My Spirit is Changing - NEWLY RESTORED!

"We celebrate the life of Atlanta artist Toby Martin and his legacy of creating captivating public art for the City of Atlanta."

-Robert Witherspoon 

Conservation Supervisor

Public Art Atlanta   

Loyalty, tenure, race and faith are driving forces that shape my selections for creative output. Family, children and hope are lasting legacies that I wish to improve upon through my life as a sculptor who uses his ability to construct and manipulate materials toward an image. That image becomes an answer for my thoughts, which become tangents that follow a spiritual timeline that is never ending. I hope for the betterment of our society and I contribute my offerings with sincere actions.

-- Frank Toby Martin

 The conservation treatment at Perkerson Park in the neighborhood of Capital View was completed on April 30, 2012. The treatment involved a much needed cleaning and vandalism abatement. Restorations to the metal artwork included, painting, refinishing and grafitti removal.

             BEFORE

Help preserve your city's monuments. Learn more about Adopt an Artwork.

Contact Robert Witherspoon at RWitherspoon@Atlantaga.gov

05/01/2012

DID YOU KNOW?

The City of Atlanta Public Art Program is currently restoring a  historic Downtown landmark!

The City of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs has begun the restoration of Margaret Mitchell Square.  The plaza and artwork honor Atlanta native author Margaret Mitchell. 

In 1936 Margaret Mitchell won a pulzer prize for her fiction novel, Gone With the Wind. The story is set in Clayton County, Georgia and Atlanta during the American Civil War and Reconstruction. As homage to the south and to Margaret Mitchell; artist, Kit-Yin Snyder produced a contemporary sculpture made of stainless steel columns and archways that is representational of the architecture of antebellum mansions of the old South,  often portrayed throughout the novel. 

Within the following years, the novel birthed the highest-grossing picture in the history of Hollywood film.  It was first previewed at the Lowe Grand Theatre in 1939. The Loew Grand Theatre, which was formerly located adjacent to the square, was extensively damaged as the result of a fire on January 30, 1978.  

The restoration project is a massive undertaking that involves restoring the sculpture, granite architecture, fountain, and surrounding plaza in its entirity.  The Office of Cultural Affairs, seeing this location as an important landmark of Atlanta’s history identified many stakeholders and partners to support of the effort.  Norfolk Southern awarded the Office of Cultural Affairs a grant in support of the restoration and Central Atlanta Progress is an active partner in the project.

The current restoration will be completed in 2012 marking anniversary of the release of the film at the Loew Grand,  just one block north of the plaza,  76 years ago.   

Loew's Grand Theater, 1944, Life Magazine

Margaret Mitchell defied the conventions of her class and times by taking a job at the Atlanta Journal. She wrote a weekly column for the newspaper's Sunday edition, thereby making her mark as one of the first female columnists at the South's largest newspaper.  

Margaret Mitchell Square is one of the Public Art Audio Tour  featured artworks. To learn more about tours through the Public Art Program please visit www.ocaatlanta.com/public-art-audio-tour

Margaret Mitchell Plaza

Help preserve your city's monuments. Learn more about Adopt an Artwork.

Contact Robert Witherspoon at RWitherspoon@Atlantaga.gov

04/30/12

The newest in our Restoration News is Lonnie Holley's EarthFlower, located on Boulevard & Freedom Parkway NE, Atlanta, GA 30306. 

EarthFlower is located at one of 100+ artworks located at 19 sites that are encompassed by Folk Art Park.

Folk Art Park pays homage to the rich and deep tradition of Southern folk art. Ranging from a large-scale installation based on quilt-making to environments drawn from the visionary worlds of artists such as Lonnie Holley and Howard Finster, Folk Art Park reclaims the cement islands created by two freeway bridges in downtown Atlanta. Those who drive or walk by or look below from the high-storied office buildings surrounding the park are treated to gourd trees, windmills, fantastic animal and human forms, totems, and sculpted walls. The first permanent outdoor tribute to folk art, the Park was completed for the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games.

To read more HERE about the conservation efforts at Folk Art Park. These efforts are possible through a shared interest of The City of Atlanta Public Art Program and Central Atlanta Progress.

Help preserve your city's monuments. Learn more about Adopt an Artwork.

Contact Robert Witherspoon at RWitherspoon@Atlantaga.gov