Artists in Action

Providing the visual impact of the Smoky Hill River Festival are our inspiring, colorful, and stimulating Artist-in-Action projects. Born of artistic collaboration, the union of landscape and artistic imagination, or the yearning to communicate an idea, our Artists in Action speak volumes without saying a word. The projects planned for this year:

2011 Installations

“35 JIVE”: Enter the Bicentennial Center Bridge to the kinetic JIVE of large scale metal sculptures proclaiming the 35th Anniversary of the Smoky Hill River Festival! Spin into the celebration! Created by Salina artist Rich Bergen, on the Bicentennial Center Bridge.

“ANThropology”: Like ants, Like People! These loveable arthropods have burrowed into the heart of the Festival…joining their community with ours. Study them, as they study us! The ant hill is alive with common curiosity and celebration! Created by Rich Bergen, and Larry Goodwin, Salina. West of the Demonstration Area.

“Art of the Bicycle”: Industrial design enters our environment on a daily basis. What more familiar item could bring such a fascinating and interesting look at design than the BICYCLE! From vintage to art bikes, manufactured oddities and invented contraptions – enjoy the artistic, the creative and the unusual – the history of bicycle design in a capsule. This marvelous exhibit comes to the Festival from a group of avid bicycle enthusiasts and collectors who are members of The Coasters Bicycle Club of Wichita and the Go Away Garage’s annual “Art of the Bicycle” exhibit. South of Bicentennial Center Bridge

“Catch You on the Flipside”: Experience emotions and images of Festivals past as photo montages translate the nostalgia and memories of the last 34 years of the Smoky Hill River Festival. Created by artists Ann Arkebauer, Chris Wilson and Adam Wilson, graphic elements of the project will focus on people and varied elements of human characteristics and actions (smiles, eating, dancing, etc.) West of the Bicentennial Center Bridge.

“Dream Dragon Bridge”: Dream images are the inspiration for this fabric construction by artist Bill Godfrey, Tarentum, PA. Enter the Fourth Street Bridge and journey through a dragon dreamscape of surreal images, mythical themes and unconscious symbols. Let your imagination fly!

Flower Animals: Kansas City artist Juniper/T.J. Tangpuz expands on his inspiration! Animals with flower names take on a large-scale presence…from “Tiger Lilly” to “Dandelion” these sculptures combine animal and flower characteristics. Look for the 2011 additions. West of the Bicentennial Center Bridge.

Get Caught Reading at the Festival!: Throughout the weekend Salina Public Library staff will be roaming the festival crowds looking for someone they can catch reading. Readers will be given special acknowledgment at the festival and all readers' names will be entered into a drawing for a great prize.

Instruction Construction: By New York-based performance company, robbinschilds, (Layla Childs and Sonya Robbins). The work is a series of recordings that lead participants through detailed movement-based scores responding to a specific environment. You are encouraged to listen to the recordings and respond to the directives – create your own spontaneous choreography. MP3 players with recordings are provided. Experience the Movement! Presented by Salina Art Center. South of Stage II. For more information about robbinschilds.

I See You, You See Me: ”Eyes are the windows to the soul”…And how do we see each other? Created by Bill Godfrey, Tarentum, PA, these bright expressive faces were inspired by the Austrian artist Hundertwasser. East tennis court fence.

“Just Another Pipe Dream”: Ann Arkebauer, Salina, presents this series of abstract, interlocking and undulating “sculptural statements”. Each sculpture will make a statement individually, with its use of color, shape, dimension, movement and energy. In mass, the entire installation will provide a symphony of whimsical abstraction and movement. North tennis court fence.

Live Reflections:Inspired by a store window phenomenon and being the artist I am, I gleefully stole the idea and made it my own! Its major function is for people to have fun, relax, laugh at themselves (or with others) and perhaps come away with the thought: “That was interesting.”

— Fred Elliott, Salina, KS

“Looks Like Lips”: Salina artist Ann Arkebauer presents ten large colorfully painted canvases featuring the use of multiple intersecting, angular and opposing radiating lines. This study in patterns challenges the viewer to determine the “background” and “foreground,” while discovering other “pattern groupings” in each panel. East of Fourth Street Bridge.

“Metamorphosis”: The experience of humanity coming together at an arts festival fosters inspiration in us all! Vibrant colors and festive imagery surround the pond. People holding hands, in one “collective movement.” With art as the catalyst, celebrate how creative changes in individuals result in positive effects on community. Installation artist Bill Godfrey, Tarentum, PA; Pond – north of Stage II.

Mobile Arts Lab: The Mobile Arts Lab is a rolling arts incubator that will bring an array of art projects to Salina neighborhoods and organizations throughout June and July. Look for project demonstrations at the Festival.

“Mystic Garden”: Gypsum artist, Don Osborn considers the simple beauty of plant life…A series of large aquatic plant-like forms of natural branches and cuttings reference and contrast regional Kansas landscape. Bright celebrative colors spark the imagination and lead the viewer to reflect on the history and perception of objects and of art, a relationship shaped through layered interpretations. Pond – North of Stage II.

Poetry Wall: Rich Bergen’s “S River Scroll” magnetic Poetry Wall provides the canvas for this ever-changing literary masterpiece! Local high school English teachers and students, coordinated by Katrina Paradis will lead this popular returning activity.

“Reinventing the Wheel”: This mesmerizing and graceful kinetic sculpture, designed by David Exline, Aliso Viejo, CA, with the creative and technical minds of the Exline family, Exline, Inc. and community volunteers, truly reflects an outstanding community collaboration and has become a Festival gem. On the Kenwood Bridge.

Riverbank Mural: Collin Benson, Denver, CO takes color to the scenic riverbank. Look for his newest Festival creation, relax and enjoy the canvas! Riverbank at Kenwood Bridge.

The Glass Imaginarium: What are these otherworldly artifacts? Where did they come from and how did they arrive? Perhaps they grew here? Are they cocoons of some giant slumbering butterflies, or the nesting remnants of exotic birds? Maybe they’re overgrown vegetable pods, waiting to flower; or perhaps they’re the exoskeletons of extraterrestrial insects? Could they be fantastical pheasants hung by the campfire, or colorful dragon larvae? Let your imagination guide you in the installation at the river’s edge. Discern and discover their mysterious nature, purpose and origin. By artist Chad Fonfara, Kearney, NE, Riverbank at Kenwood Bridge.

“The Art of Lettering”: Kansas City graffiti artist GEAR returns with “The Art of Lettering.” I focus on how many ways to bend and twist lettering to a point where people stop seeing it as letter, as a word, but more as an abstract art piece. To a graffiti writer/artist, lettering is the most important part of a mural…just as important as the characters…both inspiration to young artists to create their own styles. West of the Art/Craft Demonstration Area.

“Serpentina Festivalius”: Lucas, KS artist Erika Nelson introduces a new species to the Festival landscape in bright curvilinear land snakes. Mimicing forms and colors from festival installations past and present, Serpentina Festivalius is a truly native species, born of the creative collaborative spirit of the Arts. On the east Tennis Court Fence.

“Surreal Trees”: Solomon art instructor Alicia Firstbrook-Stott leads a team of volunteers in this year’s wrapping project. Natural canvases transform the Festival environment, providing some of the event’s most loved landmarks. West of the Bicentennial Center Bridge and West of the Art/Craft Demonstration Area.