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Public Art Enriches Everyday Experiences
cowlitz county, culture, kelso, lake sacajawea park, longview, lower columbia college, monticello hotel, parks,
In Lake Sacajawea Park, a boy throws a ball to a dog. Children pet the dog, hug it and even try to ride it like a horse, but it never barks or bites. It’s a cast bronze sculpture – one of many pieces of public art in the Kelso and Longview area.
“We started with that one piece, and it grew from there,” says Rich Bemm, director of Parks and Recreation for the city of Longview. “Some people wanted to commission a piece as a memorial for their parents, and we talked about what that would be, based on the location in the park. People have really embraced it and kids love the dog. In fact, they’ve rubbed its nose so much it’s become shiny.”
Fetch now shares the park with Sacajawea, a cast bronze sculpture of the woman who explored the west with Lewis and Clark in the early 1800s, a carved granite piece titled Japanese Figure and a wooden totem pole donated by the Pioneer Lions Club.
“The community has performing arts and galleries, but we didn’t have anything the public could touch,” Bemm says. “We feel it really enhances the quality of life here.”
The park is now just one of many places to interact with art around town. Handstand Boy frolics outside the Parks and Recreation Administration building; a cat reads Cat in the Hat over the shoulder of a girl on a bench in front of the Longview Public Library; and a girl presents a flower to town founder, Robert A. Long, in Thank You, Mr. Long in downtown Longview. At the Kelso train station, a figure sits on a steamer truck, waiting for its ride.
But sculpture is just part of the package. The lobby of the Monticello Hotel is home to 46 oil paintings commissioned by Long in the early 1900s, and Lower Columbia College showcases works made with mediums including paper cutting, acrylic on linen and mixed media.
As the city’s collection grew both inside and outdoors, so did the public’s curiosity. So the parks and recreation department put together a brochure that maps out all of the works to be found within Longview and Kelso – from murals and framed works of calligraphy to historical reliefs. The result is a driving and walking tour encompassing approximately six miles of the city.
“We saw the impact outdoor art was having on businesses in town, and we wanted to combine it with the inventory owned by the hospital and college,” Bemm says.
Also spotlighted in the brochure are galleries that exhibit rotating pieces by regional artists, such as Broadway Gallery and Teague’s Interiors.
While public art in other cities can be controversial or abstract, Bemm describes Cowlitz County’s displays as “calming.”
“We get comments all the time on how much people enjoy the pieces,” Bemm says. “They feel it adds a dimension to the city, and it’s something they can share with their kids and teach them to appreciate art.”
Story by Danny Bonvissuto
Photo by Todd Bennett
