The Gate City Guard

Atlanta has some absolutely incredible sculpture…from “Ballet Olympia” at the Suntrust Building in Downtown to “Homage to King” in Freedom Park to “Gate City Guard” in Piedmont Park.

"Gate City Guard" in Piedmont Park

Practically everyone who’s ever been to Piedmont Park has seen “Gate City Guard”, sometimes referred to as the Peace Monument, but I’m not certain many realize its significance, which is rather profound. It’s a testament to Atlanta’s forward thinking.

After the Civil War, many—from both sides—found “Reconstruction” a challenge. And it makes sense…the emotional constructs created by war are not, by most, dispelled with the announcement that a war has ended.

"Gate City Guard" in Piedmont Park

The story is more complex than I’ll explain here, but in short, a group of Atlantans recognized the importance of a monument to the first “Northern Mission” being erected in Atlanta. The result: “Gate City Guard” and healing of our citizens' spirit.

To further describe this magnificent sculpture, let me borrow from Atlanta INtown Newspaper:

“…Allen George Newman’s work as “perhaps the city’s most beautiful.” The winged goddess of Peace announcing the South’s surrender is ordering a Confederate soldier to lay down his weapon. The Atlantan whose passion inspired the creation and erection of the Peace Monument was Colonel Joseph Francis Burke, commander of the Gate City Guard on its reconciliation tour of the north. Burke was a resident of today’s Midtown community and once lived on the corner of Peachtree Place and Crescent Avenue.”

Today, on the Saturday closest to October 11, the original dedication date in 1911, the public is invited to a rededication ceremony. On that date in 1911, various sources report that 50,000 to 75,000 people attended that original dedication. To put that into perspective, at the time of the 1895 Cotton States Exposition, held in Piedmont Park, the City’s population was only 75,000.

To me, the “Gate City Guard” not only has an historical significance, it represents Atlanta’s forward thinking and forward momentum. Yes, there are  times when it has seemed not quite the case, but we’ve been fortunate to have brave souls step up throughout the years to keep us heading in the right direction.

"Gate City Guard" in Piedmont Park

I’m hopeful that the reappearance of construction cranes on our City’s skyline is a rededication to moving our beautiful City forward, for the betterment of all her citizens. And I invite you to join me in Piedmont Park on a Saturday morning in October for the rededication of the “Gate City Guard.”

ATLANTAvidz: Dolphins on Parade

Peppered with Social Media icons, emblazoned with jellyfish, and covered in pink disco mirror ball squares, the Dolphins on Parade are an eclectic pod.

On display throughout Atlanta, primarily at Centennial Olympic Park, Downtown, Midtown, Grant Park, and Atlantic Station, the nearly 50 dolphins parading around town have created buzz for Georgia Aquarium's new AT&T Dolphin Tales exhibition and provided funding for its sponsored admissions program, primarily for school children.

Several of the Dolphins on Parade are on display immediately outside Georgia Aquarium, including one dressed in an Atlanta Falcons football jersey bearing the signatures of all the team players and owner Arthur Blank. That's one dolphin that is certain to be a favorite in the upcoming auction during the Aquarium's annual event, Aqua Vino.

ATLANTApix and ATLANTAvidz of the tourATLANTA blog features a daily photo or video relative to Atlanta. Come back tomorrow for a new one!

ATLANTApix: Olympic Cauldrons

Cauldron on The Olympic Way

A portion of The Olympic Way, also known as Capitol Avenue, is lined with alternating colossal cauldrons and towering pylons, rather impressive remnants from the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games hosted by Atlanta.

On the side facing the street, the cauldrons have placards 11-bricks-high with etchings that depict various Olympic sports and are inscribed with "Life Provides Few Grand Moments for Celebrating the Remarkable Range and Pleasure of Human Talent."

ATLANTApix and ATLANTAvidz of the tourATLANTA blog features a daily photo or video relative to Atlanta. Come back tomorrow for a new one!

ATLANTApix: Shapiro Statue

"Untitled" by Joel Shapiro

The High Museum of Art has a world of wondrous art collections inside...and there's art outside as well. 

