Kentucky Save Outdoor Sculpture!, coordinated by the Kentucky Arts Council, is a survey of all the Commonwealth's outdoor sculpture and the artists who created it. Co-sponsored by the Heritage Preservation and the National Museum of American Arts, Smithsonian Institution, SOS! was initiated to locate, inventory and assess the condition of publicly accessible outdoor sculpture throughout the nation.

Over 400 outdoor sculptures have been located in Kentucky, and are included in a database complete with images, housed at the Kentucky Arts Council. Works range from historic statues to contemporary pieces, folk art, and liturgical and funerary sculptures, Kentucky's sculptures include such diverse pieces as Alexander Calder's painted steel abstract "The Red Feather" on the steps of the Kentucky Center for the Arts in Louisville; the stone "Wooldridge Monument" in Mayfield, erected by Henry Wooldridge to honor family and pets; the State Capitol Pediment Frieze by C. H. Niehaus; several examples of "The Spirit of the American Doughboy" created and marketed by Indiana sculptor E. M. Viquesney; and a relief of Abraham Lincoln carved on a boulder in Owsley County by an unknown artist.

In addition to locating and documenting the Commonwealth's outdoor sculpture, a major goal of Kentucky SOS! is to increase community awareness and responsibility regarding these works. A source of community pride and identity, outdoor sculpture is an important expression of our art and culture, and is the most readily accessible form of public art.

For more information concerning Kentucky SOS!, or to report sculpture sites, please contact project director Lori Meadows at the Kentucky Arts Council.

The Kentucky Arts Council provides the information, text, graphics, images, data, and links on this server to all viewers; however, it retains copyrights on all text and graphic images. This information may not be distributed to others, "mirrored" on another server, modified or re-used, without the express written permission of the Kentucky Arts Council. Files may be downloaded and stored for use on computers, and copies may be printed for personal use only.

Kentucky Arts Council
300 W. Broadway
Old Capitol Annex
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601-1980
(502) 564-3757
www.kyarts.org

This page last reviewed 13, December 2002