Statues To Live By

I am pretty sure that I have written before about the great Statues to Live By program in our community, but I feel inclined to do it again. Every time I attend another dedication of a statue, as I did Saturday, I marvel at how wonderful the presence of art all around our city is.

The first statue was placed in 1990 in front of the old Carnigie Library, now the DUP and Historical Society building. It is titled "Candice" and is of a young girl watering flowers. It was sculpted by Springville's own Gary Price who brought the vision of a statue program to the city.

We now have 46 statues around the community with most of them concentrated in the downtown area.

Saturday the Springville Arts Commission conducted the dedication of "The Crow Shaman" by sculptor Scott Rogers, a magnificent, large bronze of an Indian.

One of Springville's city's brochures says that Springville is a place where "the art of living has been raised to a 'fine art.'" It certainly has. We are not only home to the oldest art museum in Utah, but we are now home to the finest collection of outdoor art in the state.

The art movement began in 1903 when Springville resident and artist John Hafen gave one of his paintings to Springville High School hoping it would spark a love of art in both the students and citizens of the town. It did.

Hafen said, "Life is incomplete without art. We should be as eager for its companionship as we are for chairs to sit upon. For it has an important a mission in shaping our character and happiness as anything we term necessity."

Sculptor Dennis Smith, whose piece, "Spring Dance" sits in front of the police station, said, "I felt privileged to participate in the Statues to Live By program. Whether we realize it or not, a sense of art permeates everything we see and art within the community expands our visual awareness."

What a privilege it is to live in a community that values art as well as recreation and all the good things in between. It has been amazing to me to see the effect art has had on the citizens. Moving here many years ago, I was taken with the number of people who had original artworks in their homes.

We have the Springville Museum of Art with the finest collection of Utah Art and an outstanding collection of Soviet art. And we have the Statues to Live By program. We can drive down the street and enjoy beautiful art!

Be sure and stop by the north side of the City Park and see the new statue that was dedicated Saturday. Take your family on a walking tour of the statues. It will enhance the quality of your life.

Do you agree?