Press Release
First Artist Selected for Kennebec on Fire
March 2020
SKOWHEGAN—Norridgewock artist Steve Anderson has been selected
to craft the first sculpture for Kennebec on Fire, a public art project
coordinated by nonprofits Main Street Skowhegan and
the Wesserunsett Arts Council (WesArts). The sculpture will be installed
this spring in the Kennebec River in Skowhegan and will remain there
seasonally every year.
Anderson’s design repurposes an old quarter-inch-steel propane tank. Anderson included salmon silhouettes and cut-outs in his design to pay tribute to Skowhegan, which means “a place to watch [for fish].” The sculpture will hold firewood for a bonfire that will light up the Kennebec in downtown Skowhegan. After several fires are lit, the sculpture will develop “a really nice rust patina,” Anderson says.
Anderson has worked with metal found objects for more than 15 years. “My work is strong, primitive, and often industrial with a folk art element,” he says. “One of the reasons my work has a primitive feel to it is because I am almost completely self-taught in the use of my various tools and processes. It is part of who I am as an artist.”
“Mr. Anderson's use of spawning salmon imagery is very much in keeping with the spirit of this river-sited installation,” said Smithfield artist Kevin James, a member of the Kennebec on Fire jury. “Although his was not the only design to incorporate this icon, the fact that he presents his ‘salmon’ as both silhouettes and illuminations through his employment of negative and positive spaces sets his work apart.”
James added: “There is something very Maine in Anderson's piece. It has a rustic, rough-around- the-edges character. The maker's marks are there for all to see. We know the tool that cut the steel was guided by the artist's eye, not a computer, and that it was wielded by the artist's hands.”
Anderson’s work will be the first of an installation that will ultimately include up to five sculptures, to be completed over the next year and a half. The project is funded by grants from the Maine Arts Commission and the Maine Community Foundation as well as private donations.
The sculptures, inspired by WaterFire in Providence, R.I., will each include a fire brazier that can be filled with wood and lit during festivals and other events. Mounted to floating bases, the sculptures will be installed in the Great Eddy, just below the gorge, in Skowhegan and be visible from Coburn Park and Route 2 on the north side and from the Philbrick Trails on the south side.
Anderson’s sculpture will be used as a prototype, with plans to install it in the river in June before commissioning other sculptures.
“This is an important collaborative effort between Wesserunsett Arts Council and Main Street Skowhegan to bring focus to the natural beauty of the Kennebec River by displaying a beautiful sculpture created by a local artist,” said Peggy Hamilton, president of the WesArts Board of Directors.
Kennebec on Fire is designed to use public art as a catalyst to foster a sense of place and stimulate tourism.
The project is derived from the Somerset County Rural Cultural Plan, which was led by WesArts and Main Street Skowhegan and completed in 2018. Ninety-five percent of respondents to the cultural plan’s public opinion survey said they are interested in experiencing the arts in nature, and 94 percent said growing tourism by promoting the region’s assets is important.
About Main Street Skowhegan
Main Street Skowhegan’s mission is to celebrate Skowhegan’s rich heritage while achieving our brightest future as a thriving economic, cultural, and recreational community where residents enjoy a high quality of life.
About the Wesserunsett Arts Council
WesArts’ mission is to cultivate creativity and harness cultural strength to share the story of Somerset County, Maine. WesArts envisions a region where residents, businesses, and government value, support, and fully integrate the arts—in all their diversity—into the fabric of civic life.
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Funded in part by a grant from the Maine Arts Commission, an independent state agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Open call for sculpture submissions. View the open call here.
Kennebec on Fire will highlight the arts and Somerset County's greatest natural asset, the Kennebec River, through in-river sculptures and dramatic lighting events.
Inspired by WaterFire in Providence, R.I., Kennebec on Fire will place sculptures designed around fire braziers in the Kennebec River, starting with an array of three to five sculptures in the Big Eddy in Skowhegan. Sculptures will be lit during festivals and events.
In early 2019 Main Street Skowhegan received a Creative Communities = Economic Development Implementation (CCED) Grant from the Maine Arts Commission (MAC) to implement Kennebec on Fire in collaboration with our project partner, the Wesserunsett Arts Council (WesArts). The majority of grant funding will be used for artist commissions, with preference given to local artists.
“We are extremely excited to draw attention to our river, which has been the lifeblood of the community for so long, while at the same time further promoting Skowhegan and the region as a destination for cultural experiences, including outdoor recreation, local food, and of course the arts," said Kristina Cannon, Main Street's executive director.
The arts, the Kennebec, and the allure of lighting festivals will be a heady combination that will help create a sense of place, bolster tourism, and generate prosperity in Skowhegan and the region.
Open call for sculpture submissions. View the open call here.
