1

NORTHAMPTON ARTS COUNCIL

The Northampton Arts Council announced its selection on Friday of Holyoke artist David Teeple’s “Water Music” to replace Leland Johnston’s “Dream” mural, which after two decades has deteriorated to the point that it needs to be removed. The railroad bridge is at Bridge and Main streets.

2

NORTHAMPTON ARTS COUNCIL

The Northampton Arts Council announced its selection on Friday of Holyoke artist David Teeple’s “Water Music” to replace Leland Johnston’s “Dream” mural, which after two decades has deteriorated to the point that it needs to be removed. The railroad bridge is at Bridge and Main streets.

3

NORTHAMPTON ARTS COUNCIL PHOTO ILLUSTRATION

he Northampton Arts Council announced its selection on Friday of Holyoke artist David Teeple’s “Water Music” to replace Leland Johnston’s “Dream” mural, which after two decades has deteriorated to the point that it needs to be removed. The railroad bridge is located at Bridge and Main streets.

NORTHAMPTON - The Northampton Art Council's "dream" to replace the railroad bridge mural that for years served as a colorful gateway to downtown took a big step forward this week with the selection of a new water-themed painting and sculpture.

The council on Friday announced its selection of Holyoke artist David Teeple's "Water Music" to replace Leland Johnston's "Dream" mural, which after two decades has deteriorated to the point that it needs to be removed. The railroad bridge is located at Bridge and Main streets downtown.

"Water Music" includes two essential visual components: a series of stainless steel panels spanning the entire bridge, which represents the surface of water, and a suspended, blue, aerial map of the Connecticut River.

The piece is intended to act as both a painting and a sculpture. The panels will form the ground, or canvas, for the work, and the river represents a flowing brushstroke.

The piece also has a three-dimensional quality, where the panels will float in front of the bridge and the river will float in front of the panels.

"There was something simple and elegant and powerful about this piece that really appealed to me," said Stephen Petegorsky, an artist and council member who served on the seven-member selection committee.

Petegorsky said the new piece will transform the bridge and divert attention from its not-so-attractive elements, just as the Johnston's mural did years ago. He likes that the mural is engaging and thought-provoking because it centers around something specific - the Connecticut River.

Bob Cilman, the council's executive director, also called the piece "elegant" and a fitting tribute to the importance of the Connecticut River and water to the community.

"I think it's very strong," he said. "The river means a lot to people in this community."

On a practical level, the project should require little maintenance and individual panels could be removed if they are damaged, Petegorsky said. Tractor-trailer collisions with the bridge, which has a clearance of 11 feet, aren't uncommon, such that the structure is often referred to as the "truck-eating bridge."

Teeple's "Water Music" project was chosen from among 28 entries submitted in a competition this spring. It was the second round of proposals sought by the Arts Council, which in an earlier round selected a project by artist J. Seth Hoffman. That project was later withdrawn.

The project comes with a $20,000 budget, thanks to an anonymous donor and Chartpak Inc., a Leeds-based art supply company.

Other donations came from the Northampton Business Improvement District, which donated $5,000 to help with the removal of the "Dream" mural, and Pinch, a local art gallery.

The existing mural is in the process of being removed, said Cilman. Teeple's piece is expected to be completed by mid-October.

Teeple, a practicing artist since 1980, has created dozens of mid- and large-scale projects. His work can be found in public, private and corporate collections both nationally and internationally.

From 1996 until 2008, he was founder and president of Atelier Lumiere Inc., an art and architectural design, consulting, fabrication and installation firm.

Over the last two decades his projects have centered around water. In his proposal, Teeple said the Connecticut River symbolizes the sustainable and ever-evolving nature of western Massachusetts, which he calls one of the most politically, culturally and socially progressive communities in the country.

"A river is fluid and open," he wrote. "It is life itself. It nourishes us, offers a place for personal reflection, provides energy, cleanses and feeds us. Water is both feminine and masculine and embodies the possibility of living with social, political, economic and environmental balance."

Chad Cain can be reached at ccain@gazettenet.com.