One of the exterior pieces includes an "untitled" sculpture that resembles a running stick man. Created by Joel Shapiro, an American sculptor born in 1941, the sculpture's absence of a name, other than "untitled," is not uncommon among Shapiro's works.

Walking by this 1988 bronze sculpture on numerous occasions, it's one that tourists enjoy mimicking in pose for photographs...rather fun, I think.

ATLANTApix and ATLANTAvidz of the tourATLANTA blog features a daily photo or video relative to Atlanta. Come back tomorrow for a new one!

ATLANTApix: Portman's Dogwood

"Dogwood" by John Portman

There's a large modern, bronze sculpture in downtown Atlanta that could not bear a more appropriate name, as representative of it's locale, nor could it have been created by a more appropriate artist. Dogwood sits at the base of Suntrust Plaza. The architect, perhaps Atlanta's most popular, John  Portman, was also the artist responsible for Dogwood.

Dogwood sits at the north end of Suntrust Plaza, which sits at the north end of downtown Atlanta, as to welcome visitors from the North to the capital of the South...could there be a more clever banner of welcome?

ATLANTApix and ATLANTAvidz of the tourATLANTA blog features a daily photo or video relative to Atlanta. Come back tomorrow for a new one!

ATLANTApix: The River Sings

"The River Sings" by Richard Taylor

Walking through downtown Atlanta, a surprising gem of a green space is Hardy Ivy Park. One of her jewels is "The River Sings," a painted metal sculpture by Richard Taylor, a rather successful artist who lives in Wisconsin.

The park serves as a memorial to Hardy Ivy who was Atlanta's first permanent settler. Shared with Taylor's 15.5-foot, 2009 sculpture, the Carnegie Education Pavilion also resides in this precious plot of downtown real estate where Peachtree departs its short-lived straight line to begin an adventure on a course winding through the City and beyond.

Adding to the coolness of Taylor's creation, the artist says of his own work, "My work allows the cadences, rhythms and syncopations of music and poetry to find themselves in visual expressions in paint, metal and space."

The River Sings was provided by the City of Atlanta's Office of Cultural Affairs' Public Art Program.

ATLANTApix and ATLANTAvidz of the tourATLANTA blog features a daily photo or video relative to Atlanta. Come back tomorrow for a new one!

ATLANTApix: Sleeping Woman III

Sleeping Woman III, by Olivier Strebelle

You know how when you buy a new car you start seeing the same model everywhere you drive? I seem to be experiencing the same phenomenon with Olivier Strebelle sculptures. 

A few days ago I posted that I finally discovered who created The Lions of Atlanta, the giant bronze lions in front of the Marquis buildings. Well, not too far from there, on the circular path at the base of the Suntrust Plaza building, one of Atlanta's tallest, is another Olivier Strebelle bronze sculpture. Created in 1974, my latest discovery is Sleeping Woman III.

Suntrust Plaza's grounds is home to quite a few sculptures, several of which I'll post about in the future (there are some rather interesting stories behind some of them).

ATLANTApix and ATLANTAvidz of the tourATLANTA blog features a daily photo or video relative to Atlanta. Come back tomorrow for a new one!

ATLANTApix: The Lions of Atlanta

Les Lions d'Atlanta (The Lions of Atlanta)

Many Atlanta residents know John Portman as the architect (literally) of our fair city. He's responsible for a great many of our downtown buildings, including the Westin Peachtree Plaza, the Hyatt Regency Hotel, and the Marriott Marquis (sometimes referred to as the "pregnant building"), the latter being located on Peachtree Center Avenue.

It took a lot of digging, but I finally uncovered who sculpted the four monumental abstract bronze lions perched in front of the Marriott Marquis. John Portman himself commissioned Olivier Strebelle, a globally renowned Brussells-born artist, to create the the two pairs of guardians of the Marquis, where they have stood watch since 1986.

"Les Lions d'Atlanta" (The Lions of Atlanta) is a landmark any Atlanta local or frequent visitor will recognize...and now you can tell them the name of the work and who its creator is.

While you're exploring downtown, looking at placards for other works of art (which I couldn't find for Les Lions d'Atlanta), you'll find that John Portman designed, created, or is otherwise responsible for quite a few of our beautiful works of art.

