A new sculpture to honor Theodore Dreiser was dedicated at Vigo County Public Library near the Walnut Street entrance on Friday, April 26th at 11:30 a.m. This new work was created by Jeanine Centuori and Russell Rock of Urban Rock Design, Los Angeles, California.
Dreiser, born in Terre Haute, Indiana in 1871 is often known as the “father of American Naturalism.” His writing style had a tremendous influence on his contemporaries as well many writers today. He is the author of eight novels and numerous short stories, drama, poetry, and non-fiction works, including his most widely known Sister Carrie and An American Tragedy.
The sculpture, created by the Urban Rock Design artist team of Jeanine Centuori and Russell Rock of Los Angeles, California, is an aluminum sculpture celebrating Dreiser’s importance to the rich cultural heritage of Terre Haute and the field of world literature.
The sculpture contains an engaging collection of Dreiser’s phrases gathered from various of his works, offering varied experiences dependent, in part, on the viewer’s distance from the work as well as the sun’s daily path which, on occasion, creates shadows of his words on the pavement, reminiscent of Dreiser’s quote “Words are but the vague shadows of the volumes we mean. Little audible links, they are, chaining together great inaudible feelings and purposes.”
Turn to the River is a comprehensive, multi-year project to reconnect downtown Terre Haute with the Wabash River through public art and design. Design Development for a large portion of the government campus was completed on April 12, 2019. Stay tuned for an updated timeline as Art Spaces prepares to begin implementation. Anyone that would like to learn more about the progress of Turn to the River or view the design documents is encouraged to call 812-235-2801 or write to info@wabashvalleyartspaces.com. Turn to the River is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, and support from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation through the Wabash River Regional Development Authority.
Selected images from the presentation are available here.
