figures on the cover of the book represent the community members of the Foot District standing shoulder to shoulder in unity. The open “book” conveys the safety the businesses offered to the members of the black community both locally and nationally.