PLANT CITY DISPLAYS J. SEWARD JOHNSON WORKS.
The Arts Council of Plant City will hold a sculpture exhibition unveiling ceremony on Monday, December 9, at 6:00 p.m. at the Robert W. Willaford Railroad Museum in downtown. The exhibition will be opened after a brief introduction by Amelia Bitting, a Strawberry Crest graduate, former intern at the Photo Archives, and student of fine arts at the University of Central Florida. The event is free, and a reception following will offer light refreshments.
The exhibition will display 10 bronze sculptures from J. Seward Johnson’s Celebrating the Familiar collection. They are placed in optimal locations in Plant City to enhance the artistic vibe they communicate. The exhibition provides a sculptural commentary on daily life, presenting hyper-realistic bronzes that act as a mirror for the viewer. The art catches people’s eyes, echoes people’s daily tasks and activities, and calls attention to simple pleasures. J. Seward Johnson loved finding “the beautiful moments of ordinary life.” His sculptures explore these moments in ways that are familiar, personal, and distinctly human.
“The Seward Johnson sculptures are well loved in Plant City, and the open-air art exhibit that has graced Plant City for 12 years, has a following that look forward to their arrival year after year,” Marsha Passmore, President of the Arts Council of Plant City said. “The current installation of 10 sculptures has a few of our favorite pieces that have been here before, and several that are here for the first time. Regardless of how many times you see them, they never get old. The grouping has something for everyone, and over the next four months that they are here, it is a great opportunity to spend time with family and friends strolling the downtown area to view them. The Robert W. Willaford Train Museum and the Plant City Chamber of Commerce will have maps of the various locations. Everyone can’t afford the cost or the time to visit a museum, so this project brings state of the world art to your own hometown.”
J. Seward Johnson was the grandson of Robert Wood Johnson I, the founder of Johnson & Johnson. He created the Unconditional Surrender sculpture that stood for 10 years near the bridge between Sarasota and Lido Beach. This 25-foot statue depicted the 1945 photograph, V-J Day in Times Square. He was born in 1930 and died in 2020.
“We started the sculptures exhibition at the inspiration of Myrle Henry who first saw them on display in Gainesville in 2012,” Gil Gott, former exectuve director of the Plant City History & Photo Archives, and Arts Council board member commented. “We have since found that J. Seward Johnson was correct in that he believed strongly in the ability of these sculptures to have a meaningful effect on those who view them. The sculptures we select are from this ‘Celebrating the Familiar’ collection. Johnson believed that these sculptures of the things and people of ‘everyday life’ have the effect of making a park setting more comfortable and safe, and that people react to them and become more social, and friendlier. We have seen people stop and talk to the sculptures, then other people will come up and they will be talking with each other as if they were old friends. It’s amazing what effect these sculptures have. People pose with them, put their children in the arms of the sculpture for a photo, and just relate to the bronze figures like old friends. The exhibition is public art, but it is not considered fine art, and there is no attempt to educate the viewers except for the viewers to also ‘celebrate the familiar.’ These sculptures are the people around you, the everyday people. They’re just like you and your neighbors. And they are comforting.”
Sponsors of the public art exhibit include the Arts Council of Plant City in partnership with the City of Plant City, Unity in the Community, Plant City History & Photo Archives, Insurance Business Center, and Lubrano Designs.
Sculpture photos and maps will be available at the event, the Robert W. Willaford Railroad Museum, the Plant City Chamber, and the Plant City History and Photo Archives. The sculptures will remain in place until March 31. For additional information call Gil Gott at 813.417.7559.