ATLANTApix and ATLANTAvidz of the tourATLANTA blog features a daily photo or video relative to Atlanta. Come back tomorrow for a new one!

ATLANTApix: Birth of Atlanta Monument

Birth of Atlanta Monument

What looks like a unique architectural element at Heritage Row near the Atlanta Visitor Center is actually the Birth of Atlanta Monument. At thirty-two feet tall and forty-five feet long, its seven pair of wings and feathers reference the city's mythological mascot, the Phoenix.

The sculpture was installed in 1996 through the Corporation for Olympic Development in Atlanta (CODA), a public art program and citywide beautification project associated with the 1996 Olympics hosted by Atlanta.

ATLANTApix of the tourATLANTA blog features a "photo-of-the-day" of Atlanta. Come back tomorrow for a new one!

ATLANTApix: Graduate Level Curiosity

Boys and Girls Club of America
Sculpture Garden

This is another of the bronzes in the Boys and Girls Club of America's sculpture garden at their Peachtree Street headquarters. This one, out of the 11 figures in the collection, is my favorite.

The majority of the sculptures are in a courtyard immediately in front of the headquarters building and several others are in an adjoining grassy area neighboring the First Church of Christ, Scientist. They are all easily seen from Peachtree Street.

Located in the heart of the Midtown Arts District, the Boys and Girls Club of America joins a host of other buildings in the area that feature public art. The stretch of Peachtree Street that is in the Midtown Arts District is fantastic for public art sightings.

ATLANTApix of the tourATLANTA blog features a "photo-of-the-day" of Atlanta. Come back tomorrow for a new one!

ATLANTApix: Threshold

"Threshold"

"Threshold" was part of a citywide beautification project the likes I saw only once in the decades I've known Atlanta. I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again..."the 1996 Olympic Games was one of the best things to happen to this city."

The follow-on of the beautification project is today managed by the Atlanta Public Arts Legacy Fund, which carries on the work of the former Corporation for Olympic Development in Atlanta (CODA).

The 12 foot tall, painted bronze Threshold was created by Robert Llimos of Barcelona, home of the 1992 Olympics. Threshold was part of an Olympic cultural exchange. It stands near Underground Atlanta and only a few steps from the Atlanta Visitor Center.

ATLANTApix of the tourATLANTA blog features a "photo-of-the-day" of Atlanta. Come back tomorrow for a new one!

ATLANTApix: Football as Art

Football Sculpture in Georgia Dome

Art and decor are not lost on football enthusiasts, quite the opposite actually.

The prestigious Cherry Lion Studios created the football action sculpture in this photo, which is one of many pieces of art throughout Georgia Dome, home of the Atlanta Falcons. This particular piece adorns the walls of the Owner's Club on an upper level of the Dome, along with another piece titled "Falcon."

Cherry Lion has created art for numerous sites around Atlanta, including the "World Athletes Monument" at Pershing Point on Peachtree Street; "Hope" at the Carter Presidential Library; and the 65-foot salmon at Atlanta Fish Market on Pharr Road.

ATLANTApix of the tourATLANTA blog features a "photo-of-the-day" of Atlanta. Come back tomorrow for a new one!

ATLANTApix: The Giant Tricycle

The Giant Tricycle

Atlanta has the reputation for being a beautiful city for many reasons. One of those is its public art. Sometimes the subject of that art is elegant and beautiful, sometimes it's totally fun and whimsical. The Giant Tricycle near Underground Atlanta is one of the latter.

I was at this location a few weeks ago with a friend visiting from Washington, D.C. We agreed that the tricycle is more than just fun, it's located at a fantastic vantage point. 

From where I was standing when I took this photo, I could see the tower at Underground Atlanta where on New Year's Eve an 800-pound Peach will descend for a crowd of 175,000 anticipation-filled people to ring in 2011.

Also within sight are the golden dome of the Georgia Capitol Building and the Visitor Center of the Atlanta Convention & Visitor's Bureau.

ATLANTApix of the tourATLANTA blog features a "photo-of-the-day" of Atlanta. Come back tomorrow for a new one!