Permanent Art - Nicholas Legeros
The Edgerton Public Library commissioned Nicholas Legeros to design and craft a sculpture to display in front of library, near the entrance door. The sculpture is modeled after the library's long-time director, Elberta DeJaeger, who is portrayed reading a book to 2 children. The sculpture is made out of bronze that sits on a large stone slab designed as a bench. The bench seat is be made from stone that is indigenous to the area. Following the completion of the bench and its installation, the artist will present a workshop in which participants will learn about the art of sculpture and have some hands on opportunity. He will demonstrate how bronze is poured and made into a small sculpture, giving a history of the art form and answering questions from participants in a program that will be open to the public.
participated
The entire community of Edgerton will benefit from this work of art, since it will be visible on the outside of the building, all residents will be able to enjoy a beautiful work of art in our small town. Not all residents of towns actually come through library doors to see what we have to offer, so this is a way to reach out to all citizens and show how a library can add value to a community, beyond what they think of as library services. Expected outcomes are for participants who attend our presentation by Nicholas to learn more about, and become more interested in, the art form of sculpture. We also expect the placement of the sculpture to increase interest in the library for a segment of the population that is not as familiar with libraries and what they have to offer communities. We expect the sculpture to be a permanent fixture in front of the library for the life of the building. We expect it to be there for many, many generations to enjoy a beautiful work of art that is not often seen in communities of our size. The artist will offer a sculpting presentation explaining and describing his art form and he will give a history of the art form and answer questions from participants in a program that will be open to the public. Participant evaluation and anecdotal surveys will be collected.
There were 75 members of our small community who expressed their appreciation and gave positive feedback on the bench, noting that it is a beautiful piece of art for the community to enjoy. Outcomes from the workshop included children showing an interest in learning more about bronze sculpting and adults appreciating learning more about how it is done.
Edgerton Enterprise, KDRadio, City of Edgerton